Exclusive: Janelle Monáe Talks her Cast in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is now out on Netflix and we got the chance to hear from Janelle Monáe regarding her role in the highly-anticipated sequel. During the chat, she talked joining the cast, her love of murder mysteries, and so much more. Check out what she had to say below.

On joining the cast: “I am a fan of everybody on this stage. I think that being able to work with Rian [Johnson] is a dream. I literally just told myself if I ever had the opportunity, it’s a yes. And then after reading this script, it was a hell yes. Because this is a character that you get to play with. So many layers, so mysterious. It took a lot of focus.”

On bonding with the cast: “We had murder mystery parties, outside of filming a murder mystery. I got an opportunity to grow as an actor, I got an opportunity to also gain what I like to say family.”

On her affection for murder mystery: “I just like murder mystery parties. Hosting them, dressing up. A werewolf is one of my favorites, and an assassin is another. And I’m a villager, and I’m not.”

On shooting a cut scene with Edward Norton for the film: “It was so good. It was a performance of a cover of Bowie’s ‘Moonage Daydream.’ It’s so good.”

On performing with Norton: “He’s a great guitarist. Rhythm guitarist. He was great. We were backstage, in a green room. When he gets into anything he’s doing, he’s going to take it seriously. He was like, ‘All right, Janelle, we need to rehearse.” And I’m like, ‘Listen. Give me a couple beers, let’s do this.’”

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is out now, so make sure to let us know what you thought of the movie!

*This interview has been edited for length and clarity

Photo: Eric Charbonneau/Netflix