Flight Risk Features Some Sneaky Cameos By Popular TV Stars
Mel Gibson went almost a decade without directing a movie after his war drama “Hacksaw Ridge” hit theaters in 2016. The actor-filmmaker, whose other directorial credits include “Braveheart” and “Apocalypto,” has now ended his dry spell with the release of his new movie “Flight Risk.” It’s a very minimalistic, contained thriller that takes place on a tiny plane and centers almost entirely on just three actors for the majority of its runtime. However, some familiar voices also pop up along the way, particularly for those who are fans of a certain classic CBS sitcom.
Gibson, it needs to be mentioned, is a controversial figure who has been accused of antisemitism, in addition to having a battery charge against his ex-wife, which is largely why he doesn’t work as much as he once did. But he still does, indeed, get work in Hollywood these days, as evidenced by this thriller, which is being released by Lionsgate. Gibson also doesn’t have too much trouble enlisting big-name talent, it seems.
“Flight Risk” revolves around a pilot (Mark Wahlberg) who is hired to transport an Air Marshal (Michelle Dockery) and a fugitive (Topher Grace), who also happens to be a cooperating witness, to the trial of a crime boss. While crossing the Alaskan wilderness, though, it comes to light that not everyone on board is who they seem. Because of this, Dockery’s Air Marshall Madolyn is forced to communicate with several members of the agency mid-air. Those characters never appear on screen, but the actors who play them are TV legends.
Who is speaking to Madolyn in Flight Risk?
Spoilers for “Flight Risk” to follow.
Madolyn is forced to take over as the pilot of the flight after Wahlberg’s character is revealed to be a man trying to kill the fugitive, Winston, so that he can’t speak at the trial. The most important person that Madolyn communicates with during this chaos is Van Sant, her closest confidant at the agency. We hear her voice quite a bit over the headset, but we never see here on screen.
If that voice sounded familiar, it’s because it belongs to none other than Leah Remini, the star of “Cheers” and “King of Queens.” Remini is certainly best known as Carrie Heffernan on “King of Queens,” where she played the wife of Kevin James’ Kevin Heffernan. Given that her credits also include “Saved by the Bell” and “Kevin Can Wait,” several generations of television viewers know her voice well, lending her “Flight Risk” role a familiarity factor.
The other key player over the headset is Director Coleridge, who is revealed to be a double crosser trying to sabotage Madolyn’s mission. If his voice also sounded familiar, that’s because it belonged to character actor Paul Ben-Victor, best known for his work on the acclaimed series “The Wire.” He played Vondas on that show, but his credits also include “Everybody Hates Chris,” “In Plain Sight,” “Preacher,” and “Pam & Tommy,” among many other shows. So, that voice might well have pinged in the brains of many viewers as well.
Lastly, the role of Hasan, the pilot who guides Madolyn through flying the plane, was played by two different actors. At the end of the movie, we see actor Monib Abhat in the flesh, revealing who she was talking to the whole time. Sort of. In the credits, though, it’s revealed that Maaz Ali, of “American Horror Story” and “Record of Ragnarok” fame, was actually the one providing Hasan’s voice.
“Flight Risk” is now playing in theaters.
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