It’s fair to say that Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos is one of the most interesting directors working today. With wide-ranging modern classics, including The Lobster and The Favourite, Lanthimos has made a career out of turning the weirdest characters and circumstances into the most compelling. Now, reteaming with Emma Stone, he is back with yet another festival darling, Poor Things. Set in a steampunk Victorian city, the film tells the story of a young woman named Bella, brought to life by an unorthodox scientist. Taking inspiration from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, this film expands that story into something much more outrageous and compelling. Featuring a cast of prominent actors including Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe, and Mark Ruffalo, Poor Things is set to become a major player in this year’s awards race.

Emma Stone as Bella Baxter

Emma Stone plays Bella Baxter, a young woman whose inanimate corpse is found and brought back to life by Dr. Godwin Baxter. Giving her the brain of an infant, Baxter raises her to be an inquisitive albeit unfiltered young woman who is eager to learn about the world. As unorthodox as they come, Bella’s curiosity about sex, moral taboos, and unwritten societal rules make her repulsive to some but endlessly desirable to others.

Stone first became famous through her supporting roles in 2000s comedies like Superbad and The House Bunny. Since then, she has starred in several critically acclaimed films including Birdman and La La Land, the latter of which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress. She previously worked with Yorgos Lanthimos on The Favourite as Abigail Masham, an ambitious but morally dubious young woman. She is set to star in Lanthimos’ next feature, Kind of Kindness (previously titled AND). Currently, she is starring alongside Nathan Fielder in the Showtime series, The Curse.

Mark Ruffalo as Duncan Wedderburn

Mark Ruffalo plays Duncan Wedderburn, a foppish lawyer who becomes immediately enamored with Bella Baxter. With lots of money and few plans, he becomes the perfect guide to the outside world so Bella agrees to elope with him. Taking her on a madcap tour across continents, Duncan introduces her to the most outrageous and hedonistic corners of society.

Ruffalo first gained acclaim and stardom by starring in dramas like You Can Count on Me and comedies like 13 Going on 30. He received his first Oscar nomination for the family comedy-drama, The Kids Are All Right and has since been nominated for his roles in Foxcatcher and Spotlight. Most famous for playing the Incredible Hulk in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he also regularly stars in indie projects and is set to work with Bong Joon-Ho on his upcoming film Mickey 17.

Willem Dafoe as Dr. Godwin Baxter

Willem Dafoe plays Dr. Godwin Baxter, an unorthodox scientist who brings Bella back to life after finding her unresponsive corpse. Slightly monstrous looking thanks to his surgeon father’s cruel but innovative experimental grafting surgeries on him, Dr. Godwin is not a mad man, but a kind of loving father figure to Bella. Channeling his rejection and isolation leads him to design a life without limits for his new creation.

Dafoe got his start in the 1980s in movies like Platoon and Mississippi Burning. He is most famous for his role as the Green Goblin in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man. Recently, he has starred in several critically acclaimed films including The Lighthouse, The Florida Project, and The French Dispatch. Next year he will play a key role in Tim Burton's long-awaited sequel Beetlejuice 2, and will reunite with Lanthimos for Kind of Kindness as well as director Robert Eggers for Nosferatu.

Ramy Youssef as Max McCandless