Who Does John Malkovich Play in Netflix’s Ripley?

Prior to the release of Netflix’s Ripley, it was revealed that John Malkovich would be featured in the series. Could he be, once again, playing an older Ripley? If you’re wondering who John Malkovich plays in Netflix’s Ripley, here’s the answer.

Who Does John Malkovich Play in Netflix’s Ripley?

John Malkovich does not play Tom Ripley in Netflix’s Ripley. Instead, he plays Reeves Minot, a professional-looking character with some shady connections. He sees through Tom’s facade and perhaps, on some level, sees him as a kindred spirit. He’s the one who later provides Tom with a fake passport so he can… well, that’d be getting into spoilers.

Malkovich played Tom Ripley in Ripley’s Game so some people, myself included, wondered whether this would somehow tie into that movie. But, no, it’s more of a wink to the previous Ripley movies than anything else.

Reeves Minot did appear in the Ripley’s Game movie, where Malkovich’s Tom Ripley encountered him, but in that movie, he was played by Ray Winstone. In the Ripley’s Game book, Minot tries to hire Ripley as an assassin, so it’s entirely possible Malkovich will return as Minot, albeit with more screen time, At least, that’s assuming Ripley gets another season or four.

Why Isn’t John Malkovich Tom Ripley in Ripley?

Wouldn’t it have been better to actually have Malkovich be Ripley, perhaps telling this story in a flashback? Not really. This series is a fresh start, a new take on Patricia Highsmith’s Ripley novels and attempting to link it to the movies, even just one of them, would have risked complicating things. I know I’d have been scratching my head.

So the answer to who John Malkovich plays in Netflix’s Ripley is that he plays Reeves Minot and not an older Tom Ripley.