[Warning: The following contains Major spoilers for The Sympathizer Season 1 Episode 4, “Give Us Some Good Lines.”] The Sympathizer Episode 4 is one of the best episodes of 2024 so far. The episode breaks form from its previous installments and plants the Captain (Hoa Xuande), a double agent pretending to be loyal to the Southern Vietnamese cause and its CIA allies, on the set of an American-made Vietnam War movie directed by Nikos Damianos (the fourth of Robert Downey Jr.‘s characters). The Captain was hired as the cultural consultant for The Hamlet, a noteworthy section of Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. As the man in charge of representing the Vietnamese community, the Captain was in a unique position to both witness the racist depiction of Vietnamese people in this film and do something about it. What resulted in the making of this Apocalypse Now-style movie was a meta commentary that criticizes how Hollywood portrayed the Vietnam War...
- 5/6/2024
- TV Insider
Hoa Xuande’s life changed on Sept. 21, 2022.
It was nine months after he had sent in his audition tape for HBO’s series “The Sympathizer”; he had gone through the gamut of Zoom calls, he’d met with director Park Chan-wook, he’d traveled to South Korea and even made some trips to Los Angeles as part of the audition process. But there was no word on whether he’d gotten the part — radio silence after readings and tests had to mean the worst. But on that fateful September morning, he learned that he’d be playing the Captain, starring in the series opposite Robert Downey Jr. and Sandra Oh. “I felt like I won the lottery,” says Xuande.
The series is based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s 2016 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. The Captain is a spy for North Vietnam who comes to Los Angeles and finds himself with conflicted loyalties.
It was nine months after he had sent in his audition tape for HBO’s series “The Sympathizer”; he had gone through the gamut of Zoom calls, he’d met with director Park Chan-wook, he’d traveled to South Korea and even made some trips to Los Angeles as part of the audition process. But there was no word on whether he’d gotten the part — radio silence after readings and tests had to mean the worst. But on that fateful September morning, he learned that he’d be playing the Captain, starring in the series opposite Robert Downey Jr. and Sandra Oh. “I felt like I won the lottery,” says Xuande.
The series is based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s 2016 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. The Captain is a spy for North Vietnam who comes to Los Angeles and finds himself with conflicted loyalties.
- 5/6/2024
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
Note: This story contains spoilers ahead from “The Sympathizer” Episode 4.
Sunday’s episode of “The Sympathizer” saw The Captain (Hoa Xuande) go to work as an interpreter on auteur Nikos’ (Robert Downey Jr.) film about the Vietnam War.
Co-showrunner Park Chan-wook revealed in an interview with TheWrap that one key change that the series made from Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pultizer Prize-winning source material was moving the location of the film’s set from the Philippines to California.
“I think in the original novel, because it’s inspired by ‘Apocalypse Now,’ they changed the Philippines into Vietnam. But because of the financial restraints, we set this in California and changed that into Vietnam for this movie set,” Chan-wook said. “I think in hindsight, it turned out better in terms of our creative aspect… we were able to bring in our secondary characters into our story to have them play the...
Sunday’s episode of “The Sympathizer” saw The Captain (Hoa Xuande) go to work as an interpreter on auteur Nikos’ (Robert Downey Jr.) film about the Vietnam War.
Co-showrunner Park Chan-wook revealed in an interview with TheWrap that one key change that the series made from Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pultizer Prize-winning source material was moving the location of the film’s set from the Philippines to California.
“I think in the original novel, because it’s inspired by ‘Apocalypse Now,’ they changed the Philippines into Vietnam. But because of the financial restraints, we set this in California and changed that into Vietnam for this movie set,” Chan-wook said. “I think in hindsight, it turned out better in terms of our creative aspect… we were able to bring in our secondary characters into our story to have them play the...
- 5/6/2024
- by Lucas Manfredi
- The Wrap
Projects about the Vietnam War and its aftermath are so plentiful as to be practically their own genre, and they’ve starred a who’s who of Hollywood icons, including John Wayne, Robert De Niro, Marlon Brando, Robin Williams, Tom Cruise, Mel Gibson and Christian Bale.
Notably missing from the casts — at least among the substantive speaking parts — have been performers of actual Vietnamese descent. That’s finally changed with The Sympathizer, HBO and A24’s limited series adaptation of Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer-winning novel. Robert Downey Jr. (who also executive produces) and Sandra Oh are the big names involved, but they are led by relative newcomer Hoa Xuande and joined by Vietnamese costars to tell a story about spycraft and personal and collective identity immediately following the conflict, centering the people whose lives and country were torn apart as a result.
The Hollywood Reporter spoke with eight of...
Notably missing from the casts — at least among the substantive speaking parts — have been performers of actual Vietnamese descent. That’s finally changed with The Sympathizer, HBO and A24’s limited series adaptation of Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer-winning novel. Robert Downey Jr. (who also executive produces) and Sandra Oh are the big names involved, but they are led by relative newcomer Hoa Xuande and joined by Vietnamese costars to tell a story about spycraft and personal and collective identity immediately following the conflict, centering the people whose lives and country were torn apart as a result.
The Hollywood Reporter spoke with eight of...
- 4/30/2024
- by Rebecca Sun
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Park Chan-wook doesn’t actually know how Robert Downey Jr. responded to his characters in “The Sympathizer.”
The acclaimed Korean director worked with Downey for the first time while adapting Viet Thanh Nguyen’s bestselling novel for HBO, and he expected a big-name star at that level to drag out the negotiation process after getting an offer. To Park’s surprise, Downey circled back quickly, and the two of them started to dig into his character — his characters.
Downey, who also executive produced the series along with wife Susan, plays four characters (so far) in the limited series, each with a unique look and voice and motivations — all of which were built in process. There’s C.I.A. agent Claude, the Orientalist Professor Hammer, filmmaker Niko, and Congressman Ned Godwin, and Downey appears to thoroughly enjoy embodying every single one. In his review of the series, IndieWire’s Ben Travers...
The acclaimed Korean director worked with Downey for the first time while adapting Viet Thanh Nguyen’s bestselling novel for HBO, and he expected a big-name star at that level to drag out the negotiation process after getting an offer. To Park’s surprise, Downey circled back quickly, and the two of them started to dig into his character — his characters.
Downey, who also executive produced the series along with wife Susan, plays four characters (so far) in the limited series, each with a unique look and voice and motivations — all of which were built in process. There’s C.I.A. agent Claude, the Orientalist Professor Hammer, filmmaker Niko, and Congressman Ned Godwin, and Downey appears to thoroughly enjoy embodying every single one. In his review of the series, IndieWire’s Ben Travers...
- 4/29/2024
- by Proma Khosla
- Indiewire
Robert Downey Jr. eyes the Primetime Emmy next after his Oscar win for Best Supporting Actor for Oppenheimer. Downey Jr. plays not one but four roles in the new HBO series, The Sympathizer. While the Dolittle actor surprised fans with his different looks in the trailer of the series, fans were not ready for one scene in the third episode. In this scene, Downey Jr. brought out all four characters in a single sequence, and Sandra Oh hijacked an interview to hear all about it.
