Who does John Malkovich play in Ripley? Cameo explained

John Malkovich makes a very brief cameo in new Netflix thriller Ripley — here’s who he plays, plus how that connects to a movie from 2002.

Ripley is a new eight-part crime drama, based on Patricia Highsmith’s 1955 novel The Talented Mr. Ripley. The show stars Andrew Scott as title character Tom, who is con-man, master manipulator, and ultimately a cold-blooded killer.

As an adaptation of the first Ripley book, the series is something of an origin story for the character, following his journey from New York to the Italian coast, where he infiltrates the life of wealthy playboy Dickie Greenleaf, with deadly results.

Johnny Flynn and Dakota Fanning co-star, while John Malkovich appears in the eighth and final episode via a diabolical cameo that also serves as an excellent Ripley Easter egg. Here’s how that happens, so beware of SPOILERS ahead…

How does John Malkovich’s Ripley cameo connect to a 2002 movie?

John Malkovich plays an “art dealer” who helps Tom Ripley in Episode 8 of the Netflix series, and seems to have much in common with the character. Which is something of an in-joke, as Malkovich actually played Tom Ripley in 2002 movie, Ripley’s Game.

“It’s all very boring, isn’t it?” Malkovich’s mysterious man says to Tom at a party in a Venetian townhouse. “So much money, and so little else. I just come for the Chateau Margaux — don’t tell anyone.”

He introduces himself as “Reeves,” and so begins a back-and-forth between the two men, during which Reeves states — with a laugh — what he does for a living. Ripley says he’s also an art dealer, though that clearly isn’t really true for either character, which both men subtly acknowledge.

Reeves then says: “If you’d ever like to discuss art, give me a call,” while rifling through cards that variously have Paris, Saint Petersberg, and Tangier on them, before handing over a Venice card and departing.

Ripley definitely does get in touch, as next time we see Reeves he’s sitting in a cafe, selling Tom a new passport that enables travel under the name Timothy Fanshaw. Reeves compliments him on the new moniker, they cheers, and that’s the last we see of a character who could be Tom Ripley in some distant future.

What is Ripley’s Game?

Ripley’s Game is a 2002 movie — adapted from the 1974 Patricia Highsmith novel of the same name — that stars John Malkovich as the title character.

The story is as follows: “Set in present-day Italy where art connoisseur, harpsichord aficionado, master of soufflés and genius of improvisational murder, Tom Ripley finds his complacency shaken when he is scorned at a local party. While any ordinary sociopath might repay the insult with some mild act of retribution, the game Ripley has in mind is far subtler, and infinitely more sinister.”

Directed by Liliana Cavani — from a script she wrote with Charles McKeown — the movie co-stars Dougray Scott, Ray Winstone, and Lena Headey. But while reviews were generally positive (achieving a Rotten Tomatoes score of 92%) the movie was a box office failure, grossing less than a third of its estimated $30 million budget.

All eight episodes of Ripley are now on Netflix, and you can head here for more titles new to streaming this month.