Hollywood is abuzz with recent casting developments: Jared Harris just signed on for Martin Scorsese’s next film, What Happens at Night. The most promising part? The film already stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence.
In case you can’t tell who Jared Harris is, you may have seen the British actor you’ve seen in “Chernobyl,” “The Crown,” and “Mad Men.” Now that Harris is officially part of the cast, there’s a lot of buzz around him.
“What Happens at Night”: what is the film about?
For cinephiles, it is a psychological thriller and mystery written by Scorsese, based on the novel by Peter Cameron. The film revolves around an American couple, played by DiCaprio and Lawrence, who travel to a remote, snow-covered European town to adopt a child.
They check into a huge, nearly empty hotel, and things quickly get weird. They start meeting all kinds of strange characters: there’s a flashy performer, a shady businessman, a magnetic faith healer, and all kinds of people who make you wonder what’s real and what’s not.As the couple tries to finalize the adoption process, reality begins to slip away. They are forced to confront strange situations, and perhaps more disturbing, their own secrets and doubts.
The story is dreamlike and tense, full of gothic atmosphere and emotional twists, and is right in Scorsese’s wheelhouse.With Scorsese directing, and starring DiCaprio, Lawrence, and now Harris, Mads Mikkelsen and Patricia Clarkson, “What Happens at Night” is already one of the most anticipated films of 2026 and 2027. DiCaprio and Scorsese teaming up again is really important; They really knocked it out of the park with “The Departed,” “Shutter Island,” and “Killers of the Flower Moon.”
So the excitement is largely justified! According to a report in Deadline, production on the film has just begun in Prague, with plans to shoot in other international locations as well.
Jared Harris: Who is he?
For the unversed, Jared Harris has spent three decades building a reputation for nuance and scope, whether in film or television. Most people know him from his electrifying role as Valery Legasov in Chernobyl, a performance that really made people sit up and take notice. But his credits run deep: The Last of the Mohicans, Natural Born Killers, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, I Shot Andy Warhol. On television, he has appeared in Mad Men, The Crown, Fringe, and The Terror.
Harris can jump between leading and supporting roles without missing a beat. So, like in What Happens at Night, he’s joining an already stacked cast, and you can bet he’ll bring his trademark depth to the mix.
