‘The Phoenician Scheme’ Interview: Benicio del Toro and Cast

‘The Phoenician Scheme’, which is the latest film from visionary director Wes Anderson (‘The Royal Tenenbaums’ and ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’), opens in select theaters on May 30th before opening wide on June 6th.

The movie stars returning Anderson collaborators Benicio del Toro (‘The French Dispatch’), Tom Hanks (‘Asteroid City’), Bryan Cranston (‘Isle of Dogs’), Jeffrey Wright (‘The French Dispatch’), Scarlett Johansson (‘Asteroid City’), Benedict Cumberbatch (‘The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar’), Willem Dafoe (‘The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou’), and Bill Murray (‘Rushmore’), as well as first time Anderson actors Mia Threapleton (‘The Buccaneers’), Michael Cera (‘Superbad’), and Riz Ahmed (‘Sound of Metal’).

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Benicio del Toro, Michael Cera and Mia Threapleton about their work on ‘The Phoenician Scheme’. Del Toro discussed his experience reuniting with director Wes Anderson and what he enjoys about working with him, while Cera talked about what it was like to join Wes Anderson’s company of actors and explore the unique worlds he creates on screen, and Threapleton discussed her character’s estranged relationship with her father and why she accompanies him on his journey.

Related Article: Movie Review: ‘The Phoenician Scheme’

Benicio Del Toro stars as Zsa-Zsa Korda in director Wes Anderson’s ‘The Phoenician Scheme’, a Focus Features release. Credit: Courtesy of TPS Productions/Focus Features © 2025 All Rights Reserved.

Moviefone: To begin with, Benicio, can you talk about reuniting with director Wes Anderson after ‘The French Dispatch’ and what do you enjoy about working with him?

Benicio del Toro: Well, I enjoy everything, especially the final product. But the character for ‘The Phoenician Scheme’ is a much more challenging character, full of contradictions, with a hell of an arc that it required a lot of motivation to say the least. It kept me up at night, put it that way, to make sure that I deliver what needs to be delivered day in, day out. But I think that Wes’s foundation as a filmmaker, aside from the fact of the visionary he is, also, he’s an incredible writer. He really is. We were talking about this. The script reads like a novel. You could publish it and it would read like a novel. Usually, I get many scripts, I’ve done many movies, and in many of them, I create the backstory of my character. Here, I think you get the backstory of all our characters that have arcs. Michael’s, Mia’s and me, we all have arcs, but we also get the backstory, which it reads like a novel would do that. So, I think that’s the thing that makes Wes’s projects for me so powerful, beyond just a comedy or a beautiful story. Something that his movies always have, is that you can touch them, but the foundation is a story and the writing, and I think that’s really one of his strengths.

(L to R) Michael Cera as Bjorn and Mia Threapleton as Liesl in director Wes Anderson’s ‘The Phoenician Scheme’, a Focus Features release. Credit: Courtesy of TPS Productions/Focus Features © 2025 All Rights Reserved.

MF: Michael, what was it like for you to join Wes Anderson’s company of actors and have an opportunity to explore the unique worlds he creates on screen?

Michael Cera: It’s such a wonderful group to join. Wes just populates his productions with the most amazing people you can think of, and Mia included in that. It’s so much fun to come in. It’s always an exciting thing about jumping into a project that has this caliber of people working on it, and yeah, the worlds are just so much fun. This movie is an anthology in a way where it’s like the three of us are this unit that hop from story to story, and each one of those was brought to life by the various guest players that would come in for that week or two weeks to work on their sequence and inject a whole new energy and atmosphere into the movie. It was just amazing, and it’s great seeing those people show up and bring that character to life in front of your eyes too, and see what they look like suddenly, and sound like.

(L to R) Mia Threapleton as Liesl and Benicio Del Toro as Zsa-Zsa Korda in director Wes Anderson’s ‘The Phoenician Scheme’, a Focus Features release. Credit: Courtesy of TPS Productions/Focus Features © 2025 All Rights Reserved.

MF: Finally, Mia, can you talk about Sister Liesl’s estranged relationship with her father and why she decides to help him on his journey?

Mia Threapleton: I think when we meet her, she has her own reasons for agreeing to meet with him, which are not just because she’s been invited, but she has a lot of unanswered, long time burning questions. Because he’s invited her, I think she realizes, “Okay, he wants something from me. Well, I will acquiesce to this, but I can also get him to give me the answers that I want as well.” So, it’s a little bit like a business negotiation initially, and then by the end of that conversation, I think she realizes, “Okay, actually this is a lot larger than I thought that it was going to be, and maybe he can give me more answers over time. Maybe I’ll find out more information.” I think because of her upbringing within a convent, she literally says it. “I forgive you. We’re taught to.” So, I think there is this forgiving side of her, but I also think that she sees that he is very complex and complicated and wants to understand that more. But perhaps that’s one of the many reasons why she decides to stick it out with this rapscallion, if you will.

What is the plot of ‘The Phoenician Scheme’?

Wealthy businessman Zsa-zsa Korda (Benicio del Toro) appoints his only daughter, a nun (Mia Threapleton), as sole heir to his estate. As Korda embarks on a new enterprise, they soon become the target of scheming tycoons, foreign terrorists and determined assassins.

Who is in the cast of ‘The Phoenician Scheme?

• Benicio del Toro as Zsa-zsa Korda
• Mia Threapleton as Sister Liesl
• Michael Cera as Bjørn Lund
• Riz Ahmed as Prince Farouk
• Tom Hanks as Leland
• Bryan Cranston as Reagan
• Mathieu Amalric as Marseille Bob
• Richard Ayoade as Sergio
• Jeffrey Wright as Marty
• Scarlett Johansson as Cousin Hilda
• Benedict Cumberbatch as Uncle Nubar
• Rupert Friend as Excaliber
• Hope Davis as Mother Superior
• Bill Murray as God
• Charlotte Gainsbourg as 1st Wife
• Willem Dafoe as Knave
• F. Murray Abraham as Prophet

(L to R) Actor Mathieu Amalric, director Wes Anderson, actors Mia Threapleton and Benicio Del Toro during the production of ‘The Phoenician Scheme’, a Focus Features release. Credit: Courtesy of TPS Productions/Focus Features © 2025 All Rights Reserved.

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