Don’t Look Up the all-star cast of Netflix’s new film - we did it for you

It seems appropriate that a film about a comet hurtling towards Earth should have a starry cast
Netflix's "Don't Look Up" World Premiere
(L-R) Scott Stuber, Jennifer Lawrence, Leonardo DiCaprio, Meryl Streep and Jonah Hill attend the world premiere of Netflix’s “Don’t Look Up”
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Sophie Rainbow7 December 2021

What do you get if you combine Jennifer Lawrence, Hellboy, and an impending comet? Adam McKay’s latest disaster-comedy, of course.

Don’t Look Up (landing on Netflix on Christmas Eve) stars Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo DiCaprio as two astronomers attempting to warn everyone about said comet before it destroys earth. Cheery stuff, no?

As you might expect, no one takes the duo too seriously. But the film isn’t really about comets - director Adam McKay (known for big-hitters such as Vice, The Big Short, and comedies including Anchorman) simply used the plot as a way of talking about the climate crisis.

“I knew for the past couple of years the story in human experience is the climate,” he told the LA Times. “So I have been trying to think of how to do a movie that deals with that.”

“And then my friend David Sirota, I think he had a tweet or something where he’s just like, ‘the comet is coming and no one gives a s—.’”

Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo DiCaprio in Don’t Look Up
NIKO TAVERNISE/NETFLIX

“He was talking about the climate crisis. And I kept thinking about that, and maybe it’s that naked and that simple. If we had that sense of impending doom - because we can all get our head around that, if there really was a comet coming - I’m not sure we would know how to handle it. We’re so broken right now. And then I started realising, ‘Oh, this is it.’ It’s a very simple entry way, but it’s funny.”

BESTPIX - "Don't Look Up" World Premiere
(L-R) Tyler Perry, Scott Stuber, Jennifer Lawrence, Tomer Sisley, Leonardo DiCaprio, Meryl Streep, Jonah Hill, Himesh Patel, Kid Cudi, Adam McKay, Ron Perlman, Kira Goldberg, Kevin Messick, and Paul Guilfoyle attend the "Don't Look Up" World Premiere
Getty Images for Netflix

Aside from a noble premise, the film also boasts one of the most star-studded casts in years (turns out even wealthy, comfortable actors were itching to get back out there post-lockdown).

From stars Leo and J-Law (who apparently shot half the film toothless) to Meryl-Streep-as-President (yes, please) - we’ve rounded up some of the biggest names involved to save you all that mid-watch Googling. In other words, Don’t Look Up the cast - we’ve already done it for you.

Jennifer Lawrence

NIKO TAVERNISE/NETFLIX

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, McKay revealed that he actually created the film with J-Law in mind. “I’ve been a giant fan since she first came on the scene and she just straight up makes me laugh. So I wrote this role for her. She was the first actor in.”

Lawrence plays the part of Dr. Kate Dibiasky, an Astronomy grad student who, along with her professor, discovers a comet hurtling towards earth.

Speaking at the New York premiere, Lawrence revealed an unexpected hurdle while filming: “I lost a tooth pretty early in the filming and I couldn’t go to the dentist until the end of the movie, so I had to film most of the movie toothless. That was my personal challenge.”

Leonardo DiCaprio

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Leo plays the role of Lawrence’s professor, Dr. Randall Mindy. Together, the pair embark on a chaotic media tour which sees them try to explain the concept of impending doom to almost every other character in the film.

Eco-activist DiCaprio also joined the cast early on, lured in by the environmental story of the script.

“I knew when I read his script that it was incredibly unique, as it struck an important chord concerning the modern world we live in,” he explained to People magazine. “Adam has woven an incredibly timely message about society, how we communicate, our current priorities, and the climate crisis into an absurdly funny yet important movie.”

Meryl Streep

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Meryl Streep just seems like one of those people you could trust to run a country. As President Orlean in Don’t Look Up, though, would that trust would be sorely misplaced.

Speaking to the LA Times, McKay said of her character: “What I wanted to do with Orlean, and what I talked to Meryl about, was I wanted her to be a kind of a stew of all the disastrous presidents we’ve had.”

“So she’s kind of a mixture — definitely of Donald Trump, in how narcissistic and self-serving and shortsighted she is, but there’s also plenty of Bill Clinton in there, as far as the double-talk and the polish. There’s plenty of George W. Bush, in the sense that she’s utterly underqualified for the job. There’s a little pinch of Obama, his kind of smooth celebrity thing. Plenty of Ronald Reagan, empty suit performative kind of stuff. So it’s a little bit of all of it. That’s why we put the picture of her hugging Clinton in.”

Mark Rylance

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Rylance stars as tech billionaire Peter Isherwell, and was “the last but certainly not least person in the door,” according to McKay.

“One of the hardest characters in this movie is the tech billionaire Peter Isherwell only because, once again, the real tech billionaires are so extreme and bizarre. In the case of such overt super villains like Mark Zuckerberg, it was really hard to fictionalise these people without it just looking like a 1960s DC comic book.”

“I’ll never forget the day we officially knew Mark Rylance was in. Meryl Streep and Leonardo DiCaprio were both near me when I said, oh, Rylance is in, Meryl Streep went, yes! And pumped her fist. Leo said oh, I can’t believe it. So, if you want to find out who the actor is that gets two of the greatest actors on the planet excited, it’s Mark Rylance.”

Jonah Hill

NIKO TAVERNISE/NETFLIX

Hill plays Jason Orlean, President Orlean’s son and Chief of Staff. “I had to have him play Jason,” explained McKay. “No one else could have played that role.”

Speaking of an early scene in the film, a surreal back-and-forth in the Oval Office which was largely improvised, he added: “Jonah Hill is one of the great film improvisers, and that was inspiring to Jen and Leo to throw stuff in, and Rob Morgan too. We shot that scene for two days and the first cut was 16 minutes long and I never got tired of watching it.”

Timothée Chalamet

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The omnipresent man of the moment, Chalamet has added yet another string to his bow with the part of Yule.

It’s not entirely clear what this role will involve, but images have been released of a scene in a supermarket and a kiss with Lawrence herself, so it’s fair to say it will probably be quite varied.

Ariana Grande and Scott Mescudi (AKA Kid Cudi)

NIKO TAVERNISE/NETFLIX

As well as collaborating on a single for the soundtrack, both musicians also star in the film as - well, musicians. Grande plays Riley Bina, a pop star, and Mescudi appears as DJ Chello.

Lawrence has since admitted to going full fangirl over Grande while on set: “I’ve since reflected on my behaviour with Ariana Grande. I went full radio contest winner. I was so excited and nervous that at one point, I just kind of walked into her hotel room and sat down. I’ve just been thinking about it a lot lately.”

Cate Blanchett

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Blanchett takes on the role of Brie Evantee, a morning talk show host who laughs off news of the earth’s imminent destruction. As you do.

Ron Perlman

NIKO TAVERNISE/NETFLIX

We told you Hellboy would come into the mix sooner or later! Perlman appears as Colonel Ben Drask.

With Tyler Perry, Chris Evans, Matthew Perry, Rob Morgan, Himesh Patel, Tomer Sisley, Melanie Lynskey, Gina Gershon, Michael Chiklis, and Paul Guilfoyle also starring, Don’t Look Up promises to be an extremely glitzy affair. Perhaps that’s what the climate crisis needs?

Don’t Look Up is released in cinemas on Friday December 10 and will be available on Netflix from Christmas Eve

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