Poker Face “Hometown Hero” Guest Stars Explained: Simon Rex, Ego Nwodim & BJ Novak
Let's take a look at some of the biggest names to pop up in the latest episode of Poker Face.
**SPOILER WARNING! Spoilers below for Poker Face, Season 2, Episode 5, "Hometown Hero"**
Every episode of Poker Face packs incredible guest stars into its hourlong mystery, but even by this show's standards, the latest episode of the Peacock hit is stuffed with famous faces.
"Hometown Hero," the fifth episode of the show's second season, which premiered this week on Peacock, is set at a minor league baseball park, where amateur detective Charlie Cale (Natasha Lyonne) turns up after a stray ball crashes through her window. She ends up getting a job as the Ball Girl, where she has a front row seat to the team's losing record and, eventually, a murder mystery unfolding before her very eyes.
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So, to celebrate "Hometown Hero" and its release, let's take a closer look at the biggest names in this week's Poker Face.
Poker Face Season 2, Episode 5, "Hometown Hero" guest stars, explained
Simon Rex as "Rocket" Russ Waddell: The hometown hero of the title, Russ Waddell is a minor league pitcher who was once famous for his 100-mile-an-hour fastball, making him a local celebrity and the star of his team, the Montgomery Cheesemongers. These days, though, Russ isn't the rocket he used to be, and his impending retirement leads him to hatch a scheme which turns into murder. Rex first rose to prominence as a VJ on MTV, before joining the Scary Movie franchise and the sitcom What I Like About You. More recently, he starred in Oscar-winner Sean Baker's acclaimed film Red Rocket, for which he won an Independent Spirit Award.
Brandon Perea as Felix Domingo: A hotshot young pitcher just called up to the Cheesemongers from the rookie league, Felix takes a scientific approach to make sure he has every advantage on gameday, and when it's announced that he'll replace Russ during what was meant to be the veteran's last start, it throws every plan Russ has made into question. Felix is messing with things he doesn't understand, and it could cost him big time. Perea is best-known for his work on the Netflix series The OA, and for his movie breakthrough as Angel in Jordan Peele's NOPE.
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Ego Nwodim as Gilda Deacon: The game announcer for the Cheesemongers, Gilda spends most of her time up in the broadcasting booth, where she's frequently brings snacks containing the ingredient for which the ballpark is named, Velvety Canned Cheese. It's delicious, but it also has some interesting side effects, and Gilda's not shy about telling the fans. Nwodim is best known to comedy fans for her work as a cast member of Saturday Night Live, where she's been since 2018, as well as her role on the Peacock original comedy series Mr. Throwback.
BJ Novak as Hiram Lubinski: Midway through the episode, Charlie gets her hands on some bubble gum that's been laced with LSD (long story, but you get it if you've seen the episode), and while sitting in the empty broadcast booth, hallucinates a conversation with the creator of Velvety Canned Cheese, Novak's Hiram Lubinski, who tells her it's her destiny to save his ballpark. Though he's worked throughout film and television for the last few decades, you might recognize Novak most easily from his role as Ryan Howard on The Office, where he also served as one of the series' most important writers.
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Carol Kane as Lucille: The manager of Velvety Canned Cheese Park, Lucille is a kind, dedicated woman who cultivates the ballpark as a pillar of the community, and treats everyone who works there like family. She offers Charlie a job, attempts to cheer Russ up when his career fades away, and of course, serves everyone who arrives lots and lots of canned cheese. Carol Kane is a legend of stage and screen whose credits include When A Stranger Calls, Annie Hall, the legendary sitcom Taxi, and more recent hits like Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.
Noah Segan as Lew Dundee: The catcher for the Cheesemongers, and one of Russ's best friends, Lew goes in with Russ on his betting scheme, then has to deal with some of the fallout. Segan might not be a huge household name, but anyone who's followed Poker Face creator Rian Johnson's career recognizes him. An actor, director, and writer, he's appeared in all of Johnson's major projects, including Knives Out, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and Looper. He also previously appeared, as a different character, in the Season 1 Poker Face episode "Dead Man's Hand."
New episodes of Poker Face air Thursdays on Peacock, where "Hometown Hero" and the rest of the show's already aired Season 1 and 2 episodes are currently streaming!
