Wes Anderson’s whimsical adaptation of The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar sees the quirky auteur teaming up with such renowned actors as Benedict Cumberbatch. Clocking in at just 39 minutes, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar is the first of a series of shorts that Anderson has made for Netflix, all based on Dahl’s work. It revolves around a vain, self-centered, very wealthy Englishman named Henry Sugar who learns of a man who has trained himself to see without his eyes. Sugar teaches himself this ability so that he can cheat casinos out of large sums of money by reading cards he can’t see.
The cast of The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar is full of recognizable faces playing multiple roles. As usual, Anderson populated this movie with colorful characters. This includes, of course, the self-obsessed Sugar and the man whose wisdom teaches him to see without his eyes, but it also includes a fast-talking doctor, a sage guru, and even Dahl himself in the framing narrative. The movie features some actors that Anderson has worked with before, like Grand Budapest Hotel star Ralph Fiennes, as well as a few actors who have never worked with Anderson before, like Cumberbatch, Dev Patel, and Ben Kingsley.
Benedict Cumberbatch As Henry Sugar
The title character of Henry Sugar, a wealthy narcissist who uses his newfound ability to see without his eyes to cheat in card games, is played by Benedict Cumberbatch. Cumberbatch is best known for playing a modern-day incarnation of Sherlock Holmes in the hit BBC series Sherlock and the sorcery-wielding superhero Doctor Strange in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He has received two nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actor, for playing Alan Turing in The Imitation Game and Phil Burbank in The Power of the Dog. Cumberbatch also played John “Khan” Harrison in Star Trek Into Darkness and dual roles as Smaug and Sauron in The Hobbit trilogy.
Ralph Fiennes As Roald Dahl / Police Officer
Roald Dahl, who appears in his famous writing hut in the framing narrative, is played by Ralph Fiennes, who also plays a police officer who reprimands Sugar. Fiennes previously worked with Anderson when he played the lead role of M. Gustave in The Grand Budapest Hotel. He also played Voldemort in the Harry Potter movies and M in the James Bond franchise. Fiennes has been nominated for two Oscars; he received a Best Supporting Actor nod for his chilling performance as Nazi war criminal Amon Göth in Steven Spielberg’s Holocaust drama Schindler’s List, and a Best Actor nod for playing Count Almásy in The English Patient.
Ben Kingsley As Imdad Khan / Croupier
Ben Kingsley plays dual roles in The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar. His most important role is Imdad Khan, the man who learned to see without his eyes, but he can also be seen playing a croupier in the casino. Kingsley won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Mahatma Gandhi in the biopic Gandhi. He has played Trevor Slattery in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, starting with Iron Man 3, and provided the voice of Bagheera in Disney’s live-action remake of The Jungle Book. He also played Itzhak Stern in Schindler’s List and Dr. John Cawley in Shutter Island.
Dev Patel As Dr. Z.Z. Chatterjee / John Winston
Dev Patel appears in the cast of The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, also playing dual roles: Dr. Z.Z. Chatterjee, who records Imdad Khan’s story for a medical journal, and John Winston, Sugar’s accountant who contacts Dahl after Sugar’s death. Patel got his breakout with the role of Jamal Malik in Slumdog Millionaire, for which he received a BAFTA nomination. He has since played Prince Zuko in The Last Airbender, Sonny Kapoor in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel movies, Saroo Brierley in Lion, and Gawain in The Green Knight.
Richard Ayoade As Dr. Marshall / Yogi Hardawar
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar also features dual performances by Richard Ayoade, who plays Dr. Chatterjee’s colleague Dr. Marshall and the wise guru Yogi Hardawar. Ayoade is best known for playing geeky I.T. technician Maurice Moss in the classic British sitcom The I.T. Crowd, which earned him a BAFTA Award for Best Male Comedy Performance, as well as hosting the documentary series Travel Man. His other movie roles include Jamarcus in the sci-fi comedy The Watch, Patrick in the two-part drama The Souvenir, and Professor Rupert Marmalade IV in the animated heist movie The Bad Guys.
