All about the new and returning stars

Anna Kendrick as Stephanie Smothers

Anna Kendrick’s career began on Broadway, where she landed a Tony nomination at age 13. She made her film debut in the culty theater-kid musical Camp (2003) before scoring a supporting role in the Twilight franchise (2008–2011) as Bella’s pal Jessica Stanley. Shortly thereafter, she was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for her electric turn in Jason Reitman’s Up in the Air (2010).

Kendrick has since indulged her mellifluous voice in projects like Into the Woods (2014) and the Pitch Perfect trilogy (2012–2017), and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy in 2020 for the Quibi series Dummy, which she also executive produced. In 2023, she directed and starred in Woman of the Hour, based on the true story of “The Dating Game Killer.”

In Another Simple Favor, Kendrick reprises her role as Stephanie, the mommy-vlogger whose knack for sleuthing has resulted in a true-crime memoir, The Faceless Blonde. As Feig previously told EW, however, things are not all well.

“She continues to be an amateur sleuth,” he explained. “She’s in a slight bit of a crisis, but she still does it. She’s just coming through something in that world that backfired on her a little bit. So we’ll meet her not on top of her game.”

Speaking at the film’s SXSW premiere, Kendrick discussed her choice of making Stephanie a bit less high-strung for the sequel. “I think on this one, I was like, if I’m going with her into certain peril, I was like, ‘Okay, I think maybe I start out not taking any of it that seriously,'” she said. “I remember I had just rewatched Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, and [was inspired by] that Robert Downey [Jr.] kind of [vibe]: ‘Yeah, there’s murder and mayhem, but I’m fine.'”

Blake Lively as Emily Nelson

Blake Lively radiated glamour as Serena van der Woodsen on Gossip Girl (2007–2012), and starred in films like The Town (2010) and The Shallows (2016). She also generated attention for her turn in last year’s It Ends With Us, which she also executive produced, though the film has been eclipsed by the legal battles between her and costar Justin Baldoni, who was also the film’s director.

“I love this character so much. It’s probably my favorite character I’ve ever been fortunate enough to play,” Lively told EW about Emily, the elegant (and dangerous) beauty she plays in Another Simple Favor and its sequel.

Lively maintains Emily’s bold aura with a wardrobe that draws the eye, a detail Feig told EW he sought to elaborate on in the sequel. ‘We didn’t want to do the same thing,” he said. “We made her suit-ing such a powerful thing in the first one because it really matched with the job she was in and the armor that she put around her. We still give our nods to the suits, but also, we are sending her into a very glamorous world. She dresses both to impress and to intimidate.”

Henry Golding as Sean Townsend

A former TV presenter, Henry Golding’s acting career took off following his starring role in the seismic Crazy Rich Asians (2018). He’s led multiple films since then, including Last Christmas (2019), Snake Eyes (2021), and The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024).

Golding returns to Another Simple Favor as Sean, Emily’s ex-husband. At the end of A Simple Favor, he was teaching at Berkeley and caring for Nicky, their son.

Sean has to come to the wedding to bring Nicky to Emily. He’s a… not happy participant in the wedding,” Feig told EW.

The director also teased a potential reunion between Stephanie and Sean, who discovered a sexual chemistry in the previous film. “Anything can happen when what happens in Capri stays in Capri — until you see the movie,” Feig said. “But all the old relationships still burn, if you will, one way or the other.”

Andrew Rannells as Darren

Grammy-winning actor Andrew Rannells has been performing since childhood, bouncing between touring theater and voiceover work on shows like Street Sharks (1994–1997). He soon became a Broadway fixture, receiving multiple Tony nominations for his work in productions like The Book of Mormon (2011) and Falsettos (2016).

He’s probably best known for playing Hannah’s bestie Elijah on 35 episodes of HBO’s Girls, but the actor has also been a fixture of series like Big Mouth (2017–present), Black Monday (2019–2021), Girls5eva (2021–2024), and Invincible (2021–2024).