Robert Downey Jr. in a still from The Sympathizer
The Iron Man actor’s four characters represent different aspects of the American establishment. These characters include CIA agent Claude, Professor Hammer, auteur filmmaker Niko, and Southern California congressman Ned Godwin.
Robert Downey Jr.’s One Scene In The Sympathizer Was Challenging To Shoot
Robert Downey Jr. and Hoa Xuande in the steakhouse scene in The Sympathizer...
Robert Downey Jr. in a still from The Sympathizer
The Iron Man actor’s four characters represent different aspects of the American establishment. These characters include CIA agent Claude, Professor Hammer, auteur filmmaker Niko, and Southern California congressman Ned Godwin.
Robert Downey Jr.’s One Scene In The Sympathizer Was Challenging To Shoot
Robert Downey Jr. and Hoa Xuande in the steakhouse scene in The Sympathizer...
- 4/29/2024
- by Hashim Asraff
- FandomWire
When “The Sympathizer” showrunner and director Park Chan-Wook brainstormed ideas for HBO’s newest miniseries, one scene struck him as a “quintessential American institution and represented the idea of America.” It took place in a steakhouse with several characters coming together.
Based on the best-selling novel by Viet Thanh Nguyen and set at the end of the Vietnam War, “The Sympathizer” follows a captain, played by Hoa Xuande, in the South Vietnamese army who’s secretly spying for the North Vietnamese communists. As Saigon falls and the U.S. retreats, the Captain remains embedded and escapes to Los Angeles. Throughout, Robert Downey Jr. pops up as various characters who interact with the Captain including Claude, the Captain’s CIA contact, as well as a professor, a congressman and an auteur.
Park toyed with the idea of casting Mark Ruffalo and even Josh Brolin along the way, but in the end,...
Based on the best-selling novel by Viet Thanh Nguyen and set at the end of the Vietnam War, “The Sympathizer” follows a captain, played by Hoa Xuande, in the South Vietnamese army who’s secretly spying for the North Vietnamese communists. As Saigon falls and the U.S. retreats, the Captain remains embedded and escapes to Los Angeles. Throughout, Robert Downey Jr. pops up as various characters who interact with the Captain including Claude, the Captain’s CIA contact, as well as a professor, a congressman and an auteur.
Park toyed with the idea of casting Mark Ruffalo and even Josh Brolin along the way, but in the end,...
- 4/29/2024
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
Spoiler Alert: This interview contains spoilers for Episode 3 of “The Sympathizer” on HBO.
Phanxine isn’t an actor.
Or so he says, though one might beg to differ after seeing his performance in “Love It or Leave It,” the third episode of HBO’s “The Sympathizer.” Though he’s no stranger to filmmaking, having directed and produced popular features such as the Vietnamese box office hit “Sweet 20,” Phanxine is a first-time performer. In fact, his involvement in “The Sympathizer” only came together after an audition he attended as a prank — more on that later.
Episode 2 saw the General (Toan Le) begin to suspect the presence of a North Vietnamese spy among the South Vietnamese community he began building in Los Angeles after the war, but he’s still far from realizing that it’s the Captain (Hoa Xuande) who’s betraying him. In an attempt to keep his cover, the...
Phanxine isn’t an actor.
Or so he says, though one might beg to differ after seeing his performance in “Love It or Leave It,” the third episode of HBO’s “The Sympathizer.” Though he’s no stranger to filmmaking, having directed and produced popular features such as the Vietnamese box office hit “Sweet 20,” Phanxine is a first-time performer. In fact, his involvement in “The Sympathizer” only came together after an audition he attended as a prank — more on that later.
Episode 2 saw the General (Toan Le) begin to suspect the presence of a North Vietnamese spy among the South Vietnamese community he began building in Los Angeles after the war, but he’s still far from realizing that it’s the Captain (Hoa Xuande) who’s betraying him. In an attempt to keep his cover, the...
- 4/29/2024
- by Selome Hailu
- Variety Film + TV
This article contains spoilers for The Sympathizer through episode 3.
With the HBO original limited series The Sympathizer, adapting the award-winning 2015 novel of the same name by Viet Thanh Nguyen, audiences get four Robert Downey, Jrs. for the price of one. The Academy Award-winning actor, who also executive produces the series through his production company Team Downey, plays four distinctly different characters over the course of the story. By the series’ third episode, all four of Downey’s characters have not only been introduced, but begun interacting with each other on-screen as the story nears its halfway point.
With so many Downeys to get to know in The Sympathizer, here’s a quick primer explaining the background of each of Downey’s characters, what we know about them so far, and how each figure into the overall story and interact with its protagonist, a Vietnamese double agent known as simply as the Captain.
With the HBO original limited series The Sympathizer, adapting the award-winning 2015 novel of the same name by Viet Thanh Nguyen, audiences get four Robert Downey, Jrs. for the price of one. The Academy Award-winning actor, who also executive produces the series through his production company Team Downey, plays four distinctly different characters over the course of the story. By the series’ third episode, all four of Downey’s characters have not only been introduced, but begun interacting with each other on-screen as the story nears its halfway point.
With so many Downeys to get to know in The Sympathizer, here’s a quick primer explaining the background of each of Downey’s characters, what we know about them so far, and how each figure into the overall story and interact with its protagonist, a Vietnamese double agent known as simply as the Captain.
- 4/29/2024
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
TV is positively cluttered with buzzy book adaptations; 2024 alone has given us “Ripley,” “3 Body Problem,” “Under the Bridge,” “Girls on the Bus,” “Apples Never Fall,” “Palm Royale,” and way too many others to really count. Few of these projects arrive to the screen with as much clout — and as high of expectations — as “The Sympathizer,” HBO’s newest limited series. Not only was Viet Thanh Nguyen’s 2015 novel about the queasy half-existence of a North Vietnamese spy burrowed in the South Vietnamese army extremely popular when it hit book stores in 2015, it was also highly acclaimed, receiving the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. That’s a lot for any show to live up to.
That said, the show certainly has the pedigree behind the cameras to match the original work. The HBO “Sympathizer” limited series comes from Korean auteur Park Chan-wook, who co-created the series with Don McKellar and directs...
That said, the show certainly has the pedigree behind the cameras to match the original work. The HBO “Sympathizer” limited series comes from Korean auteur Park Chan-wook, who co-created the series with Don McKellar and directs...
- 4/22/2024
- by Wilson Chapman
- Indiewire
After giving an outstanding performance in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, and grabbing the Academy Awards for the Best Supporting Actor Robert Downey Jr. is all set to work on his new project, The Sympathizer. He is going to portray four different characters in the movie: a director, a congressional representative, a professor, and a CIA operative. This project is going to be one of the most difficult projects that the Iron Man actor has put his hands on.
Robert Downey Jr. as Lewis Strauss in Oppenheimer
However, working with Nolan in the 2023 historical drama film, helped Rdj to go nuts with his idea of character development. Susan Downey, the actor’s wife gave an insight into how the Inception director’s intensive character process helped the actor. It allowed him to work on each character’s looks and physicality, making them look different from each other.
