Which Movie Has More Random Famous People, Oppenheimer or Killers of the Flower Moon ?

Two of this year’s most anticipated films—Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer and Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon—have made headlines for their ridiculously stacked rosters of actors, which mimic a who’s who of the film industry, and, more unexpectedly, the blues, country, and Americana industries. The historical epics sometimes play as if the directors threw darts at an ever-changing Wikipedia page of child actors, Oscar winners, and legendary musicians, with many of the biggest names appearing for only a single third-act scene. Perhaps the only way to ensure that the audience can distinguish between more than a dozen different white guys over the course of more than three hours is to cast a recognizable face as nearly every single one? In any case, if you, like me, wondered which movie has the most seemingly arbitrary approach to choosing its actors, look no further, because I have done the math.

Role: Senate Aide
Known for: Beautiful Creatures, Hail, Cesar!, playing Han Solo himself in Solo: A Star Wars Story
Honors: 2 Teen Choice Award nominations, 6 nominations from various critics associations
Randomness Rating: It’s fairly surprising to see an actor whose most notable roles include a Star Wars flop and YA novel adaptation take up a prominent role in a blockbuster Nolan film acting opposite the legendary Robert Downey Jr.. But it’s not that surprising when the actor in question is Ehrenreich, who is far more talented than his résumé might suggest. Hopefully Oppenheimer ejected Ehrenreich back into the mainstream since his recent falling off. 6/10

Role: Gordon Gray
Known for: Ghost, Nixon, Scandal
Honors: 2 SAG Award nominations, Peabody Award
Randomness Rating: If you pointed at the movie screen and said, “Oh hey! That’s the president from Scandal!,” you wouldn’t be alone. Though slightly odd, Goldwyn’s long career matches his important, though minimal, role as the chairman of the private hearing committee that inhibits Oppenheimer’s later career. 4/10

Role: Niels Bohr
Known for: Hamlet (1996), My Week With Marilyn, Murder on the Orient Express
Honors: Academy Award, 4 BAFTAs, 2 Emmys, 2 Olivier Awards, Grammy Nomination
Randomness Rating: You would think that one of the most acclaimed Shakespearean actors of our age would have more screen time in Oppenheimer, but instead Branagh appears only momentarily as the Nobel Prize-winning Danish physicist Niels Bohr. However, Branagh’s role still gets the drama treatment when Bohr almost eats a cyanide-laced apple, and he and Nolan must like working together: Branagh also appeared in Nolan’s last two movies, Dunkirk and Tenet, though his larger role in each of those movies was more in proportion with his stardom. 5/10

Role: Isidor Isaac Rabi
Known for: Numb3rs, The Deuce, playing Bernard the Elf in the Santa Clause franchise
Honors: Winner of our hearts.
Randomness Rating: Krumholtz’s inclusion in Oppenheimer as the conscience of the film and one of the titular physicist’s most trusted confidants is unexpected given Krumholtz’s status as a lighthearted prominent child actor (one of many in the film). Though, it seems Krumholtz has recently been taking his career more in this dramatic direction. 5/10

Role: Ernest Lawrence
Known for: Pearl Harbor, Black Hawk Down, Penny Dreadful
Honors: Understandably, a 2007 GQ Man of the Year Award
Randomness Rating: Me and just about everyone I know were not expecting one of the most promising ’90s heartthrobs to play one of Oppie’s best friends, especially after having a pretty muted career during the past couple of decades. As with Ehrenreich, this role hopefully represents the promise of more to come. 4/10

Role: Vannevar Bush
Known for: Full Metal Jacket, And the Band Played On, Stranger Things
Honors: SAG Award, Emmy Nomination, 2 Golden Globe nominations
Randomness Rating: Modine shows up intermittently throughout the film and I would say that his acting journey thus far squares up with him landing the role as one of Oppenheimer’s most important suits. 2/10

Role: Kenneth Nichols
Known for: Chronicle, Kill Your Darlings, The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Honors: An Obie Award, Gotham Award nomination, BAFTA Award nomination
Randomness Rating: As an indie darling with a near-cult following, DeHaan has a tendency to show up where he’s least expected. Nearly every blessed DeHaan sighting these days is the most unforeseen cameo, but luckily Oppenheimer features DeHaan a few times. 4/10

