Wes Anderson has teamed with Netflix to release four short films based on the works of Roald Dahl – here’s every major actor and character in the cast.
With Asteroid City coming out just a few months ago, Wes Anderson is already back on our screens. Our Netflix screens, that is. In fact, he is giving us four new films, albeit short ones, based on the tales of Roald Dahl, who he hasn’t covered since his 2009 stop motion movie Fantastic Mr Fox.
The films have been released during a four day event. Not only do they feature the classic stylisms of Wes Anderson, but also a couple of actors he’s worked with before.
In fact, he has multiple actors in multiple roles for this project, which may be a little tricky to keep track of. So here’s a cast and character list to help you make sense of it all.
Contents
- Ralph Fiennes as Roald Dahl, Policeman, and Rat Man
- Benedict Cumberbatch as Henry Sugar, Max Engelman, and Harry
- Dev Patel as Dr. Chatterjee, John Winston, and Woods
- Ben Kingsley as Imdad Khan, Croupier, and Dr. Ganderbai
- Richard Ayoade as Dr. Marshall, Yogi, and Editor/Reporter
- Rupert Friend as Narrator and Claud
Wes Anderson’s Roald Dahl shorts cast & characters
We Anderson has brought four Roald Dahl short stories to Netflix over the course of four days this week. The four titles are as such:
- The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar
- The Swan
- The Rat Catcher
- Poison
To find out more about said titles, click here.
This project is interesting as it actually has the actors playing multiple roles in each short film, meaning that this cast list will be referring to multiple characters at once, along with where you might have seen the actors before.
Ralph Fiennes: Roald Dahl, Policeman, and Rat Man
Fiennes plays the narrator and actual character of author Roald Dahl in the stories Poison and The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, along with a righteously angry policeman in the latter film, and a Rat Man in The Rat Catcher, who is exactly like you’d think.
Ralph Fiennes maybe best known for his role in the Harry Potter franchise, but he also appears in other Wes Anderson film The Grand Budapest Hotel and The Menu.
Benedict Cumberbatch: Henry Sugar, Max Engelman, and Harry
Henry Sugar is the main character of the first short film, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar. He is a reformed rich boy who actually works with the makeup artist Max Engelman, as they cheat money out of multiple casinos. As for Harry, he appears in the more frightening tale poison, about a poisonous snake.
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Cumberbatch is a highly recognised actor, known for his roles in Sherlock, Doctor Stranger, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, and The Imitation Game.
Dev Patel as Dr. Chatterjee, John Winston, and Woods
Patel plays the curious Dr. Chatterjee – who shows Henry Sugar how to see without his eyes open – and serious John Winston – who helps Sugar with his scams – in The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, and he also plays the anxious yet helpful main character Woods in Wes Anderson’s final short Poison.
Dev Patel also stars in Lion, Slumdog Millionaire, and The Green Knight.
Ben Kingsley as Imdad Khan, Croupier, and Dr. Ganderbai
Ben Kingsley plays Imdad Khan and Croupier in in The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, one of whom is a man that has mastered the art of seeing with his eyes closed. His other character is Dr. Ganderbai, whom the main character of Poison turns to about his snake problem.
Ben Kingsley can also be seen in Ghandi, Schindler’s List, Shutter Island, and Iron Man 3.
Richard Ayoade as Dr. Marshall, Yogi, and Editor/Reporter
In Wes Anderson’s The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar Ayoade plays Yogi and Doctor Marshall, who studies the man who can see with his eyes closed. He also plays an inquisitive Editor/Reporter in The Rat Catcher.
Ayoade is likely best known for his role in The IT Crowd, but he can also be seen in Travel Man, and he’s also known for his directorial work with Submarine and The Double.
Rupert Friend: Narrator and Claud
Rupert Friend plays the classic Roald Dahl meta-style Narrator in the Swan, and Claud in The Rat Catcher, who is the man that has a problem with rats.
Rupert Friend also appears in Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City, as well as Pride & Prejudice, and Young Victoria.
You can read our breakdown of Poison here, and our full explanation of The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar.
