Summary

• Oscar winner Allison Janney joins the cast of A Simple Favor 2.
• It is unknown what character she will be playing in the movie, which follows the returning characters to a lavish Italian wedding.
• The Simple Favor 2 cast also includes Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively, Henry Golding, Alex Newell, and Elizabeth Perkins.

A Simple Favor 2 has added an Oscar winner to the cast. The movie will be a sequel to the 2018 Paul Feig thriller, which was based on the Darcey Bell novel of the same name from the previous year. The dark comedy followed the web of intrigue that was spun when young widowed mother Stephanie Smothers (Anna Kendrick) met Emily Nelson (Blake Lively), the seemingly perfect mother of one of her son's classmates. The new movie will follow the pair to Emily's lavish Italian wedding, where even more thrilling secrets will be unveiled.

Per Variety, another new cast member has joined the upcoming A Simple Favor 2. Oscar winner, Golden Globe winner, and seven-time Emmy winner Allison Janney has boarded the movie in an as-yet-unknown role. She joins a cast that includes returning stars Lively, Kendrick, Henry Golding (as Emily's former husband Sean Townsend), Bashir Salahuddin (as Detective Summerville), Joshua Satine (as Stephanie's son Miles), and Andrew Rannells (as Stephanie's friend Darren), alongside newcomers Alex Newell, Elizabeth Perkins, Elena Sofia Ricci, Michele Morrone, and Taylor Ortega.

Everywhere You've Seen Allison Janney Before A Simple Favor 2

The Star Has Appeared In Projects From The West Wing To Palm Royale

Before joining the A Simple Favor cast, Janney has held a variety of roles, largely in comedies and dramas. She has split her time relatively evenly between television and movies, with some of her most prominent roles being Tonya Harding's mother LaVona in I, Tonya and press secretary C.J. Cregg in all seven seasons of the Aaron Sorkin political drama The West Wing. She has been well-rewarded throughout her career as well. Below, see which projects have earned her the most major awards:

Outside of the awards circuit, Janney has held roles in many other prominent projects. On the movie side, this includes playing Juno's stepmother in Juno, the partner of Meryl Streep's Clarissa Vaughan in The Hours, and Colonel Howell in the new science fiction movie The Creator. Aside from The West Wing, Mom, and Masters of Sex, she has held several other major television roles as well, with her longest-running being Crystal Cohen on Mr. Sunshine, Goldie O'Gilt on DuckTales, and Evelyn Rollins on the new Apple TV+ drama Palm Royale.

Outside of roles in The Girl on the Train and Ma, Janney hasn't had much opportunity to explore the thriller genre. Thus, A Simple Favor 2 will be offering her an opportunity to spread her wings even more than she has previously. However, her versatility as an actor has already been revealed by her long resume, so she should fit in well with whatever tones she is asked to play and any characters with whom she may be interacting in her unknown role.

The original A Simple Favor is available to stream on Prime Video.

Source: Variety