Role: Kenneth Bainbridge
Known for: Nickelodeon’s Drake & Josh
Honors: Kids’ Choice Award, 3 Teen Choice Award Nominations, People’s Choice Awards Nomination
Randomness Rating: As a huge fan of Peck’s early Nickelodeon work, I was shocked when one half of Drake & Josh was cast in one of the biggest movies of the year. That shock tripled when, upon watching, I saw that despite having minimal lines—as expected for an actor who often makes comedic appearances in poorly reviewed upbeat titles—Peck has perhaps the most important job in the whole movie: Pressing (or, as it turns out, not pressing) a big red button. 10/10

Role: Edward Teller
Known for: Good Time, Uncut Gems (co-director), Licorice Pizza
Honors: (As the Safdie Brothers) Critics’ Choice nomination, 6 Gotham Award nominations, 3 Independent Spirit Awards, National Board of Review Award
Randomness rating: Benny Safdie—one half of the Safdie Brothers directing duo with his brother, Josh—first captured the hearts of filmbros far and wide with his directorial efforts. But lately, he’s been making waves in the acting field as well, which makes his appearance as Oppenheimer’s frenemy par for the course. 3/10

Role: Hans Bethe
Known for: The Way Back, Vikings, Westworld—but mostly being a Skarsgård
Honors: Guldbagge Awards, European Academy’s Shooting Stars Award
Randomness Rating: Yes, that Skarsgård family. Who knew?! 5/10

Role: Seth Neddermeyer
Known for: Diary of a Wimpy Kid franchise, The 100, Okja
Honors: None … yet.
Randomness Rating: Bostick may have been booked and busy since his days in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid movies, but playing the lead character’s older brother, Rodrick, in that franchise is still his claim to fame. How his agent scored this contract we’ll never know, but fans who grew up watching Bostick since he was a teenager delighted at his casting as one of the most integral scientists to the Manhattan Project. 8/10

Role: David L. Hill
Known for: Night at the Museum franchise, Mr. Robot, Bohemian Rhapsody
Honors: Academy Award, BAFTA, Golden Globe, Emmy, SAG Award
Randomness Rating: Throughout my screening, Malek’s character—a fellow Manhattan Project scientist who worked at a different location—provided some comedic relief as he said nothing and instead just pursed his lips while offering Oppenheimer a petition to sign that Oppenheimer kept swatting away. That is, until he has a moment in the final turning point of the film that makes the inclusion of a (divisive) 2019 Best Actor winner make a lot more sense. 3/10

Role: Boris Pash
Known for: Oceans franchise, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Manchester by the Sea
Honors: Academy Award, BAFTA, Critic’s Choice Award, Golden Globe, 3 SAG nominations
Randomness Rating: Out of everyone listed so far, Affleck’s appearance in the film is handled most like a surprise treat. The well-decorated dramatic actor shows up briefly (and with much lead-up) as the sinister military intelligence officer in charge of the Manhattan Project’s security. 7/10

Role: President Harry S. Truman
Known for: Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Darkest Hour
Honors: Academy Award, 3 BAFTAs, Emmy nomination, Golden Globe, SAG Award
Randomness Rating: If you weren’t paying close attention to the neverending news of Oppenheimer’s bonkers celebrity cast before the film’s release, you might have missed the announcement that the famed British actor was slated to appear. And, even if you heard, you still might not have noticed Oldman when he did appear, under piles of makeup, to portray the 33rd U.S. President for a scene in which he delivers some of the most appalling one-liners in the film. But Oldman has appeared in Nolan’s movies since his Dark Knight trilogy—and, above all, delivering an unrecognizable performance as a World War 2 leader strikes me as a very Oldman thing to do. 3/10

Role: Prosecutor Leaward
Known for: 3rd Rock From the Sun, Dexter, Terms of Endearment
Honors: 2 Tonys, 6 Emmys, 2 Golden Globes, 3 SAG Awards, Critic’s Choice Award, 2 Academy Award Nominations, 4 Grammy Nominations, BAFTA Nomination
Randomness Rating: Seeing one of the most decorated and well-rounded actors of a generation show up for only a few minutes more than two hours into the movie, as an energized prosecutor hellbent on holding William Hale accountable for his crimes, was certainly a headturner. 6/10

