Since the trailer for Don’t Worry Darling was released back in May 2022, the film has created quite a buzz, which was only exacerbated by its chaotic press tour. With leaked videos trending on social media and rumors about the cast circling around on-set drama, the movie was all anyone could talk about in late-summer. Initially, the talk surrounding Don’t Worry Darling was overwhelmingly positive, with the two lead actors Florence Pugh and Harry Styles being huge fan favorites the public was excited to see.
This quickly changed, though, as people learned of the rumored circumstances of the relationship between Styles and Don’t Worry Darling director Olivia Wilde. In the summer of 2022, as the film’s release date got closer, fans started noticing that Pugh hadn’t been promoting Don’t Worry Darling like she had with her other films. Speculation and rumors swarmed the internet that something must have happened behind the scenes between Pugh and Wilde. Shia LaBeouf then shared his thoughts on Wilde’s remarks about his departure from the film, and the project as a whole, and an unfavorable video was leaked of Wilde talking about “Miss Flo.”
Amidst the drama, Don’t Worry Darling nonetheless hit theaters on September 23, and received a variety of reviews. People either loved the movie, hated it, or left a little confused at what happened therein. Regardless of what you thought, the majority of viewers have all agreed that the film’s concept was an interesting and cool idea, the cinematography was great, Pugh gave another incredible performance, and the idea of being trapped in a futuristic simulation where everything is cookie-cutter perfect made for a very entertaining film. Here are all the main characters in the psychological thriller Don’t Worry Darling, ranked.
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8 Shelley (Gemma Chan)
Warner Bros.
Gemma Chan plays Shelley in Don’t Worry Darling, the wife of Victory Project leader and founder Frank. Right from the start, the audience gets clearly unsettling and suspicious energy from Shelley. She seems condescending and almost a little too picture-perfect. She is able to keep her cool and remain under a low profile until Alice and Jack’s dinner party, when she finally explodes on Alice for questioning Frank’s morals and the Victory Project as a whole. Her uptight and controlling nature unleashes itself on Frank towards the end of the film once Alice tries to make her escape and Shelley realizes Frank isn’t man enough to save the world they created together.
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7 Dr. Collins (Timothy Simons)
Similar to how Don’t Worry Darling audience members felt about Shelley, right from the start it’s clear that Dr. Collins is hiding something. After Alice witnesses Margaret killing herself by falling off her roof, she is in distress and extremely concerned about what she saw. In an attempt to cover up why Margaret did what she did, Dr. Collins tries to prescribe Alice pills that will calm her down and have her believing she was terribly confused and that everything is, in fact, okay. Alice stands strong in the fact that she is not unstable and doesn’t believe Collins for a second.
6 Dean (Nick Kroll)
Nick Kroll is a hilarious actor, and while his scenes in Don’t Worry Darling may be few, they are nothing short of amazing. In such a dark and twisted psychological thriller, Kroll brings a light comedic relief that audiences latch on to, making Dean one of the most exciting characters on-screen. Dean is a husband and father, who is married to Bunny, played by Wilde, who is best friends with Jack. Throughout the film, it is clear that Dean’s allegiance lies with Jack, Frank, and the rest of the Victory Project team.
5 Margaret (Kiki Layne)
New Line Cinema
Margaret plays an intricate role in Don’t Worry Darling as she is the one who raises suspicion in Alice about what Victory Project actually is. After seeing Margaret act strange at social events, seeing how empty and distant her behavior was, and hearing the story of her son who died, Alice begins to wonder what happened that made Margaret this way. Margaret was able to see beyond what Frank and her husband wanted her to and realized that she was trapped in a simulation. Her behavior was a liability and the head of Victory Project had her killed for it.
4 Frank (Chris Pine)
Chris Pine portrays the arrogant and conceded Frank, founder and leader of Victory Project. He wants everyone in his world to believe he is doing a noble act by creating this perfect society where people are free to live the life they deserve, but deep down, this is all a lie. The Victory Project is a simulation where people can trap their spouses in an alternate plane where they are “safe” and nothing bad can happen to them because their destiny has already been planned out for them. Alice challenges Frank by trying to get to the bottom of what the Victory Project is. She doesn’t trust it from the start and the two battle each other throughout the film to see if Alice will finally be able to expose his secret.
3 Jack Chambers (Harry Styles)
Everybody loves Styles, but we do not all love Jack Chambers. He seems like the perfect husband throughout the first half of Don’t Worry Darling, constantly showing his wife love and affection, being a present and giving husband, but as the film progresses, we learn everything Jack is hiding from Alice and how his selfish decisions ruined her life. Jack is the one who chose to put him and Alice into the Victory Project so that he could spend all the time he wanted with his busy wife who spent the majority of her time working as a surgeon in the real world. At the end of the movie, Jack and Alice’s love is tested, and they realize they can’t trust each other and will never be able to come back from what has been done.
2 Bunny (Olivia Wilde)
Despite the fact that Wilde has been ripped apart by the media during Don’t Worry Darling’s press tour and the fact that the film’s directing wasn’t necessarily noteworthy, she did do an incredible job playing the role of Bunny, Alice’s best friend and neighbor. Bunny is married to Dean, and the two of them live contently with their children in the Victory Project. When Alice tries to warn Bunny about what she discovered, Bunny shuts her down and tells her she is unraveling like Margaret. Later, towards the end of the film, we discover that Bunny knew all along that the Victory Project wasn’t real, and she was actually the one who chose to put her family here.
1 Alice Chambers (Florence Pugh)
Coming in at number one on the list is the star of the film and the best thing about the entire movie: Pugh’s Alive. Her portrayal of Alice Chambers has been praised by both critics and audiences since the film was released. People are blown away by the power she brings to the screen in each and every role she plays, and this performance was no exception. Pugh is mesmerizing to watch, and nobody could have played Alice quite like her. She was relentless, brave, compassionate, selfless, and a beautiful heroine in Don’t Worry Darling.
