Rian Johnson’s latest mystery-drama epic, Poker Face, delves deeper into the intricately connected world of Knives Out, Johnson’s murder-mystery starring Daniel Craig that released its long-awaited sequel, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, at the end of last year. There’s a severe lack of Benoit Blanc in Poker Face, and it isn’t marketed as a Knives Out tale, but there’s one key component that links the two: Natasha Lyonne. In the opening of Glass Onion, Craig’s Blanc, suffering from severe depression as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, invites some of his dearest friends to play Among Us on a Zoom call. Among those involved — Stephen Sondheim, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Angela Lansbury — is none other than Natasha Lyonne, who (as we explain in the linked article above) joins the Zoom call from her makeup trailer on the set of Poker Face, an in-universe television series that’s also airing as a stand-alone. Huh? Confused, are you? Well, you’ll just have to read the full explanation above for the juicy details.
Also created by Rian Johnson, Poker Face follows a “case-of-the-week” comedy-drama format where Natasha Lyonne’s Charlie Cale, a casino worker with the extraordinary ability to tell when someone’s lying, hits the road in her Plymouth Barracuda. During her journey, she encounters all manner of characters and finds herself faced with nefarious crimes that she can’t help but solve. Poker Face also stars Adrian Brody, Stephanie Hsu, Judith Light and Chloë Sevigny. What’s more, it’s hit a rather impressive Rotten Tomatoes score, so that’s promising. Here’s everything you need to know if you’re interested in watching.
Born and bred New Yorker Natasha Lyonne, 43, made her feature film debut with a small and uncredited appearance in 1986’s Heartburn. From that moment on, she went on to win two Screen Actors Guild Awards, a TCA Award for Outstanding New Program and countless accolade nominations. There’s nothing she can’t do, but now that she’s teaming up with Rian Johnson for bigger and better projects, where have we seen her before?
Orange Is the New Black
Perhaps her most recognizable role to date, Netflix’s Orange Is the New Black saw Lyonne adopt the mannerisms of one Nicky Nichols, an inmate at Litchfield with a hardened jokester exterior and kind, compassionate and intelligent interior. She’s fiercely loyal, sensitive and protective over those she cares about, particularly her prison mother Red and love interest Lorna. Largely considered to be one of the most beloved characters in the whole series, Nicky was a mainstay and staple on Orange Is the New Black since it began in 2013, right until it aired its final episode in 2019. Addicted to heroine throughout most of her time at Litchfield, Nicky often risked her life for the next high, but since she sobered up, the character became not only a role model for the LGBTQ+ community — particularly lesbians — everywhere, but also a shining symbol of hope for fellow addicts out there. In truth, Lyonne’s portrayal of Nicky went far beyond a Netflix screen and touched the hearts and minds of thousands.
Russian Doll
Unlike many other projects, Russian Doll was incredibly personal to Lyonne. She left her mark on the exhilarating comedy-drama by not only starring in it, but also creating it, executive producing it, writing it, and even directing a handful of episodes. Lyonne portrays Nadia Vulvokov, a game developer who — under Groundhog Day-esque circumstances — keeps dying and reliving the same night over and over again, effectively ‘breaking’ the timeline. She meets Alan Zaveri (Charlie Barnett) and the pair realize that they’re entwined somehow, destined to help one another set things right. Russian Doll also stars Greta Lee, Yul Vazquez, Elizabeth Ashley, and Lyonne’s Poker Face co-star Chloë Sevigny. Not only was Russian Doll the brainchild of Lyonne, but it allowed her to polish the directing skills that debuted with 2017’s surrealist short film Cabiria, Charity, Charlotte. The second season might have closed the door on Russian Doll, but when one door closes, another one opens.
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Lyonne’s most recent appearance, although only a cameo, set the scene for Poker Face. Joined by legends like Angela Lansbury, Stephen Sondheim and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Lyonne partakes in an innocent game of Among Us with a melancholy Benoit Blanc, who’s suffering from depression during the COVID-19 pandemic. From an interview with Rian Johnson, we learned that Natasha Lyonne is meant to be broadcasting her video call from inside the Poker Face makeup trailer, confirming that Johnson’s latest crime-drama is set in the same universe as Knives Out and Benoit Blanc’s “friend” Natasha Lyonne is taking a break from filming to play games with him, Angela, Stephen and Kareem. It’s a blink-and-you-miss-it cameo, but it’s infinitely important to connect the dots in Johnson’s world of crime. We never would have seen it coming, but there’s no doubt plenty of viewers who were pointing fingers and yelling some variation of “That’s Nicky from Orange Is the New Black!” or “That’s Nadia from Russian Doll!” when Lyonne’s face popped up.