Christopher Nolan’s Strict...
Robert Downey Jr. as Lewis Strauss in Oppenheimer
However, working with Nolan in the 2023 historical drama film, helped Rdj to go nuts with his idea of character development. Susan Downey, the actor’s wife gave an insight into how the Inception director’s intensive character process helped the actor. It allowed him to work on each character’s looks and physicality, making them look different from each other.
Christopher Nolan’s Strict...
- 4/22/2024
- by Tushar Auddy
- FandomWire
HBO and Max’s latest original series, The Sympathizer, has been a critical success since premiering this April, blending dark comedy with historical drama and life-or-death stakes. Like its 2015 source material, by author Viet Thanh Nguyen, the main story begins in 1975, framed against the backdrop of the fall of Saigon, the historical capital of South Vietnam. This real-life event not only opens The Sympathizer, but its fallout and the shadow of the Vietnam has far-reaching consequences for the rest of the series and its main characters.
With this in mind, a refresher on the real-world history behind the Vietnam War, both during and after the formal withdrawal of American forces in the conflict, is well-worth the time to read to better familiarize oneself with the actual context behind the story. Keep in mind, this isn’t intended to be an authoritative academic source on explaining the history of the Vietnam...
With this in mind, a refresher on the real-world history behind the Vietnam War, both during and after the formal withdrawal of American forces in the conflict, is well-worth the time to read to better familiarize oneself with the actual context behind the story. Keep in mind, this isn’t intended to be an authoritative academic source on explaining the history of the Vietnam...
- 4/21/2024
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
The Sympathizer is a historical black comedy series with elements of war, spy, politics, and mystery. Based on a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction winning 2015 best-selling novel of the same name by Vietnamese-American professor Viet Thanh Nguyen, the HBO series is co-written and directed by Park Chan-wook.
The HBO series is set near the end of the Vietnam war and it follows the story of a spy embedded in the South Vietnam army as he flees to the United States to gather intelligence for the Viet Cong. The Sympathizer is simply a thrilling experience with some great comedy and layered characters that will have you glued to your screen.
The Sympathizer – Episode Guide (When Will the New Episodes Arrive?) Credit – HBO
The Sympathizer consists of seven episodes in total. The historical dark comedy series premiered on HBO with its first episode on April 14, with the rest of the episodes coming out weekly every Sunday.
The HBO series is set near the end of the Vietnam war and it follows the story of a spy embedded in the South Vietnam army as he flees to the United States to gather intelligence for the Viet Cong. The Sympathizer is simply a thrilling experience with some great comedy and layered characters that will have you glued to your screen.
The Sympathizer – Episode Guide (When Will the New Episodes Arrive?) Credit – HBO
The Sympathizer consists of seven episodes in total. The historical dark comedy series premiered on HBO with its first episode on April 14, with the rest of the episodes coming out weekly every Sunday.
- 4/19/2024
- by Kulwant Singh
- Cinema Blind
Not long after winning an Oscar for Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, Robert Downey Jr. is starring in perhaps his most challenging project to date: another high-profile one. The Iron Man star, 59, is starring in a new HBO Max series called The Sympathizer, in which, he is playing four antagonist roles combined.
In addition to playing a CIA agent, Downey Jr. portrays a professor, a congressman, and a film director (who was influenced by Francis Ford Coppola). Meanwhile, Hoa Xuande plays The Captain (a Vietnamese spy) in the HBO series, which is based on the critically acclaimed book of a similar title by Viet Thanh Nguyen.
Hoa Xuande and Robert Downey Jr. in The Sympathizer
Behind The Sympathizer is Park Chan-wook, a renowned filmmaker best known for movies like Oldboy, and The Handmaiden. In a recent interview, the South Korean director and former film critic expressed his disappointment and regret at...
In addition to playing a CIA agent, Downey Jr. portrays a professor, a congressman, and a film director (who was influenced by Francis Ford Coppola). Meanwhile, Hoa Xuande plays The Captain (a Vietnamese spy) in the HBO series, which is based on the critically acclaimed book of a similar title by Viet Thanh Nguyen.
Hoa Xuande and Robert Downey Jr. in The Sympathizer
Behind The Sympathizer is Park Chan-wook, a renowned filmmaker best known for movies like Oldboy, and The Handmaiden. In a recent interview, the South Korean director and former film critic expressed his disappointment and regret at...
- 4/16/2024
- by Siddhika Prajapati
- FandomWire
Spoiler Alert: This article contains details of the first episode of HBO’s limited series The Sympathizer, which premiered on April 14.
“All right, see you stateside,” says Robert Downey Jr’s Claude quips with some gallows humor to Hoa Xuande’s The Captain near the end of the first episode of HBO’s The Sympathizer as communist North Vietnamese forces bombard soon-to-fall Saigon in 1975.
If the slippery CIA officer was the only role Oscar winner Downey portrays in the multi-genre adaptation of Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer-winning novel, it would capture a lot of attention on or off cable. However, Downey plays several characters in multicultural and multinational The Sympathizer from showrunners Park Chan-wook and Don McKellar as the action moves from the dying days of the American War, as it is known in Southeast Asia, to Southern California and back again.
Along with the music-fan spymaster and mentor to the Captain,...
“All right, see you stateside,” says Robert Downey Jr’s Claude quips with some gallows humor to Hoa Xuande’s The Captain near the end of the first episode of HBO’s The Sympathizer as communist North Vietnamese forces bombard soon-to-fall Saigon in 1975.
If the slippery CIA officer was the only role Oscar winner Downey portrays in the multi-genre adaptation of Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer-winning novel, it would capture a lot of attention on or off cable. However, Downey plays several characters in multicultural and multinational The Sympathizer from showrunners Park Chan-wook and Don McKellar as the action moves from the dying days of the American War, as it is known in Southeast Asia, to Southern California and back again.
Along with the music-fan spymaster and mentor to the Captain,...
- 4/15/2024
- by Dominic Patten
- Deadline Film + TV
Robert Downey Jr. stars as not one, but four characters in HBO’s newest thriller series, “The Sympathizer.”
The limited series, which is based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s novel of the same name, follows a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist spy as he hides his identity from a refugee community in Los Angeles during the final days of the Vietnam War.
Keep on reading for the full breakdown of all the characters in “The Sympathizer,” and where you’ve seen each actor before.
Hoa Xuande in “The Sympathizer.” (Hopper Stone/HBO)
Hoa Xuande as The Captain
Hoa Xuande stars as the Captain, a spy for North Vietnam who becomes embedded in a refugee community in Los Angeles. His dual identities prompt him to get caught between his conflicting loyalties and contradicting desires.
Xuande has been featured in “Last King of the Cross,” “A Stitch in Time,” “Cowboy Bebop” and “Hungry Ghosts.
The limited series, which is based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s novel of the same name, follows a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist spy as he hides his identity from a refugee community in Los Angeles during the final days of the Vietnam War.
Keep on reading for the full breakdown of all the characters in “The Sympathizer,” and where you’ve seen each actor before.
