Being one of the most notable burgeoning directors of the modern era, Yorgos Lanthimos‘ films have seen plenty of critical acclaim in recent years. With instant hits such as Poor Things, The Lobster, and The Favorite, Lanthimos has rocketed to stardom with his notable style of black comedy, often surrounding topics that feel almost dystopian in nature. His most recent film Kinds of Kindness, was released in June of this year and included stars such as Emma Stone, Hunter Schaffer, and Willem Dafoe.
Unique both in storytelling and presentation, Lanthimos’ films are often comedic in nature, with a certain uncanny and uncomfortable element to them. The actors he chooses for these projects are often known for their experience in these sorts of films, indie or otherwise, taken from a wide variety of different genres. Because of this, it is surprising that he hasn’t worked with the actors listed below, and a film collaboration between them and Yorgos Lanthimos is certain to be explosive.
10 Christian Bale
He Has Experience In Both Small And Big Budget Movies
Christian Bale is known best for his incredible performances in The Dark Knight Trilogy and American Psycho, but he also has a track record of giving his all to even his smallest performances. He changed his body to drastic proportions for The Machinist and Vice, and he brings a certain sort of dedication to all of his roles. This sort of dedication would be well-founded in a Lanthimos film, films that are so well known for their intense storylines and recognizable characters.
A team up between Christian Bale and Yorgos Lanthimos would mean one of Lanthimos’ most intense films to date. Bale would only bring out the best in these films, amplifying the often intricate and dystopian stories with his all or nothing acting style. By bringing his experience with characters such as the iconic Patrick Bateman to the table, this hypothetical film is sure to achieve critical acclaim.
9 Alex Wolff
He Has Appeared In Some Massive Films
Despite the fact he has appeared in massive films such as the Jumanji films, Pig, and even Oppenheimer, Alex Wolff is often recognized solely for his performances in two films. The first is Ari Aster’s psychological horror classic Hereditary, in which Wolff played the haunted character of Peter Graham. The second is M. Night Shyamalan’s Old, a film based on the graphic novel of the same name.
Many of the films that Wolff has appeared in have the same haunting feeling attached to them as many of the best in Lanthimos’ filmography. He would be perfect for a film like The Killing of a Sacred Deer, another classic psychological horror film that so often goes overlooked. A film like this, coupled with Wolff’s paranoid performance in Hereditary, would make for a horror film that can and will worm its way into people’s heads.
8 Tilda Swinton
Her Smaller Projects Are Some Of Her Best
Perhaps best known for her appearance as the White Witch in The Chronicles of Narnia series, Tilda Swinton has appeared in countless roles throughout the years. In fact, she has appeared in several films by a director with more than a few similarities to Yorgos Lanthimos, that being the incredible Wes Anderson. Both are known for their more eccentric styles of storytelling and incredible cinematography, with Lanthimos often being a bit darker than Anderson’s in general.
When it comes to acting, Tilda Swinton is known for taking on difficult characters that often have a mysterious side to them. This can be seen in films such as Only Lovers Left Alive, as well as the memorable We Need to Talk About Kevin, in which she plays a mother struggling with her son’s increasingly disturbing acts. With such experience in these dark and difficult films, she would be a natural pick for a Lanthimos film.
7 Mads Mikkelsen
A Lanthimos Film Could Bring Him Back To His Villainous Roots
In America, Mads Mikkelsen is best known for his performances as some of cinema’s most iconic villains. He did an incredible job as the infamous Hannibal Lecter in the television series Hannibal, and he has played villains in some of film’s most famous franchises, including Marvel, Harry Potter, and Indiana Jones.However, some of his greatest films are actually the smaller Danish films he starred in earlier on in his career, with The Hunt in 2012 possibly being the most powerful of these films.
Work on a Lanthimos film could bring him back to this era of his filmmaking career, an era more centered around experimental filmmaking and moving stories. This could not only change the more American perception of Mikkelsen as an actor typecast as the villain, but also display his amazing range. Mikkelsen’s talent is more than just the cold villains he so often portrays, and a Lanthimos film would be the perfect opportunity to explore that.
6 Nicolas Cage
Recent Years Show Cage Trying New And Experimental Films
Known for his often zany and energetic acting, Nicolas Cage is an actor that can only be described as unique. He is not afraid to branch out of his comfort zone, and because of this, he has starred in everything under the sun from safe classics such as National Treasure to more eclectic films such as the new horror film Longlegs and the incredibly self-aware The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. Even his older films hold up today, with Vampire’s Kiss reaching the status of cult-classic and Adaptation being a grounded look into the life of screenwriter Charlie Kaufman.
