Rian Johnson starstruck by Angela Lansbury

Rian Johnson says Angela Lansbury "couldn’t have been lovelier and more generous" when filming a cameo for 'Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery'.

The late actress - who died in October 2022 aged 96 - makes her final film appearance in the Netflix movie and director Rian was thrilled she agreed to take part.

He told the New York Times: "She couldn’t have been lovelier and more generous."

Angela's cameo shows her playing the computer game 'Among Us' but Rian explained she was "not a gamer".

He added: "And so she was very patient in letting me describe the rules of 'Among Us', up to a point. At which point she just said, ‘You know what? Just tell me what the lines are. I’ll trust you."

Rian also managed to get Stephen Sondheim to film a cameo - before his death in November 2021 aged 91 - and he admitted to being star-struck by both.

He said: "I allowed myself to have that little awkward moment of saying to them what I’m sure every person who meets them says. But still, it felt really nice to tell them that I wouldn’t be here doing this if it weren’t for them.

"It’s sad, because as a fan, I wish they were still around and making stuff. I hope they would have enjoyed the little scene and gotten a laugh out of it."

Explaining about working with Sondheim, he added: "I mentioned to him that we were trying to get Angela Lansbury. And he said, ‘Oh, Angie — I’m friends with her. Tell her I’m doing it. She’ll do it.’"

Actress Natasha Lyonne added: "It goes without saying that they were giant losses of two incredible lives well lived. I guess we’ll only know if I make it to 90, if I was actually worthy of being up there with them."