For audiences looking to see a compressive list of the cast and characters of A Haunting in Venice, this is the perfect place.
Kenneth Branagh’s Hercule Poirot has already solved two big cases in theaters: Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile. This time around, the famous detective is set to ruin another killer’s day—maybe.
After a séance in the middle of Venice, someone is murdered, leading many to think it is the work of evil spirits residing in the Palazzo. Or maybe it’s a good old-fashioned ghost? Hopefully, Poirot can solve the case.
Cast & Characters of A Haunting in Venice
Kenneth Branagh - Hercule Poirot
A Haunting in Venice introduces a different leading detective than audiences might remember from previous adventures. This time, following the misery and destruction from World War II, Hercule Poirot has returned to Venice and shut himself off from the rest of the world.
He’s only brought back into the fray thanks to an old friend, Ariadne Oliver, who convinces him to help her figure out the tricks of a possible medium.
In a press kit released for the film and obtained by The Direct, Kenneth Branagh, who brings Hercule to life, explained how his character is “interested in the seven deadly sins and how they can be avoided:”
“Poirot is always searching for some kind of meaning in the vast scheme of things, but his fascination is always with the smallest detail… he also tries to be a better human and to understand whether there is really any hope for us at all. And to do that, you have to engage with human behavior, sometimes very difficult human behavior. So he continues, despite himself, to be utterly fascinated by the human condition and why and how people will do things through love, greed, lust, and power, and sometimes cruelty, and sometimes forgetfulness, and sometimes recklessness; he continues to be interested in the seven deadly sins and how they can be avoided.”
Branagh also serves as the director for A Haunting in Venice and has a long resume in the industry.
As an actor, he’s appeared in Oppenheimer, Tenet, Dunkirk, and plenty more. Branagh also directed a handful of films, including the last two Agatha Christie movies, 2011’s Thor, Belfast, and Artemis Fowl.
Tina Fey - Ariadne Oliver
Ariadne Oliver is an old friend of Hercule Poirot—they’ve known each other since the ‘30s, though they hardly see one another anymore. The character is actually loosely based on Agatha Christie herself and has appeared in six of the author’s books.
In Haunting, Tina Fey’s character visits Poirot to ask for his help in cracking the secret behind an established medium named Joyce Reynolds. Oliver believes that if Hercules Poirot can be stumped by this possible supernatural performance, then she just might have her next book idea.
Fey described her character in the press kit as “a desperate female writer” who has come to Poirot to try and pull him into a new tale:
“She is a desperate female writer, which is sort of a wheelhouse that I am already inhabiting… [Kenneth Branagh] described her as a fast-talking American, which are the only two skills I can bring to a movie: that I can talk fast, and I am an American… [Ariadne’s] last three books have not been hits. She has tried to step away from the Poirot character but hasn’t been able to write anything good without him, so she’s come back to try to pull him into a new story.”
Many likely know Tina Fey’s work on 30 Rock, but she’s also been in projects such as Only Murders in the Building, Soul, and Saturday Night Live.
Camille Cottin - Olga Seminoff
Olga Seminoff is Rowena Drake’s loyal housekeeper who has worked with the family for a long time. She was very close with Rowena’s daughter, who passed away before the movie's events.
Talking about the character in the film’s press kit, Camille Cottin noted that Olga “is full of contradictions” and that “God still has a very important place in her heart:”
“Olga is an interesting character because she is full of contradictions… She expresses herself in Latin because she’s had more than a religious education. She’s been to a convent where she used to be a nun, but she left when she fell in love with the guy who came and fixed the roof, Mr. Seminoff. But God still has a very important place in her heart… Olga is very direct, and she always finds reasons for doing what she does.”
Cottin can also be seen in Call My Agent!, House of Gucci, and Star Wars: Visions.
Kelly Reilly - Rowena Drake
Rowena Drake is a retired opera singer who hosts a Halloween party at her palazzo for the local orphan children. She is also haunted by the early death of her daughter, which occurred before the events of the film.
In the movie’s press kit, according to Reilly, Alicia Drake “became very sick” after a failed engagement to a man she loved, a relationship that Rowena “didn’t agree with:”
“What we know about her daughter Alicia is that she was incredibly loved by her mother, and they had a very special, beautiful relationship, almost like sisters… Alicia became sort of lovelorn and sick after a failed engagement to a man that she loved, Maxime, and it was an engagement her mother didn’t agree with. She was convinced Maxime was just out for money and advancement and ambition, not love. Maybe she was right, maybe she wasn’t, but it is up to the audience to decide for themselves. But the engagement was called off, and Alicia became very sick as a result.”
Audiences will likely recognize Reilly from her performances in the Yellowstone television series and the 2005 Pride & Prejudice movie.
Jamie Dornan - Dr. Leslie Ferrier
Jamie Dornan plays Dr. Leslie Ferrier, the Drake family doctor who cared for Rowena’s daughter shortly before her passing. While Ferrier used to be fantastic in his craft, his experience serving as a military doctor in WWII left him with debilitating PTSD.
Ferrier also has a 10-year-old son who ends up taking care of his father more than the other way around.
Dornan shared in Haunting’s press kit that his character is “a pretty fractured guy” who is “riddled with PTSD:”
“He’s a pretty fractured guy… He has lost a lot, but is clinging on, and the things that keep him going are his son, Leopold, and his love for Rowena Drake. He has this fierce sort of infatuation with her, and she has him wrapped around her little finger. So, there’s a bit of desperation to him because he has very little confidence, is riddled with PTSD, and is very jumpy.”
