Among the many frequent actor/director pairings in Hollywood, one of my personal favorites is Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Rian Johnson. Due to there being a few exceptions (such as the filmmaker’s Breaking Bad episodes, most notably), the two-time Emmy-winning star of 3rd Rock from the Sun and the Inception cast has been involved with almost every major project by the creator of the Knives Out movies (the third of which is in development) in some capacity since his feature film debut, Brick. Speaking of the 2005 drama, what better way to begin this breakdown of every JGL role featured in Rian Johnson’s movies and TV shows so far?
Brendan Frye (Brick)
The conventions of the film noir style are so distinctly defined that you could set a story in any time period and at any place and it might still feel like a genuine contribution to the genre. The best and most evident example of this may be Brick, which stars Gordon-Levitt as teenage Brendan Frye, whose investigation of his girlfriend’s mysterious death leads to his discovery and infiltration of a dangerous mob of adolescent criminals. Don’t let Frye’s age mislead you, as his first-rate detective skills, indomitable will, and colorful manner of speaking earn him a spot alongside heroes like Philip Marlowe or Sam Spade in Johnson’s astonishing debut and one of the most unique high school movies ever made.
Bar Patron (The Brothers Bloom)
Joseph Gordon-Levitt took a step away from the spotlight for Johnson’s second feature-length effort, The Brothers Bloom, which stars Academy Award winner Adrien Brody and Mark Ruffalo as a pair of brotherly con artists whose dynamic is threatened by their lovely new target (Rachel Weisz). JGL does not even receive credit for his role in the 2008 dramedy as a man in a hat seen wandering aimlessly in the background and in a seconds-long close-up shot during a scene set at a crowded bar. However, this would end up being the first example of an ongoing challenge to spot the actor in a Johnson-helmed project in which he does not play the lead.
Joe (Looper)
For Johnson’s third film — 2012’s Looper — Gordon-Levitt would be reinstated to the leading man position, but you would be forgiven if you did not realize it was him at first. To play Joe, a hitman who specializes in taking out people sent back to his time by a futuristic mob, the actor wore make-up prosthetics to better resemble the man playing his older self: Bruce Willis, in one of his own best movies. JGL’s dedication to mimicking the appearance and mannerisms of his legendary co-star is just one of the many ways this highly inventive sci-fi thriller is one of the best time travel movies in recent memory.
Slowen Lo (Star Wars: The Last Jedi)
It is time for another edition of “Find Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the Rian Johnson Movie!” Not only is the actor’s cameo in Star Wars: The Last Jedi — Johnson’s sole contribution to the blockbuster sci-fi franchise (so far) — hard to spot with one’s eyes, but also with one’s ears as he speaks in a deep Southern twang to voice Slowen Lo, which is only his first role in the Star Wars universe, having later joined the Star Wars: Visions cast in 2021. Viewers of the 2017 film — of which JGL is a big fan — may recall seeing the red, long-faced alien from the Canto Bight sequence, during which his warning that Finn (John Boyega) and Rose (Kelly Marie Tran) have parked on a beach illegally is bluntly ignored.
Detective Hardrock (Knives Out)
JGL’s cameo in 2019’s Knives Out is only slightly easier to spot than Slowen Lo… if you can easily recognize the sound of his real voice, that is. The unseen whodunit within the whodunit that Marta Cabrera’s (Ana de Armas) sister, Alice (Shyrley Rodriguez), watches in an early scene follows an investigator named Detective Hardrock, who is accusing a suspect of a hilariously over-the-top murder that happened to be caught on “nanny cam footage.” It is none other than Gordon-Levitt providing the voice of the detective — a minor character that I would be interested to see return in more than just a vocal appearance for the mystery franchise’s upcoming third installment, even though that would mean breaking tradition.
Hourly Dong (Glass Onion)
When the sequel to Knives Out was first announced (long before it was given the title Glass Onion), one of the things we had hoped to see was a bigger role for Joseph Gordon-Levitt following his aforementioned cameo in the first film. Well, I guess you could say that we, technically, got our wish when you consider the fact that he is credited this time and that his voice can be heard far more often throughout the hit, Oscar-nominated Netflix original movie from 2022. The human-voiced “dong” that can be hear on Miles Bron’s (Edward Norton) Greek island estate at the top of every hour is portrayed by JGL — a fact that makes the running gag all the more hilariously satisfying.
Trey Mendez (Poker Face)
The most recent time that Johnson directed Gordon-Levitt in a starring role was in one of the best episodes of Poker Face — a fun throwback to murder mystery shows like Columbo that the filmmaker created himself. In the penultimate chapter of the acclaimed Peacock original series’ first season, called “Escape from Shit Mountain,” human lie detector Charlie Cale (Natasha Lyonne), finds herself, once again, stuck in the wrong place at the wrong time and, this time, with a guy (Gordon-Levitt) who should have just stayed home when his house arrest ankle bracelet malfunctioned. His A-list status aside, JGL is a standout of the Poker Face cast for his partially relatable portrayal of isolation in the opening montage and the way he taps into Trey Mendez’s more sinister side as dark secrets about him come to light.
Lest we forget, there is another actor known for his frequent collaborations with Rian Johnson (including in one of his Breaking Bad episodes) named Noah Segan. He played a foil for JGL’s roles in both Brick and Looper and can even say he has speaking parts in the movies where the other only cameos — most notably the two roles Segan has portrayed in the Benoit Blanc universe so far (Trooper Wagner in Knives Out and Derol in Glass Onion). It is always a pleasure looking forward to how Johnson will put these two into his projects next.
