Poker Face's Latest Murderer Was Inspired By Iconic Disney Villain

The eighth episode of Poker Face, "The Orpheus Syndrome," was released on Peacock yesterday, and it's the first of the series to be directed by the series' star, Natasha Lyonne. The show's latest mystery followed a visual effects artist who uncovers the truth of a fatal on-set accident that happened decades earlier. Every episode of the series features a guest star playing a new murderer, and this week's episode saw Emmy-winner Cherry Jones taking on the role. During a recent interview with Variety, costume designer Trayce Gigi Field revealed Jones' character was inspired by the iconic Disney villain, Cruella de Vil. 

"Cherry's 'Laura' was inspired by Cruella de Vil – perfectly dressed, sinister, oh-so-chic," Field revealed. "I wanted 'Laura' to feel like money just entered the room. Perfectly tailored. Expensive taste. Visual storytelling is key with a character like Laura – you want her to be an instant read. I used my favorite women's brands on Cherry: Max Mara, Carolina Herrera, Etro, Akris, Natori, and, shhhhhh, my secret weapon, Amazon. It's all about how the piece is styled."

"There's always deliberation in order to pinpoint who the character is and what they look like, with great input from the actor," hair department head Marcel Dagenais added. "Because a guest like Jones' stint is so short, they really come to play." He continued, "Natasha envisioned 'Laura' having a severe white bob, very regimented and glamorous ... Natasha also wanted the character's hair to have fringe, but Cherry thought it worked better showing more of her face without fringe."

Who Did Nick Nolte Play in Poker Face?

The eighth episode of Poker Face also featured Nick Nolte as Arthur, a character based on iconic visual effect artist Phil Tippet. This week, series creator Rian Johnson took to Twitter to reveal Tippet's involvement with the episode. 

"This whole episode is a love letter to @PhilTippett. Phil's career is a almanac of the recent history of visual effects, and he's a true artist. There's a great doc 'Mad Dreams and Monsters' that my friends @MadPoncet& Giles Penso made, highly recommended," Johnson tweeted. "Besides inspiring the milieu of the ep, Phil and his team designed and created the Orpheus Syndrome creatures and did the stop motion sequences at the end. Also some of the CUs of Nolte's hands on the creatures are actually Phil's." Johnson continued, "Also highly recommended is Phil's gory glorious labor of love stop motion film Mad God. It's astounding." 

New episodes of Poker Face release every Thursday only on Peacock.