Who plays the Westies in Only Murders in the Building? The West Tower hides some very familiar faces, Richard Kind and Kumail Nanjiani included
For three seasons, the Arconia's West Tower was just scenery outside Charles's kitchen window — a row of strangers he'd privately nicknamed "Stink-Eye Joe," "The Sauce Family," and "Christmas All the Time Guy." Season 4, which premiered on Hulu on August 27, 2024, finally walked over and knocked. And the door was answered by a murderers' row of character actors.
Light spoilers ahead.
The Westies, and who plays them
- Vince Fish — Richard Kind — the eye-patched neighbor (antibiotic-resistant pink eye, he insists) and de facto leader of the group. Kind is the veteran scene-stealer from Spin City and the voice of Bing Bong in Inside Out.
- Rudy Thurber — Kumail Nanjiani — the man who celebrates Christmas 365 days a year. Nanjiani starred in Silicon Valley and Eternals and earned an Oscar nomination for co-writing The Big Sick.
- Inez — Daphne Rubin-Vega — matriarch of the perpetually stirring "Sauce Family. " Rubin-Vega is Broadway royalty: the original Mimi in Rent, later seen in In the Heights.
- Alfonso — Desmin Borges — Inez's husband and co-owner of the family restaurant, played by the You're the Worst standout.
- Ana — Lilian Rebelo — their teenage daughter, played by a newcomer holding her own in very seasoned company.
When Variety exclusively reported Nanjiani's casting in 2024, a source teased that his character would be "integral to this season's investigation." That turned out to be an understatement — for the whole group.
The man who brought them together
The West Tower's true center is Professor Milton Dudenoff, played by Griffin Dunne — the An American Werewolf in London and After Hours star who also directed Practical Magic. Dudenoff was a film professor whose apartment becomes ground zero in the investigation into Sazz Pataki's (Jane Lynch) death, since the fatal shot came from his window.
Why the Westies matter
They spend most of the season as prime suspects. Between the sealed-off tower, the ham hanging in the shower, the card game called Oh Hell, and the small matter of cashing checks belonging to a professor nobody has seen in years, they look guilty of something. They are — just not the murder. Their secret is a rent-control arrangement, not a killing, and the season's real culprit comes from the Hollywood side of the story.