L A D Y B U G

Ladybug is an intuitive and skilled but burnt-out operative whose string of bad luck has taken its toll on him. Cajoled into taking what sounds like an easy pick-up job, he unwittingly stumbles into a vipers nest of the most notorious elite assassins in the game. 

“You may think Brad Pitt and not necessarily think comedy, but he’s a very smart comedic actor who makes great choices with his physicality and delivery,” says Leitch. “More importantly, Brad plays Ladybug in a way where you do care about him.  He thinks he’s unlucky, but really his luck pays itself forward and proves to be good luck that rubs off on everybody else.”  

“Before Brad signed on, we were wondering, well, who could play Ladybug?” laughs McCormick. “It’s such an interesting, unique, complex character, with an unconventional arc.”

When Pitt came on board the project, he helped define the character he would bring to life. “He’s so great with character,” says Leitch. “He had some brilliant revelations about what he wanted to bring to the character.”

“The bucket hat was a stroke of genius by Brad,” says McCormick. “He’s arguably the biggest, most charismatic star in the world. People expect his stardom, his charm to radiate. Instead, he’s hiding it in this goofy hat and glasses to become this vulnerable guy. He plays him as the underdog – Brad Pitt is the underdog of the movie in a lot of ways.”

T A N G E R I N E  AND  L E M O N

The Twins, Tangerine and Lemon, aren’t actually twins. (No kiddin’.) In fact, though they are seemingly a disparate pair, they are lifelong brothers in arms. Tangerine is a Savile Row-suited killer with slicked back hair and flashy gold jewelry – not exactly subtle. Lemon, meanwhile, possesses a guileless demeanor and moral compass that he has honed entirely from the lessons from “Thomas the Tank Engine” – but he is nevertheless just as talented a hitman as his twin.

Leitch knew that finding actors who could portray this close relationship was the key to making it work. “The energy and chemistry between Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Brian Tyree Henry was immediate,” says Leitch.

Taylor-Johnson and Henry agree – and say that their offscreen chemistry drove the onscreen relationship (and vice versa). “Tangerine and Lemon go hand in hand and really rely on each other,” says Taylor-Johnson. “There’s a love between them, a deeply rooted partnership that goes back years and years. That kind of bond needs to be supported by an instant connection and chemistry for us both, and Brian brought the energy, fire, and passion every day. I fed off of his energy, bounced off of his enthusiasm and his charisma. He’s one of the best actors around, without a doubt.”

Henry, well-known for his roles in The Eternals and “Atlanta,” says he was able to tap into the fun odd-couple nature of their characters’ pairing. “Lemon is incredibly genuine. He is the most genuine, childlike, joyous psychopath you’ll ever meet in your life,” Henry says. “He enters a room and you can’t miss him, but at the same time, he has a real ease about him. That’s why pairing him with Aaron’s Tangerine is so perfect. Tangerine is crazy, and there’s a finesse that Aaron has when he steps into the role. He’s that fine wine of sociopaths. The two of us together is so eclectic and fun and we’re just the oddest pairing, but at the same time, it works so well.”

“I don't know if Tangerine is a psychopath, a sociopath, just a psychotic nutcase, or a combination of all three,” says Taylor-Johnson. “Tangerine and Lemon are funny because they’re hyper-charismatic. Also, the circumstances are so ludicrous – they're trained assassins and extremely dangerous, but they've lost their marbles a little bit. But what makes them truly funny is the way they bicker like husband and wife. Even whilst they're tying someone up… or chopping someone up.”

Henry adopts a British accent to match his character’s brother’s. “It’s a true honor to be able to speak the King’s English,” he says. “It’s something that I’ve always wanted to do, I worked hard at it, and I had a great dialect coach. working hard, like we got a great dialect coach. One of the great things is that every single person is flipping these characters on their head. Brad playing the crazy, weird, unlucky assassin. Joey King playing like an upper-class society girl who can turn into a cold-blooded killer in a minute. Everybody in this movie is playing the complete antithesis of who they really are in real life. Except Aaron.”

T H E  P R I N C E

For Tangerine and Lemon, killing is all business. For The Prince, a young woman on the train played by Joey King, it’s pleasure. Knowing that others will judge her by her appearance, she makes full use of those misconceptions. “She knows that she’s underestimated and she also knows that’s an advantage,” says King. “She uses her sweet looks and her tender voice to get what she wants – and she knows exactly what she wants,” says King. “She masks her true desires with fierce cruelty and these menacing, torturous tendencies. Ultimately, she seeks love and respect – it’s interesting, the people who she loves the most, she also fears and hates the most.”