Nicolas Cage has appeared in so many different roles across so many films that he really is a bit of a jack of all trades. No matter what sort of film Lanthimos could come up with, whether it leans into his more surrealist tendencies or not, Cage would fit the bill for nearly anything. Whether the role calls for one of Cage’s more enthusiastic performances or something more character-driven, Cage would be an incredible addition to a film that will likely retain the more indie feel that Lanthimos is so well known for.
5 Emma Corrin
They Brought Out Their Villainous Side In Deadpool & Wolverine
Another actor with incredible range, Emma Corrin is only just starting to achieve the levels of acclaim that they deserve. Corrin previously starred in The Crown as Princess Diana, and this was their most recognizable role until playing the part of the villain Cassandra Nova in 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine. Not only did they show with this performance that they are more than their performance as the late Princess Diana, but they also brought their acting to an even wider audience.
Now with an upcoming performance in Nosferatu, a remake of the 1922 original, Corrin is showing a willingness to partake in gothic horror. While Lanthimos’ films are not gothic horror per se, films like The Lobster are an examination of the dark side of human nature that can so often be found in gothic literature, using horrendous monsters such as vampires as a stand in for humanity itself. As an actor capable of playing a character as heinous as Cassandra Nova, they would be perfectly capable of portraying the big personalities so often present in Lanthimos’ films.
4 Assad Zaman
Interview With The Vampire Shows The Actor’s Incredible Talents
Although he has been acting since 2013, most of Assad Zaman’s performances have been on the stage. It wasn’t until 2022 with the release of AMC’s Interview with the Vampire that viewers really found a sense of his talents as an actor. Playing the role of the vampire Armand, Zaman not only embraces the terrifying manipulative nature of the character, but also the undertones of trauma and that lie beneath the surface.
Lanthimos’ films often revolve around characters with complex personalities and motivations. These personalities are often juxtaposed against absurdist backgrounds, with The Favourite being an excellent example of this. Even with his breakout performance, Zaman has displayed a mastery of this sort of character work, and it would be a treat to see him in a future Lanthimos film.
3 John David Washington
His Acting Performances Stand On Their Own Two Feet
Son of the Hollywood superstar Denzel Washington, John David Washington has sporadically appeared in films and television since 1992. However, he started to gain critical acclaim with performances in the HBO series Ballers, as well as the starring role as Ron Stallworth in the insightful biographical drama BlacKkKlansman. This acclaim would translate into mind-bending films such as Christopher Nolan’s Tenet as well as The Creator, a 2023 science fiction thriller detailing a possible future in the world of artificial intelligence.
Out of all the many ways to describe his incredible performances in these films, perhaps the most apt is that his performances have heart. John David Washington is incredible at eliciting feelings from an audience with his roles, with his performance in The Creator perhaps being one of his most emotional to date. Even though Lanthimos’ films are often absurd comedies in unrealistic worlds, they still bite down to the heart of what it means to be human with emotional throughlines that hit hard.
2 Robert Pattinson
He Is More Than Twilight And Batman
Making up the other half of Nolan’s Tenet pair, Robert Pattinson was initially considered nothing more than the actor that played Edward Cullen in the Twilight series. However, since playing Edward, he has delved into more niche roles, experimental in a way that was reminiscent of Daniel Radcliffe after the Harry Potter franchise. Since then, he has starred in films by auteur directors, with Bong Joon Ho’s adaptation Mickey 17 on the way.
Pattinson would be an incredible pick for Lanthimos’ films, as he is appearing in more and more of these experimental films. One of his best performances was in The Lighthouse, a film shot entirely in black and white, filmed with only Pattinson and the actor Willem Dafoe as the main characters. Despite what some would consider constraints, the film was an incredible testament to what can be done with film as a medium even today, something that Lanthimos challenges with his unique style and confrontational stories.
1 Dev Patel
The Green Knight And Monkey Man Were Cinematic Masterpieces
With the incredible success of his most recent film Monkey Man, Dev Patel has cemented himself not only as an incredible actor, but as an incredible writer and director as well. Previously starring in another more unique film, an adaptation of the Arthurian tale of The Green Knight, Patel is no stranger to stylistic stories that aren’t afraid of getting a little weird. Lanthimos himself is experienced with adaptations, as Poor Things was an adaptation of the original 1992 novel.
In these two movies in particular, Patel’s performances are haunting. Whether he is playing the brave Kid dead set on his quest for revenge or the cowardly Sir Gawain, he lands the characterization every single time. If he were to appear in a Yorgos Lanthimos film, he is sure to match that energy, helping Lanthimos to bring his larger-than-life characters from page to screen.