Jamie Dornan is best known for his work in the Fifty Shades of Gray franchise. He recently appeared in the Netflix movie Heart of Stone and the Max original series The Tourist.
Jude Hill - Leopold Ferrier
Leopold Ferrier is a 10-year-old kid who might be more wise and experienced than his age lets on. He’s close to his father, who the kid often has to take care of due to his dad’s PTSD.
Jude Hill, who portrays the young character, noted in the project’s press kit that Leopold “is very mature and prides himself on his intelligence” and that he “is his [father’s] caretaker:”
“He is very mature and prides himself on his intelligence. He knows he’s pretty smart, and I love that about him… The dynamic between him and his father is quite unusual. I like to think of it as Leopold being the adult in the relationship and his father being the child. Leopold is his caretaker if you will. He always has the pills, and if his dad feels a bit iffy, he always asks his dad, ‘Do you want to go? Do you need a pill?’ He is always thinking of his dad.”
Some of Hill’s previous work includes Magpie Murders and Mandrake.
Michelle Yeoh - Joyce Reynolds
Michelle Yeoh’s Joyce Reynolds is invited by Rowena Drake to host a seance at her palazzo on Halloween. She’s also the medium whose tricks Ariadne can’t figure out—leading her to involve Kenneth Branagh’s leading detective.
Interestingly, Joyce also served as a war nurse during WWII, just like Poirot himself.
In one of Yeoh’s quotes included in the film’s press kit, the actress teased how “They are two souls who recognize one another… They both live with a lot of love and a lot of regret.”
Michelle Yeoh has a long-established career, with recent entries including Crazy Rich Asians, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Everything Everywhere All at Once, and more. According to IMDb, some of her upcoming roles include the next three Avatar movies.
Ali Khan - Nicholas Holland
Ali Khan serves as an assistant for Nichelle Yeoh’s Joyce Reynolds alongside his sister, Desdemona Holland.
In the movie’s press kit, the actor shared that he “came to see Nicholas as someone who has spent his whole life as prey:”
“[Nicholas Holland] is a Romani or a Sinti person… I did a lot of research into the Romani holocaust and came to see Nicholas as someone who has spent his whole life as prey. Both he and his sister have been through a lot of stuff, so there’s a lot of trauma there, and pain and anguish, in him especially.”
Khan’s previous work includes 6 Underground, Halo, and The School for Good and Evil.
Emma Laird - Desdemona Holland
Desdemona Holland and her brother work with Joyce Reynolds, who is the medium Hercule Poirot is initially tasked with debunking.
Emma Laird shared in Haunting’s press kit that “Desdemona takes on the public-facing role” during their work with Joyce Reynolds and that the two siblings “look out for each other:”
“Desdemona takes on the public-facing role. She’s the one who does the séance, whereas [her brother] is very much in the shadows, but he always makes sure she is warm and comfortable, so it’s almost like they look out for each other.”
Laird also plays a key role in the television series Mayor of Kingstown and recurred in Apple TV’s recent show The Crowded Room.
Kyle Allen - Maxime Gerard
Maxime Gerard is a chef from Manhattan who comes off like a pompous prick to most who meet him. He was once set to marry Alicia Drake but ended up breaking off the engagement.
Kyle Allen admitted in the movie’s press kit that his character “is a bit of an unkind, pompous individual” but that the rough exterior is “just a shell for a much more interesting character:”
“Maxime was engaged to Alicia Drake, but then he broke it off because Alicia and Rowena had a very close relationship, and he felt pushed out of that… So he left, and then, when he came back to rectify his mistake, Alicia was already dead as a result of a prolonged illness… He did love her… When we first meet him, he is a bit of an unkind, pompous individual, which is ultimately just a shell for a much more interesting character… But he definitely carries himself in a sort of brash, unkind way.”
Kyle Allen can also be seen in West Side Story, American Horror Story, The Greatest Beer Run Ever, and Hulu’s The Path.
Riccardo Scamarcio - Vitale Portafoglio
Vitale Portafoglio is a retired policeman who serves as Hercule Poirot’s bodyguard when the events of A Haunting in Venice begin. Despite being close to the detective in that regard, it doesn’t keep Poirot from forming suspicions he might be involved in some way in the grim events that unfold—as he does for nearly every member of the film’s ensemble cast.
Many might recognize Riccardo Scamarcio from his role in John Wick: Chapter 2 or Master of None.
Rowan Robinson - Alicia Drake
Alicia Drake is the daughter of Rowena Drake, who died before the events of A Haunting in Venice. Before passing, many believed she was losing her mind due to evil spirits within the palazzo.
While she may be dead before the film begins, Alicia still manages to play a vital part in the events of Hercule Poirot’s next case.
Robinson’s only previous work included three shorts in 2022 titled The Fight in the Dog, Am I Who, and Gym.
Amir El-Masry - Alessandro Longo
Amir El-Masry’s Alessandro Longo appears in a small role in the movie. He is a man hoping to get Hercule Poirot’s attention to help solve a personal mystery within his family.
El-Masry recurred across several episodes for shows like Age Before Beauty and Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan and even had a small role in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
Dylan Corbett-Bader - Baker
As his role suggests, Dylan Corbett-Bader has a brief part in the movie as a baker whom Hercule Poirot visits often while staying in Venice.
A Haunting in Venice is now playing in theaters.