Hoa Xuande in “The Sympathizer.” (Hopper Stone/HBO)
Hoa Xuande as The Captain
Hoa Xuande stars as the Captain, a spy for North Vietnam who becomes embedded in a refugee community in Los Angeles. His dual identities prompt him to get caught between his conflicting loyalties and contradicting desires.
Xuande has been featured in “Last King of the Cross,” “A Stitch in Time,” “Cowboy Bebop” and “Hungry Ghosts.
- 4/15/2024
- by Loree Seitz
- The Wrap
If you felt the instinct to pause, rewind, or repeat part of the premiere to HBO’s “The Sympathizer” on its April 14 premiere, showrunner Park Chan-Wook is one step ahead of you.
The Korean director best known for films like “Oldboy” and “The Handmaiden” and the recent “Decision to Leave” was a critical mind in shaping “The Sympathizer,” based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s bestseller, which required anticipating how the audience would receive the story. In Episode 1, we meet our unnamed protagonist, The Captain (Hoa Xuande), whose interrogation frames the flashbacks that follow.
The Captain’s confession was one element of adapting Nguyen’s story, Park told IndieWire over Zoom with a translator, but the second piece of that framework was particularly exciting: The Commandant’s (Quinn Hoàng) interruptions.
“Sometimes the commandant might get angry at the captain, or sometimes be criticizing — that is how he engages himself in this storytelling,...
The Korean director best known for films like “Oldboy” and “The Handmaiden” and the recent “Decision to Leave” was a critical mind in shaping “The Sympathizer,” based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s bestseller, which required anticipating how the audience would receive the story. In Episode 1, we meet our unnamed protagonist, The Captain (Hoa Xuande), whose interrogation frames the flashbacks that follow.
The Captain’s confession was one element of adapting Nguyen’s story, Park told IndieWire over Zoom with a translator, but the second piece of that framework was particularly exciting: The Commandant’s (Quinn Hoàng) interruptions.
“Sometimes the commandant might get angry at the captain, or sometimes be criticizing — that is how he engages himself in this storytelling,...
- 4/15/2024
- by Proma Khosla
- Indiewire
Network: HBO
Episodes: Seven (hour)
Seasons: One
TV show dates: April 14, 2024 -- present
Series status: Has not been cancelled
Performers include: Hoa Xuande, Fred Nguyen Khan, Toan Le, Phanxine, Vy Le, Ky Duyen, Kieu Chinh, Duy Nguyen, Alan Trong, Sandra Oh, and Robert Downey Jr. (in multiple roles).
TV show description:
A historical black comedy-drama series, The Sympathizer TV show is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Viet Thanh Nguyen.
The story revolves around the struggles of the Captain (Xuande), a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist spy during the final days of the Vietnam War.
Read More…...
Episodes: Seven (hour)
Seasons: One
TV show dates: April 14, 2024 -- present
Series status: Has not been cancelled
Performers include: Hoa Xuande, Fred Nguyen Khan, Toan Le, Phanxine, Vy Le, Ky Duyen, Kieu Chinh, Duy Nguyen, Alan Trong, Sandra Oh, and Robert Downey Jr. (in multiple roles).
TV show description:
A historical black comedy-drama series, The Sympathizer TV show is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Viet Thanh Nguyen.
The story revolves around the struggles of the Captain (Xuande), a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist spy during the final days of the Vietnam War.
Read More…...
- 4/15/2024
- by TVSeriesFinale.com
- TVSeriesFinale.com
Following Robert Downey Jr.’s Oscar win for Oppenheimer, new doors of opportunities opened for the actor. Starring in another prestige project, that came as one of his most challenging performances yet, Downey Jr. appeared in a supporting role in the recently released HBO series, The Sympathizer.
HBO series The Sympathizer (2024)
Based on the acclaimed book by Viet Thanh Nguyen, The Sympathizer stars Robert Downey Jr. in four different roles: a director, a congressional representative, a professor, and a CIA operative. While this came as a true challenge for the Iron Man star, the show creator revealed why the actor was booked to play four different roles.
The Sympathizer Creators Explained the Curious Casting of Robert Downey Jr.
Adapted from the novel by Viet Thanh Nguyen; Park Chan-wook, and Don McKellar came up with the brilliant idea for their recently released HBO show The Sympathizer. Starring Hoa Xuande as a Vietnamese spy named The Captain,...
HBO series The Sympathizer (2024)
Based on the acclaimed book by Viet Thanh Nguyen, The Sympathizer stars Robert Downey Jr. in four different roles: a director, a congressional representative, a professor, and a CIA operative. While this came as a true challenge for the Iron Man star, the show creator revealed why the actor was booked to play four different roles.
The Sympathizer Creators Explained the Curious Casting of Robert Downey Jr.
Adapted from the novel by Viet Thanh Nguyen; Park Chan-wook, and Don McKellar came up with the brilliant idea for their recently released HBO show The Sympathizer. Starring Hoa Xuande as a Vietnamese spy named The Captain,...
- 4/15/2024
- by Krittika Mukherjee
- FandomWire
“I am a spy, a sleeper, a spook, a man of two faces.”
So begins Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “The Sympathizer,” which, when released in 2015, was hailed for its humorous, biting interrogation of American perspectives on the Vietnam War.
Integrating elements of the espionage thriller à lá John le Carré with a heavy sense of irony reminiscent of Ralph Ellison’s “Invisible Man,” “The Sympathizer” is told from the viewpoint of an officer in the U.S.-supported South Vietnam army who secretly reports back to communists in North Vietnam. Framed as a confession to the people for whom he has ostensibly been spying, the narrator — who goes unnamed in the novel — chronicles the story of his journey to Southern California, where he joins the Vietnamese refugee community settling there and grapples with questions of loyalty and assimilation.
In a 2015 interview, Nguyen, who is a professor at the University of Southern California,...
So begins Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “The Sympathizer,” which, when released in 2015, was hailed for its humorous, biting interrogation of American perspectives on the Vietnam War.
Integrating elements of the espionage thriller à lá John le Carré with a heavy sense of irony reminiscent of Ralph Ellison’s “Invisible Man,” “The Sympathizer” is told from the viewpoint of an officer in the U.S.-supported South Vietnam army who secretly reports back to communists in North Vietnam. Framed as a confession to the people for whom he has ostensibly been spying, the narrator — who goes unnamed in the novel — chronicles the story of his journey to Southern California, where he joins the Vietnamese refugee community settling there and grapples with questions of loyalty and assimilation.
In a 2015 interview, Nguyen, who is a professor at the University of Southern California,...
- 4/14/2024
- by Rachel Seo
- Variety Film + TV
About a month ago, “The Sympathizer” star Fred Nguyen Khan lost his grandmother.
She was a Vietnamese refugee who sought asylum in Canada, enduring a “staggered escape” that left her and her siblings terrified they wouldn’t survive or see each other again. But were it not for the show, in which Khan now plays a refugee himself, he may never have heard that story.
