Daniel Craig has been praised for his performance as Benoit Blanc in the Knives Out films, but director Rian Johnson recently shared new information that makes the character even better. Benoit Blanc is the only character in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery who returned from the 2017 original, and Craig’s embodiment of the Southern detective makes viewers glad he did. Johnson’s script for Knives Out was brilliant, but Craig brought his own flair to Blanc that elevated the material and made him all the more memorable.
Craig is likely best known for his role as the iconic titular character in five James Bond films across 15 years. This helped establish the English actor as cool, quiet, and dangerous. Thus, many were pleasantly surprised by his transformation to play the flamboyant, verbose Southerner Benoit Blanc in both Knives Out and its potentially better sequel Glass Onion. What makes Craig’s transformation even greater is the newfound knowledge that a lot of Blanc’s character was developed after Craig was cast.
Rian Johnson's Knives Out Script Work Makes Benoit Blanc More Impressive
In an interview with Queue, Johnson shared that he wrote the character of Benoit Blanc in a “vacuum” and struggled with finding his voice, saying that he “screwed himself” by “loading him up with all these quirks” that just made him “ridiculous.” While Blanc is certainly over-the-top at times in the Knives Out films, Craig brings his own unique quirks and qualities to the role that were not there in the original script of Rian Johnson’s movie. After these initial issues, he decided that whoever ended up playing Blanc would help him create the character in a collaborative effort, which is what ended up happening with Craig.
Craig brought Blanc to life in such a way that it’s hard to imagine anyone else in the role. This is perhaps best shown in Blanc’s accent, which was the only character trait given to Craig by Johnson, described as a “light southern drawl.” Craig shared on the podcast Happy, Sad, Confused that he spent months with an accent coach to relearn the accent for Glass Onion in order to “make it as grounded and as anchored in reality as possible.” His commitment to the role is evident in the final product and Blanc’s accent and syntax has spawned many impressions, but no one does it quite like Craig.
Rian Johnson's Knives out Script Comments Also Improve Glass Onion
Though Rian Johnson has a Benoit Blanc rule that means viewers will never get a prequel about the character, Glass Onion proved that there is no need for one. In Knives Out, Craig took the character on the page and breathed life into him, and took things further in Glass Onion by fleshing him out. Gradually, viewers are learning about Blanc through Craig’s character work and subtle details in the script and on-screen, such as the fact that Blanc is gay and married to Philip, played by Hugh Grant, who appears in a quick cameo in the sequel.
It’s not necessary for viewers to know Blanc’s backstory to understand him because Johnson and Craig’s work together has made who he is presently very clear, and will likely be further explored in the next installment, Knives Out 3. Not much is known about Blanc other than he is an accomplished detective, but through his mystery-solving and Craig’s line delivery, he becomes instantly recognizable and authoritative. In a film full of standout performances, Craig still managed to shine as Benoit Blanc in both Knives Out and Glass Onion, and Johnson’s script comments only elevate his work.