Lil Rel Howery

Howery's lines often sound as though he has just thought of them while talking to a friend. In Get Out (2017), he plays Rod Williams, the protagonist's quick-thinking best friend and a TSA agent, and makes that friendship feel credible. We laughed with relief because his common sense gives us a break from the film's frightening encounters without making the danger seem trivial. His stand-up rhythms help, but the important thing is that Rod remains a person rather than an excuse to stop for a joke.

The earlier television work includes Bobby Carmichael in The Carmichael Show (2015–2017), and his comic partnership with Jerrod Carmichael. Get Out was the film breakthrough, followed by Rel (2018–2019), the sitcom he co-created and starred in. Subsequent supporting work includes Buddy alongside Ryan Reynolds in Free Guy (2021). The recurring best-friend casting makes sense, although it risks treating an actor who can make scripted dialogue sound spontaneous as someone hired merely to keep the lead company.

Jordan Peele gets particular value from Howery because Get Out needs its jokes to work alongside fear. The film has some supporting performances that push too hard, but Howery's grounded delivery helps the humour stay within the story. He makes an ordinary person's reactions worth attending to, a useful skill when the surrounding film is making every awkward encounter count. We would rather see that timing tested against difficult situations than supplied with another character whose only purpose is to be agreeable.

He also plays Taffy in Poker Face (2023), a warm, funny crime series led by Natasha Lyonne. Its humour and enjoyment of catching a killer make it a sensible home for an actor who can provide levity without disrupting the story. That ease has limits: I Said It. Y’all Thinking It. (2022) leans on likeability where the stand-up material needs tightening. Start with Get Out, where being good company is only part of the job.