Tyler Ledford is a supporting antagonist in The Menu. He was played by Nicholas Hoult.
Biography[]
Rich foodie Tyler Ledford and his date, Margot Mills, travel by boat to Hawthorne, an exclusive restaurant on a private island owned by celebrity chef Julian Slowik. The other guests are food critic Lillian Bloom; her editor Ted; wealthy regulars Richard and Anne Leibbrandt; washed-up movie star George Diaz and his personal assistant Felicity Lynn; business partners Soren, Dave, and Bryce; and Slowik's alcoholic mother Linda. The group is given an island tour by maître d' Elsa, who notes that Margot is not Tyler's designated guest.
Dinner begins and Slowik introduces a series of courses, during which he delivers increasingly unsettling monologues. For the third course, uncomfortable truths about each guest are exposed via images laser-printed on tortillas, with Tyler's torillas showing him photographing the food despite having been told not to. During the fourth course, sous-chef Jeremy kills himself, shocking the guests, yet Tyler is apparently unfazed. When Richard tries to leave, the staff cuts off his left ring finger as a warning to stay. Hawthorn's angel investor Doug Verrick, to whom Slowik relinquished ownership during the COVID-19 pandemic, is drowned in front of the guests. The fifth course commences with Slowik allowing himself to be stabbed by Katherine, an employee whom he had sexually harassed. The female guests dine with Katherine while the men are given the chance to escape the island via a game of cat-and-mouse, but Slowik's staff catches them all. When Lillian attempts to gain Katherine's favor by offering assistance in starting her own restaurant, Katherine reveals that she was the one who suggested Slowik kill the guests and staff.
Slowik explains that each guest was invited because they contributed to him losing his passion for his craft or because they make a living by exploiting the work of food artisans like him. He announces that everyone will be dead by the end of the night. Since Margot's presence was unplanned, Slowik privately gives her the choice of dying with the staff or the guests. When she hesitates, he chooses the staff. Margot is unmasked as an escort named Erin, whose clients included Richard, whom she stopped meeting because he hired her to pretend to be his daughter.
Death[]
Tyler's hanging body
Slowik reveals that Tyler was informed beforehand that the guests would be killed. Despite this, he was so zealous to participate in Slowik's craft that he kept it secret and hired Margot to replace his ex-girlfriend because Hawthorn does not seat lone diners, much to Margot's anger. Slowik then invites Tyler to cook, much to Tyler's surprise and glee. However, his performance in the kitchen fails to live up to his pretensions and he winds up embarassing himself in front of all the staff and guests by cooking a bullshit meal of lamb, shallots, leeks and butter. Slowik humiliates him by detailing his culinary mistakes, then whispers something discreet into his ear, which upsets Tyler so much that he winds up hanging himself in a closet. His body is discovered by Margot soon after.
Trivia[]
- Actor Nicholas Hoult actually ate everything served while filming, despite most of the meals being cold and unappetizing in real life.