Poker Face's "The Big Pump" Guest Stars Explained: Jason Ritter, Method Man & More
Poker Face's latest Season 2 episode is pumped full of celebrity guest stars.
As we near the end of Poker Face Season 2 on Peacock, Charlie Cale (Natasha Lyonne) just wants a moment to breathe. She’s made it to New York, hoping the rush of the city will drown out the chaos of her life. She’s prioritizing self-care, which mostly means avoiding bullets, and she might even start going to the gym in Season 2, Episode 10, “The Big Pump.” But first, she needs to fix her neck.
Of course, it wouldn’t be Poker Face without a guest cast of helpful characters, notable victims, and recognizable culprits played by some of your favorite celebrities. Let's take a closer look at Poker Face's new guest stars this week!
RELATED: Poker Face Director Adam Arkin Takes Us Inside Season 2's "Sloppy Joseph" (EXCLUSIVE)
Meet the guest stars of Poker Face, Season 2, Episode 10, "The Big Pump"
Patti Harrison as Alex on Poker Face
Charlie wakes to the hum of 8 million people or so, stretches, and pulls something in her neck. Slowly, and carefully, she makes her way to a coffee shop where she runs into Alex (Patti Harrison).
Charlie and Alex ran into each other at the coffee shop once before, in Episode 9, “A New Lease on Death.” Alex paid for Charlie’s coffee, and this morning Charlie is returning the favor. A flyer for local gym The Brick House offers spinal alignment, among other services, so Charlie takes her coffee to go and Alex tags along.
Harrison is a comedian and actor with appearances in Broad City, She Hulk: Attorney at Law, and I Think You Should Leave with Tom Robinson, among others. She’s been the voice of animated characters on television in Bojack Horseman, Bob’s Burgers, Tuca & Bertie, Adventure Time: Distant Lands, The Great North, and films including Raya and the Last Dragon and Trolls Band Together.
Cliff “Method Man” Smith as Frank “Brick” Bricatino on Poker Face
Charlie and Alex arrive at The Brick House where they meet owner and manager, Frank “Brick” Bricatino, played by Cliff “Method Man” Smith.
Brick fixes Charlie’s neck and ropes her and Alex into a 7-day trial membership at the gym, pulling them into this week’s murder mystery.
Clifford Smith Jr. is better known by his stage name, Method Man. He’s best known as a musician, both as a solo artist and part of the Wu-Tang Clan, but he’s no stranger to the big and small screens. Smith has had roles on Oz, The Wire, and The Twilight Zone (2003). He played Diego in Garden State, and made appearances in How High, The Wackness, Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, and On the Come Up.
RELATED: Every Heist Movie Reference in Poker Face’s “One Last Job” Explained
Despite engaging features like a free fitness tracker capable of detecting various workouts, tracking achievements, and sharing updates with your workout buddies, Brick’s gym is bleeding money. Late bills and collections notices are stacking up, and he’s struggling to make ends meet. Meanwhile, he’s hiding all of this from his wife and partner Lily (Natasha Leggero).
Natasha Leggero as Lily Bricatino on Poker Face
Brick keeps the gym afloat (barely) by selling “the good stuff,” which is actually human breast milk pilfered by his partner Lily Bricatino, played by standup comedian and actor Natasha Leggero.
You’ve seen Leggero on three episodes of Reno 911! and as Emma Parker on NBC’s Free Agents. She played Amber in He’s Just Not That Into You, Nikki Natoli in Are You There, Chelsea?, and made guest appearances in Community, Arrested Development, The League, Key and Peele, Superstore, and more. If you’re a fan of animation, you may have heard Legerro on Ugly Americans, Lucas Bros Moving Co, and Brickleberry.
Jason Ritter as Rodney Schomburg on Poker Face
The situation at The Brick House is fickle and the whole enterprise is ready to collapse around them when Brick is approached by Rodney Schomburg (Jason Ritter).
Brick sets a new gym record for the dead lift, tracked automatically on his fitness watch, while Rodney looks on, curling the world’s tiniest dumbbell. Rodney’s been working out at The Brick House for a year and he’s not getting the results he’d hoped for. That’s when he approaches Brick about the good stuff and sets in motion a fatal sequence of events.
RELATED: Rian Johnson on the Difference Between "How Catch ‘em” Poker Face & "Whodunnit" Knives Out
Ritter is the son of actors Nancy Morgan and John Ritter (Three’s Company, Problem Child, Scrubs). His first credit was playing Todd on Days of Our Lives before appearing in everything from Swimfan and Freddy vs. Jason to Person of Interest and Key and Peele. Ritter provided the voice of Dipper on beloved animated series Gravity Falls and portrayed Mark Cyr on 32 episodes of Parenthood. He's currently playing Julian Markston on the ongoing revival of Matlock, opposite series star Kathy Bates.
Poker Face Season 2 continues with new episodes every Thursday, on Peacock. Every Season 1 and Season 2 episode that's already aired is currently available for streaming.