In Backstrom, Lieutenant Everett Backstrom (Rainn Wilson) is a crotchety yet brilliant policeman who heads the Special Crimes Unit. Always armed with a cigar and coffee, he is self-destructive and offensive. While he is not everyone’s cup of tea, he is everyone’s first choice to solve crimes.

Mary Debenham (Daisy Ridley) is an Englishwoman aboard the Orient Express. She was a governess in the Armstrong household, as well as Colonel Armstrong’s lover, so she is one of Hercule Poirot’s main suspects. Like her calm and collected demeanor, her clothing is modest and without flash.

In Inherent Vice, based on the Thomas Pynchon novel, Larry “Doc” Sportello (Joaquin Phoenix) is a hippie private investigator. He takes assignments from questionable clientele in Los Angeles, getting himself caught up in all sorts of intrigue.

In Murder on the Orient Express, Hector MacQueen (Josh Gad) is the humble and likeable personal assistant of the fraudulent art dealer, Ratchett. Compared to the flashy and extravagant fashion of Ratchett, MacQueen’s wardrobe is understated and drab, with a hint of 1930’s gangster.

In the 2017 adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express, Pierre Michel (Marwan Kenzari) is the diligent train conductor whose sole concern is keeping his passengers safe. Though he helps Hercule Poirot with his investigation, he becomes increasingly concerned with his own skills and thinks that Poirot is questioning his capability.

In the 2017 adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express, Gerhard Hardman (Willem Dafoe) is a stern German professor who is suspicious of his fellow passengers aboard the Orient Express.