Poker Face is like a step back in time in the modern age of television. The Peacock series starring Natasha Lyonne is a Columbo for the 2020s, as the mystery series opts to similarly reveal the murderer at the beginning of the episode rather than the end. And another big page that creator Rian Johnson takes out of the Columbo playbook: Bringing in a wide swath of celebrities for one-off guest appearances.
“It’s a fast-moving show, because every week is a different case,” Mary Vernieu, part of Poker Face‘s casting team, tells Paradein an exclusive interview. “And so we make a lot of lists. We know people that are right, and we also know people that Rian also likes already as actors. And so it’s really kind of a bit of a puzzle, between scheduling and creativity.”
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And the puzzle pieces involved in Season 2, which aired its first three episodes on May 8, are quite impressive. Through the first quarter of the season, we’ve seen Cynthia Erivo, Giancarlo Esposito, Katie Holmes and John Mulaney all make appearances. They’ll be joined by the likes of Margo Martindale, B.J. Novak and Sam Richardson in future episodes. Season 1 was similarly brimming with names for guest talent, including Adrien Brody, Ron Perlman, Nick Nolte, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Judith Light, the latter of whom received an Emmy for her performance.
While Poker Face has yet to be confirmed for Season 3, Vernieu and casting team member Bret Howe are “at the ready” for the call to start grabbing more names to fill out the show’s wide-spanning list of murderers and victims. In the meantime, Parade prompted both Howe and Vernieu to name their dream piece of casting for the series. And Vernieu in particular shot for the stars with her name.
Related: ‘Poker Face’s Casting Team Takes Us Inside Solving the Mystery of Their Emmy-Winning Guest Stars (Exclusive)
“My answer would be Daniel Day-Lewis,” she replied, “which is not possible.”
Indeed, the three-time Oscar winner retired for the second time from acting in 2017, following his most recent nomination for Phantom Thread. It should be noted, however, that Day-Lewis is once again coming out of retirement for the upcoming film Anenome, which he co-wrote with his son Ronan Day-Lewis. Plus, the idea of the star of There Will Be Blood and Lincoln, known for his seamless transition into incredibly different characters, going up against the self-proclaimed “bulls–t detector” of Charlie Cale would be pure kismet.
Howe has a much more realistic chance by comparison. But it also has an interesting tie to Poker Face itself.
“I mean, it’d be so cool to get like Jeff Bridges or someone like that on the show,” he says. “He would be so amazing in this world. I think there would be something really special there.”
Bridges’ role as “The Dude” in The Big Lebowski was a clear inspiration to Johnson and Lyonne when crafting Charlie for Poker Face. Much like the beloved lead character in the 1998 Coen Brothers comedy, Charlie’s lot in life has gotten her dragged into criminal enterprises, mafia families and a whole lot of death. So it would be truly incredible to have a Dude-like character, or even just Bridges himself, interacting with a form of a protegé. Just as soon as they get the blood out of the carpet.
Related: Natasha Lyonne Can’t Tell a Lie! Inside Her ‘Terror, Joy and Excitement’ on ‘Poker Face’ (Exclusive)
