Like many of director Wes Anderson's films, The French Dispatch cast remains an incredibly eclectic ensemble group, comprising some of the biggest names in the film industry. Although managing multiple famous faces is a key tenet of Anderson's work, even by his standards this new film features a mind-blowing array of talent. As a result, the cast list is in and of itself quite a substantial document. Set in the imagined French city of Ennui-sur-Blasé (which literally translates as "Boredom-on-Blasé), the film revolves around a collection of stories published by the French Dispatch office of an American newspaper.
Based on Anderson's love of The New Yorker magazine, the movie features three self-contained mini-narratives, all of which spawn from the central French Dispatch setting. Many of the stories are based on real-life articles from the actual New Yorker, such as "The Events In May" about the May 68 student occupation protests and "Days of Duveen" about the controversial art dealer Lord Duveen. Featuring Anderson's signature quirky storytelling style, The French Dispatch is a complex, convoluted, and multifaceted story. Thanks to its four separate settings, each installment of the film comes with its own array of colorful characters.
Bill Murray as Arthur Howitzer Jr.
In The French Dispatch cast, Murray plays the enigmatic editor of the French Dispatch office. Interestingly, the character is based on the New Yorker's real co-founder, journalist Harold Ross. His death is what leads the movie to tell its various stories. A veteran of Wes Anderson movies, Bill Murray has also featured in hits such as The Royal Tenenbaums and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. He is also best known for comedy roles in movies like Groundhog Day and Ghostbusters. In 2023, he ed the MCU as part of the Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania cast.
Owen Wilson as Herbsaint Sazerac
A longtime Wes Anderson collaborator, Owen Wilson is travel writer and staff member Herbsaint Sazerac in The French Dispatch cast. He took part in the main storyline as he helped find Arthur dead, but he also took part in a small quirky travelogue that separated two of the movie's stories. Wilson previously appeared in Anderson's features such as The Royal Tenenbaums and also received a co-writing credit on Anderson's 1996 movie, Bottle Rocket. In 2021, Wilson appeared as TVA agent Mobius in the Disney+ series Loki and, in 2023, starred in the movie, Paint.
Elisabeth Moss as Alumna
Elisabeth Moss had a small role in The French Dispatch cast as Alumna, a copy editor on the French Dispatch staff. Although she made her name on TV with shows such as The Handmaid's Tale and Mad Men, Moss went on to establish herself as a major big-screen presence, with acclaimed performances in hits such as The Invisible Man and Us. In 2022, she took on a starring role in the Apple TV series, Shining Girls
Jason Schwartzman as Hermes Jones
Another regular collaborator, Jason Schwartzman has appeared in no less than six Wes Anderson films, including The Darjeeling Limited, Fantastic Mr. Fox, and The Grand Budapest Hotel. In The French Dispatch cast, he plays cartoonist and newspaper staff member Hermes Jones. Away from his work with Anderson, Schwartzman is probably best known for his performances in I Heart Huckabees and Marie Antoinette. In 2022, he took on a role in the HBO comedy The Righteous Gemstones and in 2023, he returned with Wes Anderson for Asteroid City.
Tilda Swinton as J.K.L. Berensen
Tilda Swinton was part of the staff team for the paper, but she also led her own section of The French Dispatch cast in The Concrete Masterpiece. In this section, J.K.L Berensen delivers a lecture at an art gallery where she describes the art career of Moses Rosenthaler. Swinton has appeared in three other Wes Anderson projects - Moonrise Kingdom, The Grand Budapest Hotel, and Isle of Dogs, Swinton's eclectic career has seen her star in numerous major onscreen projects. In 2022, Swinton appeared in Three Thousand Years of Longing and voiced the Wood Sprite in Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio. She returns in 2023 for Anderson's Asteroid City.
Benicio del Toro as Moses Rosenthaler
Although Benicio del Toro is one of the most acclaimed and prolific actors of the last few decades, The French Dispatch cast represents his first collaboration with Wes Anderson. In the movie, del Toro appears as an incarcerated artist named Moses. He is incarcerated, but is allowed to continue painting, and he uses one of his prison guards as his muse. Beyond The French Dispatch, del Toro is known for his role as The Collector in the MCU and Alejandro Gillick in Denis Villeneuve's Sicario.
Adrien Brody as Julien Cadazio
Another frequent Anderson collaborator, Adrien Brody first worked with the director for 2007's The Darjeeling Limited. For The French Dispatch cast, Brody played Julien Cadazio, an art dealer based on Lord Duveen. He wanted nothing more than to promote Moses's artwork and make a healthy profit himself. The Pianist, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor. After The French Dispatch, Brody appeared in Blonde, See How They Run, Ghosted, and returns with Anderson in 2023's Asteroid City.
Léa Seydoux as Simone
Fresh off the back of her appearance in the James Bond hit No Time To Die, Léa Seydoux takes on a very different role in The French Dispatch cast. Seydoux plays Simone – a prison guard who simultaneously serves as Moses Rosenthaler's muse and lover while he is locked away in prison. She has also appeared in the previous Wes Anderson hit, The Grand Budapest Hotel. In 2022, she acted in David Cronenberg's Crimes of the Future and in 2023, she takes on the role of Margot Fenring in Dune: Part Two.
s McDormand as Lucinda Krementz
Serving as the main protagonist for the second story of The French Dispatch cast, Revisions to a Manifesto, Academy Award winner s McDormand plays Lucinda Krementz. She is a journalist tasked with profiling various student revolutionaries. This brings her into direct with the major players from throughout the subsection, including Timothy Chalamet's Zeffirelli. McDormand is another Wes Anderson stalwart, having previously featured in Isle of Dogs. She has also earned four Oscar wins, and in 2022 starred in the movie, Women Talking.
Timothée Chalamet as Zeffirelli
Despite in many ways being tailor-made for a Wes Anderson movie, The French Dispatch cast represents Timothy Chalamet's debut in an Anderson film. He stars as a student revolutionary, whose actions are documented by McDormand for the magazine. Chalamet himself is widely regarded as one of the most talented actors of his generation, appearing in acclaimed films such as Call Me By Your Name, Little Women, and as the lead character in Dune. He also appeared in the 2022 movie Bones and All.
