Only Murders In The Building Cast, Cameos & Character Guide

Hulu’s new series Only Murders in the Building has some big-name actors playing its central characters, but the rest of the cast is packed with talent that audiences may still recognize. From the minds of Steve Martin and John Hoffman (Grace and Frankie), the series plays on the rising obsession with true crime podcasts. The combination of the show’s premise and its leading actors allows Only Murders in the Building to swing from dark comedy to pure farce and back again multiple times in a single episode.

Charles-Haden Savage, Oliver Putnam, and Mabel Mora all have a fascination with true crime podcasts, in particular, “All is Not OK in Oklahoma.” When a young man named Tim Kono is found dead in their apartment building, the Arconia, but the police discount it as a suicide, the three are drawn together into a search for the man’s murderer. Drawing on their past experiences and knowledge, the trio decides to take the opportunity not only to investigate but to start their own true-crime podcast about their investigation at the same time, ensuring that it focuses on “only murders in the building.”

Going beyond simply parodying true-crime show and podcast fanatics, John Hoffman claims to have had a true-crime experience that helped him to create Only Murders In The Building. A year before starting writing the show, a friend had been found dead and Hoffman’s own investigation helped to reverse the perception of the case. It might sound like a dark premise for a comedy series, but the cast helps to bring it alive and keep it fun. Here’s a full cast and character guide for Only Murders in the Building, complete with what they’ve done before.

Steve Martin As Charles-Haden Savage

As well as co-writing the series, Steve Martin stars as Charles-Haden Savage. The character became famous as the TV detective Brazos but has seen little success in acting since. Since his wife left, he has shut himself away and avoids talking to others due to overwhelming anxiety. Steve Martin’s acting career has been extensive including roles in Little Shop of Horrors, Bow Finger, and Cheaper by the Dozen. Around 2009, after his appearance as Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther 2, Martin stepped away from acting for a long time and Only Murders in the Building marks a major return to the screen for him.

Martin Short as Oliver Putnam

Oliver Putnam is a struggling theater director who had success with off-Broadway productions but blew his shot at Broadway with his flop “Splash!” He is eager to investigate the murder, but also sees making a podcast about it as an opportunity to solve his financial struggles that threaten his ability to stay in the Arconia. Short’s long career includes appearances in Innerspace, Mars Attacks!, and The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause. Martin Short has worked with Steve Martin before, co-starring in the 1986 comedy Three Amigos! and also in the Father of the Bride movies. More recently, they’ve been touring together as standup comics and producing the Netflix special Steve Martin and Martin Short: An Evening You Will Forget the Rest of Your Life in 2018.

Selena Gomez As Mabel Mora

Selena Gomez’s Mabel Mora is an enigma and holds the darkest secret of the three. Unbeknownst to Charles and Oliver, Mabel knew Tim Kono well and they and their friends called themselves “The Hardy Boys” when they were younger. While Selena Gomez might still be best known for her singing career, she has branched out into other work recently. She’s appeared in films such as The Dead Don’t Die and Spring Breakers, executive produced 13 Reasons Why, hosted an HBO Max cooking show called Selena + Chef, and can be heard as the voice of Mavis in the Hotel Transylvania franchise.

Only Murders In The Building Supporting Cast & Characters

Nathan Lane as Teddy Dimas: Nathan Lane appears as the owner of Dimas Delis and repeated backer of Oliver Putnam’s projects. Lane is known for his appearances in The Birdcage and The Producers (2005) as well as providing the voice of Timon in the original animated The Lion King.

Jayne Houdyshell as Bunny: Jayne Houdyshell appears as the cantankerous head of the board of the Arconia, who is eager to evict Oliver Putnam for being behind on his fees. Houdyshell played Hannah in the recent adaptation of Little Women and was a recurring character as Judge Ruth Linden in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

Julian Cihi as Tim Kono: Despite being murdered at the beginning of the first episode, Julian Cihi’s Tim Kono makes recurring appearances through flashbacks and within Mabel’s imagination. Cihi has appeared in single episodes of shows like Mr. Robot, but more recently played Edgelord in several episodes of The Tick.

