Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery director Rian Johnson and actor Noah Segan revealed details about the real-life Derol, who inspired Segan's Kato Kaelin-style pothead in the murder mystery film.
Johnson's Knives Out 2 has a cast to die for, with stars ranging from Daniel Craig to Dave Bautista, Edward Nortan, and Janelle Monae. However, the scene-stealing stoner stumbling through the background of the mystery, Derol, is the character on everybody’s mind. Played by Johnson's long-term friend (and lucky charm) Segan, he infuses the movie with funny.
In the spirit of infusing murder mysteries with a little jolt of humour, Johnson created his own hanger-on of Miles Bron's (Norton) luxurious lifestyle and island living, Derol, for his longtime collaborator Segan (who also played Trooper Wagner in Knives Out), inspired by his own friend, Derol Frye. Per Variety, Johnson broke it to Frye at a barbecue they had in 2021 when he took a photo of Frye's “Little Petie & the Mean Old Men” one-off T-shirt from his garage band. When he first heard the news, and that Segan was playing the role, Frye gave a slight burn.
“I found out Noah was going to play him. And I’m like, ‘Wait, you’re going to make this dude a dork?’” Frye recalled. Johnson replied that he’d make the character the coolest one in the movie, and the real-life Frye did admit the similarities, like when he and Johnson would ride their motorcycles to go and see movies, and he’d stay over. “And then I’d be like, ‘All right dude, where do you live? I’m crashing on your couch.’ So maybe that’s part of it. And when we were kids, I had long hair, was kind of a hippie," Frye said.
Frye even added that he drinks Mexican beer these days, noting how Segan's character is always seen toting a Corona. Segan, who never met his namesake, says he based his performance on Johnson's hilarious second-hand stories about the man and what a fun-loving guy he is. It’s the type of story that is similar to the Coen Brothers basing The Big Lebowski's Dude (Jeff Bridges) on their real-life acquaintance, Jeff Dowd.
In a world where fans have even asked if Benoit Blanc could meet the Muppets, Derol is a refreshing and fun character, with Johnson’s Glass Onion entering the wider world of mystery movies with a pot-smoking hanger-on in them.
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is streaming on Netflix.
Source: Variety