Set at the end of the Vietnam War, “The Sympathizer” follows a captain in the U.S.-backed South Vietnamese army (Hoa Xuande) who’s secretly spying for the North Vietnamese communists. As Saigon falls and the U.S. retreats, the Captain (as he’s called throughout) remains embedded and escapes to the Los Angeles while continuing to report back to his side about the dealings of the General (Toan Le) and his men — including one of his best friends, Bon (Khan), who knows nothing...
She was a Vietnamese refugee who sought asylum in Canada, enduring a “staggered escape” that left her and her siblings terrified they wouldn’t survive or see each other again. But were it not for the show, in which Khan now plays a refugee himself, he may never have heard that story.
Set at the end of the Vietnam War, “The Sympathizer” follows a captain in the U.S.-backed South Vietnamese army (Hoa Xuande) who’s secretly spying for the North Vietnamese communists. As Saigon falls and the U.S. retreats, the Captain (as he’s called throughout) remains embedded and escapes to the Los Angeles while continuing to report back to his side about the dealings of the General (Toan Le) and his men — including one of his best friends, Bon (Khan), who knows nothing...
- 4/14/2024
- by Selome Hailu
- Variety Film + TV
The life of a spy can be exciting, glamorous, and sexy, but it can also be deadly, especially when you are a sleeper agent whose loyalties are in question. The new HBO satirical/thriller series “The Sympathizer” premieres on Sunday, April 14 at 9 p.m. Et on Max and pulls the curtain back on the world of international espionage before and after the end of the Vietnam War. Starring Hoa Xuande and Robert Downey Jr., the series has all of the makings of HBO’s next Sunday-night obsession. You can watch with a subscription to Max.
How to Watch ‘The Sympathizer’ Premiere When: Sunday, April 14, 2024 at 9:00 Pm Edt Where: Max Stream: Watch with a subscription to Max. Sign Up$9.99+ / month Max.com About ‘The Sympathizer’ Premiere
Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Viet Thanh Nguyen, “The Sympathizer” chronicles the journey of a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist spy known as the Captain...
How to Watch ‘The Sympathizer’ Premiere When: Sunday, April 14, 2024 at 9:00 Pm Edt Where: Max Stream: Watch with a subscription to Max. Sign Up$9.99+ / month Max.com About ‘The Sympathizer’ Premiere
Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Viet Thanh Nguyen, “The Sympathizer” chronicles the journey of a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist spy known as the Captain...
- 4/14/2024
- by Matt Tamanini
- The Streamable
Walton Goggins is no stranger to meaty roles he can make his own, and now the Emmy-nominated “Justified” actor is sinking his teeth into Amazon’s highly anticipated “Fallout,” an adaptation of the popular video game from “Westworld” duo Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy. In the darkly funny post-apocalyptic series, which is now streaming on Prime Video, Goggins pulls double duty as The Ghoul, a disfigured, centuries-old immortal cowboy who’s been stripped of all his humanity, and Cooper Howard, the Hollywood actor he was before the bombs fell. But while Goggins often steals the show — a welcome habit at this point — it’s Ella Purnell’s Lucy who anchors the narrative. Raised in the underground fallout shelters known as Vaults, Lucy travels to the irradiated surface to search for her missing father (Kyle MacLachlan), and she’s shocked to discover a hyper-violent wasteland largely at odds with her inherently optimistic disposition,...
- 4/13/2024
- by Kaitlin Thomas
- Gold Derby
There’s an awful lot of pressure that comes with adapting an acclaimed novel for the screen, especially if it won the prestigious Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. HBO teams up with A24, the indie production company behind Beef and Euphoria, to take on that challenge with its small-screen take on The Sympathizer, the best-selling 2015 novel by Vietnamese-American academic and author Viet Thanh Nguyen. Revered South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook, whose 2003 prison thriller Oldboy is said to have influenced Nguyen’s novel, leads the creative charge as co-creator, director, and writer alongside collaborator Don McKellar (Last Night), who is credited as co-showrunner and writer.
- 4/12/2024
- by Philiana Ng
- Primetimer
This The Sympathizer review contains no spoilers.
Celebrated South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook takes his auteur-driven vision to HBO with the new television series The Sympathizer. Adapting the Pulitzer Prize-winning 2015 novel of the same name by Viet Thanh Nguyen, the series follows a Vietnamese double agent after he flees the country, finding himself drawn deep into a strange juxtaposition of espionage and Hollywood filmmaking. With its off-kilter tone and a quartet of wonderfully weird performances from co-star and executive producer Robert Downey, Jr., The Sympathizer may not be everyone’s cup of tea but, what it does, it does very well.
The Sympathizer opens under the backdrop of the fall of Saigon in 1975, following an unnamed protagonist known and credited simply as “The Captain,” played by Hoa Xuande. Secretly working as a double agent on behalf of the North Vietnamese government, the Captain serves as the right-hand man for a...
Celebrated South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook takes his auteur-driven vision to HBO with the new television series The Sympathizer. Adapting the Pulitzer Prize-winning 2015 novel of the same name by Viet Thanh Nguyen, the series follows a Vietnamese double agent after he flees the country, finding himself drawn deep into a strange juxtaposition of espionage and Hollywood filmmaking. With its off-kilter tone and a quartet of wonderfully weird performances from co-star and executive producer Robert Downey, Jr., The Sympathizer may not be everyone’s cup of tea but, what it does, it does very well.
The Sympathizer opens under the backdrop of the fall of Saigon in 1975, following an unnamed protagonist known and credited simply as “The Captain,” played by Hoa Xuande. Secretly working as a double agent on behalf of the North Vietnamese government, the Captain serves as the right-hand man for a...
- 4/12/2024
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
Robert Downey Jr. had some help from his children to prepare for his role in The Sympathizer.
The actor opened up to Extra at Tuesday’s Los Angeles premiere of the new HBO series about how his kids helped him shave his head for the role.
“They seemed anxious to shave my dome,” Downey admitted. “There’s something really cathartic about shaving your head or shaving someone’s head, and then our daughter Avri was a big Stranger Things fan, and she actually gave herself a buzz cut at one point, too, so I don’t know what to say about all this.”
The Oscar-winning actor shares son Exton, 12, and daughter Avri, 9, with his wife Susan Downey, as well as son Indio, 30, with his ex-wife Deborah Falconer.
In October 2022, Downey documented his kids shaving his head in a video posted on Instagram. In the footage, he enlisted Exton and Avri...
The actor opened up to Extra at Tuesday’s Los Angeles premiere of the new HBO series about how his kids helped him shave his head for the role.
“They seemed anxious to shave my dome,” Downey admitted. “There’s something really cathartic about shaving your head or shaving someone’s head, and then our daughter Avri was a big Stranger Things fan, and she actually gave herself a buzz cut at one point, too, so I don’t know what to say about all this.”
The Oscar-winning actor shares son Exton, 12, and daughter Avri, 9, with his wife Susan Downey, as well as son Indio, 30, with his ex-wife Deborah Falconer.
In October 2022, Downey documented his kids shaving his head in a video posted on Instagram. In the footage, he enlisted Exton and Avri...
- 4/11/2024
- by Carly Thomas
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Will “Fallout” come out on top? Will Emmy voters support “The Sympathizer”? Gold Derby editors and Experts Christopher Rosen and Joyce Eng are here to discuss this week’s two new titles looking to crash into the drama and limited categories.
