Warning: This article contains spoilers for Don't Look Up.
Adam McKay's eighth directorial effort, Don't Look Up is a scathing satire about a comet that's about to hit the Earth. The movie features a collection of ridiculous and over-the-top characters who make things interesting and, in some cases, frustrating.
Some of these figures are intentionally stupid to drive the movie's central theme of incompetent people in powerful positions. However, others are very capable, even intelligent, and display their considerable abilities several times throughout the story, giving audiences someone to root for in this chaotic and decidedly bleak film.
Benedict Drask
The ever-underrated Ron Perlman, best known for his roles in many of Guillermo del Toro's best movies, plays a small but pivotal role in Don't Look Up. The actor portrays Benedict Drask, a rude and inappropriate ally to Orlean's campaign tasked with piloting the spacecraft meant to divert the comet away from Earth.
Drask is a caricature of a very specific kind of man: He's crude, intolerant, inappropriate, and outright ignorant. Other characters excuse his actions by claiming he's "from another time," thus enabling his behavior. Drask is loud and dumb, and the fact he manages to stand out in a movie full of loud and dumb characters is truly impressive.
Jason Orlean
Jason is President Orlean's son who serves as the White House's Chief of Staff. He's clearly incompetent and unfit for his job and does not attempt to hide it because he knows his mother will back him up. However, he's also tremendously dependent on her as a result, to the point where he refuses to leave the control room as the comet approaches, thinking his mother will come back for him despite her already being aboard the ship that will take her to safety.
Played by one of Leonardo DiCaprio's best co-stars, Jonah Hill, Jason is a mockery of nepotism and privilege. He's dense and uninterested in fixing it, making him the worst possible person to hold such a crucial job.
Yule
Timothée Chalamet had an incredible year between Dune and The French Dispatch. Now, he adds Don't Look Up to close with a bang. The Oscar-nominee arrives late into the movie, playing Yule, a rebellious teenager who begins a relationship with Jennifer Lawrence's Kate.
Yule is one of Timothée Chalamet's most likable characters, but there isn't much to him. He's understanding and supportive but gets very little time to show his potential. He does help Kate out of her funk but remains somewhat one-dimensional during his time in the story.
Riley Bina
Ariana Grande returns to acting with a brief but hilarious part in Don't Look Up. She plays Riley Bina, a famous pop star whose breakup gains more attention than news of the comet. She later joins the Just Look Up movement, even writing a song in support.
Riley is vain but well-meaning. Initially, she is more concerned about her new single, her breakup, and the manatees, but she eventually becomes an ally to the scientists. She might not be precisely bright, but she does her part to help, which is more than can be said from many of the film's other characters.
Janie Orlean
Meryl Streep, acting institution and most nominated actress in Oscar history, plays President Janie Orlean in Don't Look Up. She is selfish and cares only about securing her place in power. At first, she doesn't even believe the comet is coming and later sees it as an opportunity to increase her popularity in the polls.
Janie might be despicable, but she's also cunning. She uses the comet to improve her standing and even succeeds in recovering the public's trust after a sex scandal leaves her reputation in shambles. Don't Look Up makes no effort to hide Janie's incompetence, but it also displays her ability to use those around her, making her an unexpected threat.
Brie Evantee
Two-time Academy Award winner Cate Blanchett plays Brie Evantee in Don't Look Up. She is the co-host of a massively successful talk show, The Daily Rip, who first interviews Randall and Kate and later begins an affair with the former.
It might be easy to discard Evantee as a superficial character, but there's more to her than just looks and pleasure. Blanchett expertly peels out Brie's layers, playing her as someone who's in complete control of the situation. She knows the game and how to play it and manipulates those around her to get her way without showing her true intentions.
Kate Dibiasky
Don't Look Up features Jennifer Lawrence's grand return to acting after a two-year break. She portrays the female lead, Kate, a doctorate candidate who first discovers the comet while making routine observations. Kate is one of the Just Look Up movement's most prominent voices, which gets her banned from public appearances.
Kate is one of the film's most brilliant characters. Her cynicism helps her stay on track of what's important, unlike Randall, who loses his way rather quickly. Kate is also very perceptive and curious, unafraid to stand her ground and speak her mind when she feels something is wrong.
Dr. Randall Mindy
Like Lawrence, Leonardo DiCaprio took a two-year break from acting following Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. In Don't Look Up, he plays the male lead, Dr. Randall Mindy, an anxious and weak-willed low-level astronomer who quickly becomes a pawn in the government and BASH's campaign to mine the comet.
Mindy isn't one of Leonardo DiCaprio's most heroic characters, but he isn't a villain either; he's just weak. Still, he's a very intelligent and tenured professor at Michigan University who single-handedly calculated the meteor's trajectory and route. Mindy won't earn any points for fidelity or morality, but he's still clever enough to see the light at the end of the day.
Peter Isherwell
For all terms and purposes, Peter Isherwell is Don't Look Up's primary antagonist. He's the billionaire CEO of BASH, who convinces President Orlean to abort the efforts to divert the comet and instead proceed with a mission aimed to mine the comet's many valuable minerals.
Academy Award-winner Mark Rylance plays Isherwell with annoying pleasantness. Isherwell is clearly intelligent, but what makes him all the more dangerous is his ability to exploit people's insecurities and use them in his favor. Isherwell is tremendously perceptive, calculating, and ruthless, making him the ideal villain.
Dr. Teddy Oglethrope
Teddy Oglethrope is the head of the Planetary Defense Coordination Office and one of the first people to know about the comet. He stays on the right side of the battle, being vocal about the comet's danger despite being constantly sidelined by the people in power.
Played by Rob Morgan, Teddy is Don't Look Up's most likable character. As it turns out, he's also the most intelligent. He stays focused on what's important (stopping the comet) without getting distracted by the noise around him. Teddy proves his brilliance time and again, and he stands out even more amid the utter incompetence that surrounds him.