Leitch says that the actress – who goes from “The Princess” (her new Hulu series, which is receiving rave reviews) to The Prince with Bullet Train – brought a surprising depth to the character. “Joey King’s first reading with us was emotional and satirical in a way we weren’t expecting,” says Leitch.

That take on the role is what distinguishes the Prince’s scenes with Kimura, played by Andrew Koji. “Prince could not be more excited that Kimura’s life is falling apart,” she says. “That’s why it’s so interesting to play a character like this. I got to play around with emotions in a way I’ve never done before, and it was really quite fun. Our scenes together vary so much – from brutal, heartbreaking stuff to being absolutely hilarious, and everything in between.”

K I M U R A

Before he boarded the Shinkansen, Kimura, a low-level Tokyo criminal, hit rock bottom. An alcoholic in a perpetual haze, he boards the train ready to exact his revenge on the unknown culprit who attacked his son and ultimately redeem himself and restore honor to his family name.

Japanese-British actor/martial artist Andrew Koji plays the role. For Koji, the complexity of the character and the film’s relatable themes of luck and family resonated. “I’ve never seen a character like Kimura before, let alone in a big Hollywood film like Bullet Train.  From the moment you first see him, you know he’s a man in crisis, made worse by the disapproval of his father. He’s a decisive moment that incites the whole film and his storyline.”

“This film is about luck, and like Ladybug, I think Kimura’s always felt unlucky his whole life,” Koji continues. “When you have a victim mentality, you attract that kind of energy.   But he’ll have a moment when his luck turns around.”

“Andrew’s character is the heartbeat of the movie,” says Leitch. “It’s definitely Ladybug’s story, but the emotional center – and the most complex relationship in the movie – is the relationship between Kimura and The Elder.”

As Kimura’s stoic, unyielding father, known as the Elder, Hiroyuki Sanada takes on the multi-layered character of the modest florist who is fiercely protective of his family.  Even as Kimura loses himself in a bottle and feels the enormous shame he’s brought to his family, the Elder knows his son is a survivor. “Getting the role was a dream, but then I find out that Hiroyuki Sanada is playing my dad,” says Koji. “This whole experience has been a bit surreal.  I never saw my path ever crossing with Hiroyuki Sanada.”

When the Elder, worried about Kimura, boards the train, he shares some sage wisdom with Ladybug. “He explains the lore of Tentou-mushi – Japanese for ladybug,” says Olkewicz. “The explanation is that there is a spot on its back for each of the seven sorrows of the world of mankind. Tentou-mushi isn’t lucky – it holds all the bad luck, so others may live in peace with good luck. That, to me, is such a beautiful moment – a discussion of acceptance of your place in the world.”

T H E  H O R N E T

ZAZIE BEETZ (Deadpool 2, “Atlanta”) is the Hornet, the fourth assassin, a master of disguise who travels under the radar on every job she takes. Most of her victims don’t even realize she’s struck until they take their last breath.  

“The whole movie is in this heightened space of cat and mouse,” says Beetz. “At the same time, it was fun really leaning into the caricatures and absurdities of playing a master assassin.  I got to pop in and out of all these different looks and personas.”

Especially exciting for Beetz? The wigs. “I never wear wigs,” she says. “I'm so grateful that people love my hair and always want my hair to be natural in films, but honestly, sometimes, I want to do something else. In this movie, I’m in my full wig glory. It was really fun.”

T H E  W O L F

Rounding out the cast of assassins is Benito A Martínez Ocasio, better known to millions of fans around the world as Bad Bunny. The award-winning artist plays The Wolf, an assassin with a beef and a score to settle against Ladybug.

“I thought for the longest time that the Wolf would be this grizzled old journeyman hitman who’s seen it all and is dangerous because he’s been around the block. Then Bad Bunny came in and changed all that,” says Leitch. “Mary Vernieu, our casting director, proposed Bad Bunny for the role, and we were excited by his work on ‘Narcos.’ His work ethic was off the charts – he spent the time on rehearsals to come in prepared, and we leaned into his passion. If you’ve ever seen him perform, you know that he does everything with so much heart. So instead of being revenge-driven, we made him lovesick. Having Bad Bunny play that part defined the humanity in that character.”

Leitch says that the emotion of the character comes through even when the Wolf and Ladybug are beating on each other. “The Wolf was madly in love, and lost the love of his life, but Ladybug has no idea what’s going on,” notes Leitch. “It’s a good example of how to use fight choreography to define character: Ladybug is confused, and even in his defensive moves, he’s trying to assess who this guy is and why this is happening, while Wolf has allowed an unbridled rage to overcome him over what he’s lost.”