Based on the video game of the same name, “Fallout” is set in a post-apocalyptic world and stars Ella Purnell, Walton Goggins and Aaron Moten. Will it be as successful at the Emmys as last year’s post-apocalyptic series based on a video game, “The Last of Us”? Unlike the HBO drama, which follows the video game storyline, “Fallout” features an original story, putting gamers and non-gamers on equal footing. With a wide-open drama field, the Amazon Prime Video series can definitely land a spot in the series lineup, provided it’s a hit with viewers as expected, but could it go all the way and win?
See Experts...
Based on the video game of the same name, “Fallout” is set in a post-apocalyptic world and stars Ella Purnell, Walton Goggins and Aaron Moten. Will it be as successful at the Emmys as last year’s post-apocalyptic series based on a video game, “The Last of Us”? Unlike the HBO drama, which follows the video game storyline, “Fallout” features an original story, putting gamers and non-gamers on equal footing. With a wide-open drama field, the Amazon Prime Video series can definitely land a spot in the series lineup, provided it’s a hit with viewers as expected, but could it go all the way and win?
See Experts...
- 4/11/2024
- by Joyce Eng and Christopher Rosen
- Gold Derby
Fresh off of his Oppenheimer Oscar win, Robert Downey Jr. is playing not just one new character but four in upcoming HBO series The Sympathizer.
The series is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name by Viet Thanh Nguyen, which is set at the end of the Vietnam war and follows an unnamed spy known as The Captain (played by Hoa Xuande) who flees to the United States, where he continues to gather intelligence and report back to the Viet Cong. In the show, Downey plays four different Americans who play a role in the spy’s journey: a CIA operative, a professor, a congressman and a movie director.
Park Chan-wook, who served as co-showrunner and directed several of the episodes, explained via a translator at the show’s Los Angeles premiere Tuesday that “even though each of the characters from all of the four have different...
The series is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name by Viet Thanh Nguyen, which is set at the end of the Vietnam war and follows an unnamed spy known as The Captain (played by Hoa Xuande) who flees to the United States, where he continues to gather intelligence and report back to the Viet Cong. In the show, Downey plays four different Americans who play a role in the spy’s journey: a CIA operative, a professor, a congressman and a movie director.
Park Chan-wook, who served as co-showrunner and directed several of the episodes, explained via a translator at the show’s Los Angeles premiere Tuesday that “even though each of the characters from all of the four have different...
- 4/10/2024
- by Kirsten Chuba
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The upcoming HBO series “The Sympathizer” is bringing an unsung voice to a story that has been told and retold from the American point of view, providing actors like Sandra Oh a chance to finally be involved in a project that puts the Vietnamese refugee experience into focus.
“This perspective has been missing for 50 years,” said Oh, who plays the recurring role of Sofia.
Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Viet Thanh Nguyen, the miniseries boasts a majority-Vietnamese cast and crew, including celebrated “The Handmaiden” director and screenwriter Park Chan-wook and esteemed “The Joy Luck Club” actress Kieu Chinh.
Many of the acclaimed talent included are making their American film debuts, and others are getting their big breaks on the international stage. Duy Nguyen was raised in Hanoi, Vietnam, and later immigrated to Montreal, Canada. His story encapsulates Oh’s commitment to the series.
“He has such a deep emotional connection to this project,...
“This perspective has been missing for 50 years,” said Oh, who plays the recurring role of Sofia.
Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Viet Thanh Nguyen, the miniseries boasts a majority-Vietnamese cast and crew, including celebrated “The Handmaiden” director and screenwriter Park Chan-wook and esteemed “The Joy Luck Club” actress Kieu Chinh.
Many of the acclaimed talent included are making their American film debuts, and others are getting their big breaks on the international stage. Duy Nguyen was raised in Hanoi, Vietnam, and later immigrated to Montreal, Canada. His story encapsulates Oh’s commitment to the series.
“He has such a deep emotional connection to this project,...
- 4/10/2024
- by Rance Collins
- Variety Film + TV
Even toward the end of The Sympathizer’s six-month shoot, Hoa Xuande would still sometimes look out over the set in disbelief and think, “Am I really sitting here? Are they really letting me do this?”
“This” would be toplining HBO and A24’s limited series adaptation of Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about a communist North Vietnamese agent (known only as The Captain) embedded on the American-backed South Vietnamese side. It’s a dream role for any actor who relishes a challenge — multilayered, multilingual, packed with drama, comedy, sex and action — on a project with an impeccable pedigree. The seven-part series not only co-stars Robert Downey Jr. (who also executive produces) and Sandra Oh but counts legendary director Park Chan-wook as co-showrunner.
“This show was going to work or not based on this piece of casting,” says executive producer Susan Downey. “Finding The Captain was the most...
“This” would be toplining HBO and A24’s limited series adaptation of Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about a communist North Vietnamese agent (known only as The Captain) embedded on the American-backed South Vietnamese side. It’s a dream role for any actor who relishes a challenge — multilayered, multilingual, packed with drama, comedy, sex and action — on a project with an impeccable pedigree. The seven-part series not only co-stars Robert Downey Jr. (who also executive produces) and Sandra Oh but counts legendary director Park Chan-wook as co-showrunner.
“This show was going to work or not based on this piece of casting,” says executive producer Susan Downey. “Finding The Captain was the most...
- 4/10/2024
- by Rebecca Sun
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Plot: Based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Sympathizer is an espionage thriller and cross-culture satire about the struggles of a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist spy during the final days of the Vietnam War and his new life as a refugee in Los Angeles, where he learns that his spying days aren’t over.
Review: The initial teaser released in 2023 showed that The Sympathizer would be something special. Featuring writing and direction from Park Chan-wook alongside writer Don McKellar and featuring Oscar winner Robert Downey Jr in five distinct roles, The Sympathizer is not only an adaptation of a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel but a masterpiece of visual storytelling. A satirical blend of dark humor and visceral drama, The Sympathizer is unlike anything in recent memory. A startling perspective on the experience of the Vietnam War from the perspective of an unreliable narrator, this series spans years and genres...
Review: The initial teaser released in 2023 showed that The Sympathizer would be something special. Featuring writing and direction from Park Chan-wook alongside writer Don McKellar and featuring Oscar winner Robert Downey Jr in five distinct roles, The Sympathizer is not only an adaptation of a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel but a masterpiece of visual storytelling. A satirical blend of dark humor and visceral drama, The Sympathizer is unlike anything in recent memory. A startling perspective on the experience of the Vietnam War from the perspective of an unreliable narrator, this series spans years and genres...
- 4/10/2024
- by Alex Maidy
- JoBlo.com
On September 15, Robert Downey Jr. will almost certainly take home his first Emmy as best supporting actor in a limited series for HBO’s The Sympathizer.
It will be the latest coronation in a year of coronations for a star who is undisputedly one of our finest, and it will be difficult to begrudge; what Downey does in The Sympathizer hits that sweet spot between “ridiculously entertaining” and “a whole lot of acting” that award-givers love.