Rannells, who reprises his role as Stephanie’s friend Darren, made headlines when promoting Another Simple Favor with an amusing dodge to a question hinting at Lively’s legal dramas.

When asked by the Associated Press if there were any “distractions” on set, he replied, “If you’re talking about the distractions of Allison Janney asking me to go shopping with her in the streets of Rome, I enjoyed it.”

Allison Janney as Linda McLinden

Stage and screen powerhouse Allison Janney won four Emmys for her work on The West Wing (1999–2006), two for her turn on the CBS sitcom Mom (2013–2021), and one for her recurring role on Showtime’s Masters of Sex (2013–2015). Janney also received an Academy Award for playing LaVona Golden, Tonya Harding’s mother, in 2017’s I, Tonya.

Last year, she appeared in the final season of HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm and popped up on Netflix’s buzzy series The Diplomat. She’ll next star opposite Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman in this year’s The Roses, Jay Roach’s remake of 1989’s The War of the Roses.

A new addition to the world of A Simple Favor, Janney plays Emily’s aunt, the acid-tongued Linda McLinden.

Elizabeth Perkins as Margaret McLinden

Elizabeth Perkins found early fame with her roles in About Last Night (1986) and Big (1988), and has remained a consistent presence on screens big and small. She was nominated for three Primetime Emmys and two Golden Globes for her work as Celia on Showtime’s Weeds (2005–2009), and has since appeared in hit series like This Is Us (2017–2022), Sharp Objects (2022), and Barry (2022).

Perkins plays Emily’s mother, Margaret McLinden, portrayed in A Simple Favor by Hacks actress Jean Smart. “[You] can’t replace her,” Perkins recently told Woman’s World. “She’s the queen of the universe, and the only reason she wasn’t doing it was because she was shooting Hacks.”

What was truly appealing for Perkins was the chance to perform with Janney, who plays her sister in the movie. “I didn’t feel alone coming into the sequel, because Allison Janney and I are sort of a two-hander in this one,” she said. “We’ve known each other for a long time, and we’re good friends.”

Bashir Salahuddin as Detective Summerville

Bashir Salahuddin, an actor and former Late Night With Jimmy Fallon writer, has appeared in numerous film and television roles, the most notable being HBO’s Looking (2015), Netflix’s GLOW (2017–2019), and Max’s South Side (2019–2022), which he also co-created.

Salahuddin returns to Another Simple Favor as Detective Summerville, whom he played in the previous film.

Michele Morrone as Dante Versano

Michele Morrone is an actor and pop singer, best known for starring (and stripping down) in the notorious 365 Days trilogy (2020–2022), which has been compared to the 50 Shades of Grey films. Up next, the actor is slated to star opposite Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried in Feig’s upcoming film The Housemaid.

In a recent appearance on Good Day New York, Morrone described Dante Versano, Emily’s hunky fiancé, as a man involved in shady dealings. “I read the script and I was like, ‘Again? Playing again a mafia boss? But then I got so into the character and the script and I found something that could be more interesting than the usual mafia boss.”

Speaking to the character’s roundabout arc in the film, he said, “I live in twists and turns in my real life, so I feel at home.”

Alex Newell as Vicky

Glee fans know Alex Newell as Unique Adams on the beloved Fox series (2012–2015). They continued treading the boards since the show’s bow, and in 2023 won a Tony, a Drama Desk Award, and an Outer Critics Circle Award for their turn in 2023’s Shucked, which was also nominated for a Grammy for Best Musical Theater Album.

Newell also starred on Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist (2020–2021), which is how they got on Feig’s radar. “Alex plays Stephanie’s book agent, and I’m just a huge fan of Alex Newell,” Feig told EW. “They were on my show, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist. We had this role of this book agent that was pretty funny and thought, ‘Okay, this is perfect for Alex.'”