One Night Only's Cast, Cameos & Easter Eggs, Explained
One Night Only, the latest, big, splashy rom-com from Anyone But You director Will Gluck, isn’t just a high-concept romance film – it’s also a cameo and reference fest.
Since the film has been rolling out across the globe this August, it's caused a bit of a stir thanks to said high-concept premise: in a present-day New York, Owen (Callum Turner) and Allie (Monica Barbaro) race to find partners to have ‘legal sex’ with in an alternative version of the United States where the act is banned for anyone who isn’t married. This bleak-on-paper puritanical dystopia would be fertile ground for a Handmaid’s Tale-esque project; in One Night Only, it’s set dressing for a colourful blockbuster that merely mines the idea for comedic sexcapades.
This eyebrow-raising conceit is somewhat distracted from by the film’s range of ‘where do I know them from?’ cast members, surprise cameos, and even a Gluck-verse (I guess we can start using that phrase now) Easter egg or two. Let’s unpack it all.
Main Cast
Callum Turner as Owen
In the role of bruised ego leading man is Callum Turner, aka Mr Dua Lipa, aka possibly the next James Bond. After stints in football and modelling, he shifted into acting, getting his big movie break in two Fantastic Beasts instalments as Newt Scamander’s brother Theseus. From there, he came to greater Hollywood prominence in Steven Spielberg’s Masters of the Air and another high-concept rom-com, Eternity, opposite Elizabeth Olsen and Miles Teller. Earlier this year, he led the brilliant cast of the decidedly un-brilliant dark satire Rosebush Pruning (Pamela Anderson deserves better). His next big role will be in the Apple TV+ adaptation of William Gibson’s cyberpunk bible, Neuromancer.
Monica Barbaro as Alison/Allie
Playing the unlucky-in-love leading lady, Alison, better known as Allie, is Monica Barbaro. A graduate of the Dick Wolf TV crime empire (Chicago P.D and Chicago Justice), Barbaro went on to land a leading part in the Arnold Schwarzenegger-starring action-comedy series, FUBAR. On the big screen, you might recognise her from Top Gun: Maverick or Crime 101, but her most notable role until One Night Only was as folk legend Joan Baez in the Bob Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown, for which she received a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination.
Supporting Cast
Maya Hawke as Maika (Owen’s girlfriend)
Nepo baby royalty Maya Hawke has a decently notable part as Owen’s girlfriend Maika, who ditches him on the titular night for a fling with someone else. Even if you haven’t seen the Netflix megahit, you’ll most likely know Hawke as fan-fave ice cream seller-turned-disk jockey Robin from Stranger Things. Her presence in One Night Only is a slight immersion-breaker, at least initially, because of this.
Molly Ringwald as Linda (Owen’s mother)
A casting choice that is undoubtedly referential and reverential; if you know your rom-com and teen movie history well, then Molly Ringwald’s appearance as Owen’s mother feels like an attempt to anoint One Night Only with some golden era blood. Ringwald was the face of John Hughes’ incredible run of romantic teen dramedies in the ‘80s. She’s previously played on that legacy with a cameo in the baudy ‘00s parody, Not Another Teen Movie, and was definitely stunt casting as Archie’s mum in Riverdale.
LeVar Burton as Rick (Linda’s partner)
LeVar Burton is a far less winking piece of casting than the actor who plays his sex buddy, but Star Trek: The Next Generation fans will never not associate him with visor-wearing Chief Engineer Geordie from the iconic TV sci-fi sequel.
Julia Fox as Skye (Skye the bartender)
New York socialite, former Kanye girlfriend, fashion icon and increasingly, these days, legit screen actor, Julia Fox plays the effortlessly cool bartender whom Owen has one of his many romantic near-misses with.
King Princess (Jacinta, Allie’s friend)
Another career-shifting presence in One Night Only is King Princess (Mikaela Straus), queer alt-indie-popstar whose previous and first acting role was in the Nicole Kidman Prime series, Nine Perfect Strangers. As Jacinta, she starts the night as Allie’s wingwoman before quickly abandoning her for secret Brooklyn prince, Tejan, played by Hamilton’s Okieriete Onaodowan.
Michelle Hurd (Detective Vanessa Bryan Brown)
Michelle Hurd has a minor role as the weary New York detective who processes Allie after she’s brought in for questioning for the arrest of a law-breaking potential partner. Hurd is best-known for her TV work in Law & Order, Gossip Girl, ER and Star Trek: Picard, and, more relevant to this list, previously appeared in Will Gluck’s Anyone but You.
Ben Marshall (Patrick Brunson)
In a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment, Ben Marshall of SNL’s Please Don’t Destroy trio pops up to proposition Allie with a threesome.
Cameos
Pete Davidson and Bobby Cannavale
Many of One Night Only’s noticeable cast members toe the line between actual character and self-insert, and the joint appearance of Pete Davidson and Bobby Cannavale is the most honking example. The pair plays actors playing detectives on an on-location shoot for a Tubi crime show that Owen accidentally wanders into. Davidson is an SNL alum turned fully-fledged actor while Cannavale has been a prolific screen presence since the late ‘90s.
Este Haim and Ziwe
Again, these are technically characters (bouncers at the invite-only party Allie and Owen blag their way into), but Este Haim and Ziwe are definitely worthy of the DiCaprio pointing meme when they show up in the film. Ziwe is a multi-talented comedian best-known for her self-titled, dry-humoured celebrity interview webseries. Este is one-third of the sister-fronted indie band Haim, a frequent Paul Thomas Anderson collaborator, and helped compose the score for One Night Only. Get that double cheque, queen.
Radioman and Flavor Flav
Playing versions of themselves, NYC street legend Radioman is uncredited as a bookseller (on a personal invite from Gluck). Rapper and reality TV star Flavor Flav hosts an NYE-style TV countdown to kick the night off.
Easter Eggs & References
Sydney Sweeney and Glenn Powell
While the co-leads of Gluck’s Anyone but You don’t show up in person, Powell’s headshot is used as a LinkedIn profile picture, while Sweeney’s flashes up on a dating app.
Colleen Hoover
Not an actual appearance from the beach read matron, but a Colleen Hoover paperback is prominently used by Owen as he shields his nether regions from his mum in one awkward ‘wrong place, wrong time’ mishap. While Gluck’s name isn’t attached to any of them, it feels like a deliberate nod to Hollywood flooding itself with Hoover adaptations, the target audience of which no doubt overlaps with Gluck’s.