But two things can be true: Downey’s performance in The Sympathizer can be saluted as a dexterous feat of actorly gymnastics. At the same time, it’s the misplaced fulcrum that too often causes this seven-episode adaptation of Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel to lose its tonal and narrative balance.
This version of The Sympathizer is still substantive and audacious, a slab of satire and deeply felt human tragedy that’s worthy of conversation and consideration,...
It will be the latest coronation in a year of coronations for a star who is undisputedly one of our finest, and it will be difficult to begrudge; what Downey does in The Sympathizer hits that sweet spot between “ridiculously entertaining” and “a whole lot of acting” that award-givers love.
But two things can be true: Downey’s performance in The Sympathizer can be saluted as a dexterous feat of actorly gymnastics. At the same time, it’s the misplaced fulcrum that too often causes this seven-episode adaptation of Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel to lose its tonal and narrative balance.
This version of The Sympathizer is still substantive and audacious, a slab of satire and deeply felt human tragedy that’s worthy of conversation and consideration,...
- 4/10/2024
- by Daniel Fienberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Park Chan-wook and Don McKellar’s The Sympathizer is a post-Vietnam War tale about a man struggling to be two things at once: Vietnamese and American, capitalist and communist, solider and friend. Ironically, the eight-part miniseries itself achieves a similar duality, succeeding as both an almost academic inquisition into the nebulous nature of racial identity and a raucous spy tale, as well as a high-speed comedy and a dark, biting drama.
Adapted from Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name, The Sympathizer revolves around a character known simply as the Captain. Played by Hoa Xuande, the Captain is a half-French, half-Vietnamese spy and self-described “man of two faces.” By all appearances, he’s a member of South Vietnam’s secret police and an ally to the Americans. In truth, the Captain is an agent of the communists, working undercover to ensure their revolution is a success—or,...
Adapted from Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name, The Sympathizer revolves around a character known simply as the Captain. Played by Hoa Xuande, the Captain is a half-French, half-Vietnamese spy and self-described “man of two faces.” By all appearances, he’s a member of South Vietnam’s secret police and an ally to the Americans. In truth, the Captain is an agent of the communists, working undercover to ensure their revolution is a success—or,...
- 4/10/2024
- by Ross McIndoe
- Slant Magazine
There is so much going on in Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning 2015 novel “The Sympathizer” that it would take a team of true craftsmen even to attempt to unpack it in episodic form. HBO is lucky they hired one of the best in Park Chan-Wook, a supremely and undeniably talented director. The South Korean auteur filmmaker behind “Decision to Leave,” “Oldboy,” and many more brings his remarkable tonal confidence to the first three episodes of “The Sympathizer,” which almost plays like a three-hour new film by the award-winning director.
Continue reading ‘The Sympathizer’ Review: Park Chan-Wook, Robert Downey Jr. Are in Inspired Pairing for HBO’s Ambitious Adaptation at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘The Sympathizer’ Review: Park Chan-Wook, Robert Downey Jr. Are in Inspired Pairing for HBO’s Ambitious Adaptation at The Playlist.
- 4/10/2024
- by Brian Tallerico
- The Playlist
Robert Downey Jr. and Sandra Oh are stepping out for the premiere of their new HBO series!
The co-stars posed for photos on the red carpet at the premiere of The Sympathizer on Tuesday (April 9) held at The Paramount in Los Angeles.
For the premiere, the 59-year-old Oscar-winning actor sported a black sheer shirt with a tan suit while the 52-year-old Golden Globe-winning actress looked pretty in a white, cutout dress.
Fellow cast members in attendance included Hoa Xunade, Fred Nguyen, Toan Le, Duy Nguyen, Vy Le, Kieu Chinh, Kayli Tran, VyVy Nguyen, Ky Duyen, and Marine Delterme.
Keep reading to find out more…Here’s the show’s logline: Based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name, the show is an espionage thriller and cross-culture satire about the struggles of a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist spy during the final days of the Vietnam War and...
The co-stars posed for photos on the red carpet at the premiere of The Sympathizer on Tuesday (April 9) held at The Paramount in Los Angeles.
For the premiere, the 59-year-old Oscar-winning actor sported a black sheer shirt with a tan suit while the 52-year-old Golden Globe-winning actress looked pretty in a white, cutout dress.
Fellow cast members in attendance included Hoa Xunade, Fred Nguyen, Toan Le, Duy Nguyen, Vy Le, Kieu Chinh, Kayli Tran, VyVy Nguyen, Ky Duyen, and Marine Delterme.
Keep reading to find out more…Here’s the show’s logline: Based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name, the show is an espionage thriller and cross-culture satire about the struggles of a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist spy during the final days of the Vietnam War and...
- 4/10/2024
- by Just Jared
- Just Jared
Park Chan-wook is speaking out on the Academy’s decision to not include his 2022 noir film “Decision to Leave” on the Oscar ballot.
While fellow international filmmaker Justine Triet won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar for “Anatomy of a Fall” and landed both Best International Feature, Best Director, Best Actress, and Best Picture nominations, “Decision to Leave” was entirely iced out of the 2023 ceremony.
Now, Park is admitting that his career may have looked a little differently without that “Decision to Leave” Oscars snub. Park told The New Yorker that it would be hypocritical to deny the fact that awards are paramount to a filmmaker’s power trajectory in Hollywood.
“It would be hypocrisy to say that art is the only thing that matters,” Park said. “If you get an award, it might mean you have more power, more creative freedom, in your next project. It might mean you can have a bigger budget.
While fellow international filmmaker Justine Triet won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar for “Anatomy of a Fall” and landed both Best International Feature, Best Director, Best Actress, and Best Picture nominations, “Decision to Leave” was entirely iced out of the 2023 ceremony.
Now, Park is admitting that his career may have looked a little differently without that “Decision to Leave” Oscars snub. Park told The New Yorker that it would be hypocritical to deny the fact that awards are paramount to a filmmaker’s power trajectory in Hollywood.
“It would be hypocrisy to say that art is the only thing that matters,” Park said. “If you get an award, it might mean you have more power, more creative freedom, in your next project. It might mean you can have a bigger budget.
- 4/8/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Robert Downey Jr. may have recently won his first Oscar for Oppenheimer, but he’s not looking to run from his Marvel past.
In fact, the actor says he’d “happily” return as Tony Stark/Iron Man.
“It’s too integral a part of my DNA,” Downey told Esquire in a new interview. “That role chose me. And look, I always say, never, ever bet against Kevin Feige. It is a losing bet. He’s the house. He will always win.”
Downey’s Iron Man met his fate in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame in what was arguably the most emotionally devastating moment in the 33-film Marvel Cinematic Universe. While Marvel Comics also always played fast and loose with character deaths, regularly killing off heroes and villains for effect, only to quickly bring them back, Marvel Studios boss Feige has previously said he’s rather protective of the moment Iron Man sacrificed himself to defeat Thanos.
In fact, the actor says he’d “happily” return as Tony Stark/Iron Man.
