In Hollywood, you can usually chart a sequel’s quality on a downward-sliding line graph: the higher the number after the original, the lower your expectations should be.

But Knives Out seems to be gloriously bucking that trend based on the glowing reception the third film has received from fans and critics alike.

Wake Up Dead Man sees Daniel Craig return with his usual southern drawl and thirst for a juicy murder mystery to solve. This time, it centres on a dead priest and his flock of suspicious characters, meaning we’ve got pews full of new characters to get to know.

Here’s where you’ll have seen them before.

Ever since his big breakthrough as a binge-drinking sheep farmer who falls in love with a Romanian migrant worker in God’s Own Country in 2017, it’s been an upward trajectory for Josh.

He picked up an Emmy Award for his role as Prince Charles in Netflix series The Crown and also starred opposite Anya Taylor-Joy in the 2020 adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma.

Josh had another huge moment when Challengers and its steamy tennis love triangle – completed by Zendaya and Mike Faist – became the film of 2024. With it, he accidentally ushered in the ‘hot rodent boyfriend’ movement that dominated the summer, making him a well-known face across pop culture in general.

You might have also seen Josh in the artier films La Chimera and The Mastermind, while before his big screen breakthrough, he spent three years playing Larry Durrell in the ITV series The Durrells.

Glenn is an acting legend that you’ll most definitely have come across at some point in your viewing life.

Glazing over her recent stint in Kim Kardashian legal drama All’s Fair, Glenn has been nominated for eight Oscars for her standout roles in The World According To Garp, The Big Chill, The Natural, Fatal Attraction, Dangerous Liaisons, Albert Nobbs, The Wife and Hillbilly Elegy.

Never one to fall victim to typecasting, she’s also well-loved for her depiction of Cruella de Vil in the 1990s Disney classic 101 Dalmatians and played Nova-Prime Irani Rael in Marvel superhero film Guardians Of The Galaxy.

If you’re more of a small-screen person, you might have come across Glenn on TV shows like the Emmy-winning Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story and Damages.

You’re likely to recognise Mila’s voice thanks to her ongoing voice role as Meg Griffin in Family Guy, while she rose to fame as Jackie Burkhart in That ’70s Show opposite her now-husband Ashton Kutcher.

Her big film breakthrough came with Forgetting Sarah Marshall in 2008, which she followed up with fellow comedies like Friends With Benefits, Ted and Bad Moms.

You’ll probably have seen, if not heard about, Mila in the 2010 psychological horror movie Black Swan, where she played a ballerina opposite Natalie Portman.

She’s further tested the waters with more dramatic roles, like in Four Good Days, where she played a woman struggling with drug addiction (with Knives Out co-star Glenn Close playing her mother).

Kerry is probably best known for playing powerful ‘fixer’ Olivia Pope in the political drama series Scandal, which landed her Emmy and Golden Globe nominations.

She picked up further Emmy nods for Confirmation, American Son, and drama series Little Fires Everywhere, where she starred opposite Reese Witherspoon, shaking up suburbia.

2000s film fans will recognise Kerry for her breakthrough film role as Chenille Reynolds in Save The Last Dance, while she’s also appeared in Ray, Mr & Mrs Smith, Fantastic Four, The Last King Of Scotland and Django Unchained.

You might have recently clocked Josh in Weapons, aka the best horror movie of the year, but he first became famous for appearing in the classic 1980s film The Goonies.

While he followed it up with a handful of other movies like Guillermo Del Toro’s Mimic, his portrayal of Llewelyn Moss in 2007 neo-Western No Country for Old Men is largely considered to have ushered in the second act of his career.

He went on to appear in the likes of American Gangster, Milk, Inherent Vice, Sicario, Oldboy and Dune, but swathes of people will know him as supervillain Thanos within the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Jeremy is widely known for playing Clint Barton/Hawkeye in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in films like The Avengers and the Disney+ miniseries Hawkeye.

A regular in the action world, you might have also seen him in the Mission: Impossible film series and The Bourne Legacy, while he also had a brush with a zombie apocalypse in 28 Weeks Later.