Vanessa Aspillaga as Ursula: Vanessa Aspillaga plays the Arconia’s building manager (and part-time peddler of “Gut Milk”) who loves Oliver, but despises Charles. Aspillaga has held a lot of small roles, including playing four different one-off characters across twelve years of Law & Order before holding recurring roles as Monica in Flesh and Bone and Bianca in The Jim Gaffigan Show.

Michael Cyril Creighton as Howard Morris: Michael Cyril Creighton plays Howard, a building resident who is openly more upset about the death of his cat Evaline than he is about the murder of Tim Kono. Creighton played Bill in Game Night and appeared as Jeff the Elf in 2020’s holiday romance series Dash & Lily.

Zainab Jah as Ndidi Idoko: Zainab Jah plays the neighbor of the murdered Tim Kono who becomes a suspect as she is eager to take over Kono’s newly-vacated real estate. Previously, Jah has played Aminata Sissoko in Deep State and Grace Singleton in Hulu’s recent horror movie False Positive.

Russell G. Jones as Dr. Grover Stanley: Russel G. Jones’ Dr. Grover Stanley is a needy therapist who lives in the Arconia and uses Tim Kono’s memorial as an opportunity to mention his business (and that he takes Venmo). Jones portrayed the recurring character Norm in The Americans and more recently appeared as Donn Cooper in Tommy.

Sting as Himself: Sting’s appearance in the show might come as a surprise, but he was reached out to as he is a longtime friend of Steve Martin and the casting director (Bernard Telsey). John Hoffman noted that all these buildings seem to have one huge celebrity living in them, and Sting fulfills that role for the Arconia, as well as becoming a plausible murder suspect. Sting has a small list of acting credits and cameos, including as J.D. in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, but is of course best known for his musical work, both by himself and as part of The Police.

Amy Ryan as Jan: Amy Ryan only appears briefly in the premiere episodes but her character, Jan, is notable for holding an amicable conversation with Charles about her position as first chair bassoon. Amy Ryan has a considerable list of credits in TV and film, including as the recurring characters of Beatrice Russell in The Wire and  Holly Flax in The Office.

Ryan Broussard as Will Putnam: Ryan Broussard plays Oliver Putnam’s long-suffering son Will who has to decline to once again bail his father out financially. Broussard has had several minor parts before his Only Murders in the Building role, including as a prison guard in Tom Cruise’s Jack Reacher: Never Go Back and as Jon in the TV series Hot Date.

Olivia Reis as Zoe Cassidy: Olivia Reis portrays Zoe Cassidy, a member of “The Hardy Boys” that was murdered several years before but appears in flashbacks. This is Reis’ first on-screen role but has worked extensively on the stage earning several awards for her performances of Shakespeare’s plays.

Aaron Dominguez as Oscar: Oscar, played by Aaron Dominguez, was another member of “The Hardy Boys” and had been in a relationship with Zoe before he was sent to prison for her murder, which he may or may not have actually committed. Dominguez played Staff Sergeant Eddie Dominguez in Shaft (2019) and Emmanuel in 2021’s TV series Two Sides.

Jackie Hoffman as Uma Heller: Jackie Hoffman (no relation to John Hoffman) portrays Uma, a character largely characterized by her dislike of Charles, flipping him off in the opening scenes. She recently appeared in the TV series The Politician.

Tina Fey as Cinda Canning: After a brief cameo appearance in the first episode as the host of “All is Not OK in Oklahoma,” Tina Fey’s Cinda Canning returns in episode 4 to help the gang with their investigation. Fey made a name for herself playing Liz Lemon in 30 Rock and has appeared extensively on Saturday Night Live.

About The Author

Faefyx Collington
(487 Articles Published)

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Faefyx Collington (They/Them) is a senior features writer for Screen Rant. They’re a British writer of both fiction and non-fiction, focussing on science fiction, fantasy, and mystery for the former and on culture, gender, and current affairs for the latter.
Never content to settle to one thing, Faefyx is also a co-host and producer of the podcast and video series “Unramblings,” and can occasionally be found making music around the internet as well.
Having acquired degrees on both sides of the Atlantic, Fyx has settled (for the moment) in the southern United States where they live with their spouse and an entirely appropriate number of cats.

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