American Pie
Easily one of the most famous coming-of-age stories ever told, American Pie saw Paul Weitz lead an ensemble cast in his directorial debut. On a budget of just $11 million, American Pie garnered a whopping $235.5 million at the box office, eventually spawning three direct sequels in American Pie 2 (2001), American Wedding (2003), and American Reunion (2012). Starring Jason Biggs, Chris Klein, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Seann William Scott, Eddie Kaye Thomas, American Pie centers on five high school seniors — Jim (Biggs), Oz (Klein), Kevin (Nicholas), Stifler (Scott) and Finch (Thomas) — who make a pact to pledge to lose their virginity by high school graduation. Lyonne plays Jessica, a sexually experienced girl whom Finch pays to spread the word of his sexual prowess. In the sequels, Jessica has a much smaller role and doesn’t even appear at all in American Wedding, but she primarily offers advice to Kevin and Vicky about how to improve their relationship. Although she isn’t as prominent as the other characters, Lyonne makes her present felt as the wise, wise-cracking student who knows way more than she probably should.
But I’m a Cheerleader
Right on the cusp of the ’90s and 2000s, Jamie Babbit unveiled But I’m a Cheerleader, a romantic black comedy wherein Lyonne plays Megan Bloomfield, a lesbian high-school cheerleader whose parents sent her to a conversion camp to undergo conversion therapy and “cure” her of her lesbianism. There, she develops an attraction to Clea DuVall’s Graham Eaton and her parent’s plan horribly backfires when a romantic relationship blossoms between Megan and Graham at the campsite. Over the years, But I’m a Cheerleader has gained a cult following, regarded as one of the best LGBTQ+ films ever made. At the time of filming, Lyonne was 20 years old, while DuVall was 22. Other stars include Cathy Moriarty of 1980’s Raging Bull fame, RuPaul of RuPaul’s Drag Race fame, and Melanie Lynskey of Yellowjackets fame. Even 24 years later, But I’m a Cheerleader is still a magical tale of love, acceptance and understanding.
Scary Movie 2
Definitely not one of Lyonne’s more serious roles. For those unfamiliar with the Scary Movie franchise, each installment spoofs specifically horror movies, incorporating references from classic flicks into a larger, overarching narrative that primarily follows Anna Faris’ Cindy (a mock-up of Scream‘s Sidney Prescott), Regina Hall’s Brenda Meeks, Shawn Wayans’ Ray and Marlon Wayans’ Shorty. Both Scary Movie and Scary Movie 2 are directed by Shawn and Marlon’s filmmaker brother, Keenen Ivory Wayans. In Scary Movie 2, arguably the best of them all, parodies countless ’70s, ’80s, ’90s and early 2000s films, primarily The Haunting (1999), The Exorcist (1973), The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), The Amityville Horror (1979), Poltergeist (1982), and I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998). Natasha Lyonne stars in the opening sequence as Megan Voorhees (a tie-in to Friday the 13th killer Jason Voorhees), a spoof of The Exorcist‘s Regan, who’s possessed by a demonic entity known as Hugh Kane, the former owner of her family’s house. After priests attempt an unsuccessful exorcism on Megan, Father McFeely pulls out a gun and shoots Megan, a sequence which abruptly cuts to the movie’s title card. It’s silly, it’s raunchy and there’s absolutely no one else who could have done a better job.
Slums of Beverly Hills
Right before starring in But I’m a Cheerleader, a 19-year-old Natasha Lyonne played Vivian, a teenager living in 1976 as part of lower-middle-class nomadic Jewish family that constantly relocate within Beverly Hills. The film is loosely based on writer-director Tamara Jenkins’ experiences as a youth living as a nomad in the Beverly Hills area with her lower-middle-class family. The Slums of Beverly Hills has became a cult classic in the years that followed, essentially establishing Lyonne as a multi-faceted actress and paving the way for her future appearances in other successful projects. Starring alongside Lyonne are Alan Arkin, Marisa Tomei, David Krumholtz, Kevin Corrigan, Jessica Walter and Carl Reiner. The Slums of Beverly Hills even earned Natasha Lyonne nominations for Chicago Film Critics Association Awards’ Most Promising Actress and Teen Choice Awards’ Choice Movie Breakout. Although it only managed to reel in $5.5 million on a $5 million budget, The Slums of Beverly Hills ended its theatrical run with disappointment, only to be given another shot when releasing on DVD and home video.