Jeremy received Oscar nominations for his roles in The Hurt Locker and The Town, but he’s also no stranger to television, having starred as Mike McLusky in Mayor of Kingstown for the past four years.

Andrew is forever known to a generation as ‘hot priest’ thanks to Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s award-winning series Fleabag.

His other TV roles include Sherlock, The Town, Black Mirror, His Dark Materials, Ripley and – most recently – Lena Dunham’s Netflix series Too Much.

Andrew has gone on to make a massive impact on the big screen with roles in Pride, Spectre and 1917. But it was his turn in All Of Us Strangers, opposite Paul Mescal, that truly set him apart, gaining serious awards attention with the pair’s portrayal of doomed lovers.

Also a big name on stage, thespians might recognise Andrew from his role in the 2019 production of Noël Coward’s Present Laughter or A Girl in a Car with a Man, both of which landed him Olivier Awards.

Cailee’s most high-profile role to date was portraying Priscilla Presley in Sofia Coppola’s 2023 biographical film, opposite Jacob Elordi as Elvis – a performance that earned her a Golden Globe nomination.

She went on to star in Civil War and Alien: Romulus while you might have also seen her in films like Pacific Rim Uprising, Bad Times at the El Royale, On The Basis Of Sex and Vice.

Over on TV, Cailee has appeared in Devs, Mare Of Easttown and The First Lady.

Daryl received a BAFTA nomination for his role as the titular sex worker in Good Luck To You, Leo Grande.

He’s also appeared in Twisters, along with Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones, and opposite Richard E. Grant in 2023 thriller The Lesson.

Peaky Blinders fans will know him as Finn Shelby’s close pal Isaiah Jesus while he had a key role in Sharon Horgan’s Apple TV+ comedy Bad Sisters and has appeared in other TV series like A Very English Scandal, Cleaning Up, The Wheel Of Time and The Woman In The Wall.

Thomas rose to fame starring in 1990s US sitcoms Wings and Ned And Stacey, with more recent TV roles including Divorce, where he starred opposite Sarah Jessica Parker as a married couple going through a knotty break-up.

He’s most known for his film roles, which include Sideways, Easy A, George Of The Jungle, Smart People while Marvel fans will know him as the villainous Sandman in the Spider-Man films.

Beginning his career in theatre, Jeffrey picked up a Tony Award for his role in the Broadway production of Angels In America, later adding an Emmy to his mantelpiece after also starring in the TV adaptation.

You might have also seen the actor in Boardwalk Empire, Westworld, The Agency or season two of The Last Of Us.

In film, he recently earned a ‘Best Actor’ Oscar nomination for his appearance in comedy-drama American Fiction.

Jeffrey has had a prolific career in movies before that nomination, having starred in other big-name productions including The Batman, The French Dispatch, Broken Flowers, The Hunger Games films, Daniel Craig’s James Bond films, and Rust.

James’ Knives Out role isn’t his first brush with the clergy, having played Pope Sixtus IV in the TV series Da Vinci’s Demons and Saint Paul in 2018 film Paul, Apostle of Christ.

On the other side of the spectrum, many will know him as pervy Uncle Geoffrey from the Bridget Jones films, while James has also appeared in Atomic Blonde, Game of Thrones, Downton Abbey and Slow Horses.

Not forgetting her role as “drunk party girl” in the Sex And The City movie, Bridget is known for comedy appearances in the likes of Inside Amy Schumer, Trainwreck and Breaking News In Yuba County.

Bridget also picked up an Emmy Award nomination for her lead role as Sam in comedy drama series Somebody Somewhere, where she played a woman who returns to her hometown to care for her dying sister.

Noah is a Knives Out regular, and also starred in the previous two films, with director Rian Johnson clearly a fan of his work as he also cast him in his movies Looper and Brick.

As well as his collaborations with Rian, Noah appeared in US soap Days Of Our Lives, comedy-horror film Blood Relatives and Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

Wake Up Dead Man is streaming now on Netflix.