Role: W. S. Hamilton
Known for: The Mummy franchise, Crash, The Whale
Honors: Academy Award, SAG Award, Satellite Award, Critics’ Choice Award
Randomness Rating: Fresh off his Best Actor Oscar win last year, Fraser makes a surprise appearance in the final scenes of the film as William Hale’s very expressive lawyer. Deciding not to publicize a previous Best Actor winner’s part in a highly-anticipated film is a choice—one that Nolan also made with Oldman—but one that had great effect when Fraser’s face popped up on screen. His exaggerated performance landed for some and not for others, but he definitely got a laugh out of my audience—however you want to take that. 10/10

Role: Bill Smith
Known for: Decoration Day (album with Drive-By Truckers), Southeastern (solo album), indirectly inspiring the “30-50 feral hogs” meme
Honors: 4 Grammys, Emmy nomination, CMA Award nomination, 9 Americana Music Awards
Randomness Rating: The well-known folk singer-songwriter doesn’t have a long history in acting, making his inclusion in Scorsese’s film—in a pivotal and hefty role, no less—an unanticipated decision. Rest assured, he carries it well. 8/10

Role: Henry Grammer
Known for: (Albums) Metamodern Sounds in Country Music, A Sailor’s Guide to Earth, Sound & Fury
Honors: A Grammy Award, 4 Americana Music Awards
Randomness Rating: The country singer has definitely begun to branch out into the acting world, with films like 2020’s The Hunt and this year’s The Creator under his belt. However, that doesn’t change the fact that he’s still best known for his music. You might think there’d be an Oklahoma connection as an explanation for these casting choices, but none of these music men are from the state. 7/10

Role: Alvin Reynolds
Known for: (Albums) Get Up!, Juke Joint Chapel
Honors: Grammy Award, 14 Blues Music Awards
Randomness Rating: Continuing Scorsese’s trend of hiring musicians as actors in Killers of the Flower Moon is Musselwhite, an integral figure in reviving the Chicago Blues movement and the alleged inspiration for Dan Aykroyd’s character in The Blues Brothers. The harmonicist has released more than 20 albums and worked with countless legendary musicians like himself. Now, he can add being in a very long movie to his list of achievements. 8/10

Role: Radio Show Actor
Known for: His work with the rock band the White Stripes, including the albums White Blood Cells and Elephant
Honors: 12 Grammys, Brit Award, Emmy nomination, 5 MTV VMAs, Satellite Award, People’s Choice Award nomination
Randomness Rating: White doesn’t have a vast filmography as an actor, but he was in Cold Mountain and Walk Hard. However, he’s still mostly known as one of rock’s big names and prolific collaborators, making his minuscule appearance at the end of Killers of the Flower Moon a Leonardo-DiCapro-pointing-meme moment. 7/10

Role: Acie Kirby
Known for: (Albums) Musicforthemorningafter, Day I Forgot, Nightcrawler 
Honors: None yet!
Randomness Rating: Surprise, surprise: another musician. As far as I can tell, this is Yorn’s first time acting and he’s not from Oklahoma, so how he ended up having a small but pivotal role as a co-conspirator in the Osage Indian Murders is beyond me. 8/10

Role: Radio Show Producer
Known for: Making tiktoks with his daughter Francesca, disliking superhero movies
Honors: Academy Award (and 13 other nominations), 4 BAFTAs, 2 DGA Awards, 3 Golden Globes, 3 Emmys, a Grammy
Randomness Rating: Scorsese shows up at the very end of the film to deliver the heartfelt ending to the stories of the real-life victims and murderers in a radio show that feels like the director is grappling with the final stages of his career. 10/10

Clearly, Oppenheimer—which has a larger cast—wins the award for Most Random White Male Celeb Appearances. But, taking the average of the Randomness Ratings, it seems that Killers of the Flower Moon takes the cake with the level of consistent Wait…is that—?! in its appearances. In fact, Killers’ cameos are nearly twice as random: Oppenheimer earned a 4.9 average score of unexpectedness, while Killers nearly doubles that with an impressive average score of 8. It’s clear that both directors have Hollywood’s finest on speed dial, but in the end, it’s Scorsese who dug a little deeper, and reached a little further afield.