“It’s too integral a part of my DNA,” Downey told Esquire in a new interview. “That role chose me. And look, I always say, never, ever bet against Kevin Feige. It is a losing bet. He’s the house. He will always win.”
Downey’s Iron Man met his fate in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame in what was arguably the most emotionally devastating moment in the 33-film Marvel Cinematic Universe. While Marvel Comics also always played fast and loose with character deaths, regularly killing off heroes and villains for effect, only to quickly bring them back, Marvel Studios boss Feige has previously said he’s rather protective of the moment Iron Man sacrificed himself to defeat Thanos.
- 4/8/2024
- by James Hibberd
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission.
Book lovers are in for a treat this year, with a jam-packed slate of movies and T.V series based on bestselling books.
The most recent book to be adapted to the screen is Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning “The Sympathizer,” whose series adaptation arrives on Max this week. The winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, the novel follows a narrator that’s a communist double agent — a half-French, half-Vietnamese army captain — who arranges to come to America after the Fall of Saigon. While building a new life with other Vietnamese refugees in Los Angeles, he secretly reports back to his communist superiors in Vietnam.
The show stars Hoa Xuande (“Cowboy Bepop”) in addition to Robert Downey Jr., Fred Nguyen Khan, Toan Le, Vy Le, Alan Trong,...
Book lovers are in for a treat this year, with a jam-packed slate of movies and T.V series based on bestselling books.
The most recent book to be adapted to the screen is Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning “The Sympathizer,” whose series adaptation arrives on Max this week. The winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, the novel follows a narrator that’s a communist double agent — a half-French, half-Vietnamese army captain — who arranges to come to America after the Fall of Saigon. While building a new life with other Vietnamese refugees in Los Angeles, he secretly reports back to his communist superiors in Vietnam.
The show stars Hoa Xuande (“Cowboy Bepop”) in addition to Robert Downey Jr., Fred Nguyen Khan, Toan Le, Vy Le, Alan Trong,...
- 4/8/2024
- by Anna Tingley
- Variety Film + TV
Following up his noir melodrama Decision to Leave, Park Chan-wook ventured into the world of American television with the forthcoming Max series The Sympathizer, adapting Viet Thanh Nguyen’s acclaimed novel and teaming with Robert Downey Jr. With the limited series premiering next weekend, the director how now announced his next project, which will find him returning to South Korea.
In fact, it’s an adaptation he’s been developing since the early 2010s, that of Donald E. Westlake’s 1997 novel The Ax, which the legendary Costa-Gavras first adapted in 2005. The black comedy thriller follows a chemist, who loses his job to outsourcing. Two years later and still jobless, he hits on a solution: to genuinely eliminate his competition. Here’s an expanded synopsis of the novel:
Burke Devore is a middle-aged manager at a paper company when the cost-cutting ax falls, and he is laid off. Eighteen months later and still unemployed,...
In fact, it’s an adaptation he’s been developing since the early 2010s, that of Donald E. Westlake’s 1997 novel The Ax, which the legendary Costa-Gavras first adapted in 2005. The black comedy thriller follows a chemist, who loses his job to outsourcing. Two years later and still jobless, he hits on a solution: to genuinely eliminate his competition. Here’s an expanded synopsis of the novel:
Burke Devore is a middle-aged manager at a paper company when the cost-cutting ax falls, and he is laid off. Eighteen months later and still unemployed,...
- 4/3/2024
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook is regarded as one of the most prominent filmmakers in South Korean cinema and in the Hollywood entertainment industry. Chan-wook’s work has garnered attention for its cinematography, framing, black humor, and brutal themes.
Park Chan-wook directed, co-wrote, and produced 2022’s critically acclaimed South Korean neo-noir romantic mystery movie Decision to Leave, starring Tang Wei and Park Hae-ii. The movie was named one of the top five international movies in 2022 by the National Board of Review and was selected as a South Korean entry for Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards. The brilliant filmmaker Park Chan-wook is reportedly working on his passion project after he recently collaborated with a Marvel actor.
Tang Wei and Park Hae-ii in Park Chan-wook’s Decision to Leave
Park Chan-wook to start production on his ‘lifelong passion project’ in fall of 2024
According to World of Reel, after...
Park Chan-wook directed, co-wrote, and produced 2022’s critically acclaimed South Korean neo-noir romantic mystery movie Decision to Leave, starring Tang Wei and Park Hae-ii. The movie was named one of the top five international movies in 2022 by the National Board of Review and was selected as a South Korean entry for Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards. The brilliant filmmaker Park Chan-wook is reportedly working on his passion project after he recently collaborated with a Marvel actor.
Tang Wei and Park Hae-ii in Park Chan-wook’s Decision to Leave
Park Chan-wook to start production on his ‘lifelong passion project’ in fall of 2024
According to World of Reel, after...
- 4/2/2024
- by Avneet Ahluwalia
- FandomWire
The Sympathizer: Robert Downey Jr’s TV Comeback (Photo Credit – IMDb)
Robert Downey Jr has come back to television after over two decades. The legendary actor famous for suiting up as Iron Man is gearing up for a big return to TV screens. He’s set to headline an HBO series based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s award-winning novel, The Sympathizer, as per reports.
Downey is getting ready to dive into several supporting characters in The Sympathizer, embodying various antagonists such as “an up-and-coming Orange County congressman, a CIA agent, and a Hollywood film director, among others,” as revealed in a press release. Casting for the main role is currently in full swing.
Deadline broke the news first. This gig signals Robert Downey Jr’s comeback to TV after two decades, making it his first regular small-screen role since his stint on Ally McBeal back in 2002.
Trending The First...
Robert Downey Jr has come back to television after over two decades. The legendary actor famous for suiting up as Iron Man is gearing up for a big return to TV screens. He’s set to headline an HBO series based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s award-winning novel, The Sympathizer, as per reports.
Downey is getting ready to dive into several supporting characters in The Sympathizer, embodying various antagonists such as “an up-and-coming Orange County congressman, a CIA agent, and a Hollywood film director, among others,” as revealed in a press release. Casting for the main role is currently in full swing.
Deadline broke the news first. This gig signals Robert Downey Jr’s comeback to TV after two decades, making it his first regular small-screen role since his stint on Ally McBeal back in 2002.
Trending The First...
- 4/2/2024
- by Hari P N
- KoiMoi
"The Sympathizer” is a new HBO historical black comedy TV miniseries, based on the 2015 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Viet Thanh Nguyen, directed by Park Chan-wook, starring Robert Downey Jr., streaming April 14, 2024 on Max:
“…the series is based on the story of the ‘Captain’, who is a North Vietnam ‘plant’ in the South Vietnam army, forced to flee to America, near the end of the Vietnam War.
“But while living within a community of South Vietnamese refugees, he continues to secretly spy on the community…
“…and report back to the Viet Cong, struggling between his original loyalties and his new life…”
Click the images to enlarge…...
“…the series is based on the story of the ‘Captain’, who is a North Vietnam ‘plant’ in the South Vietnam army, forced to flee to America, near the end of the Vietnam War.
“But while living within a community of South Vietnamese refugees, he continues to secretly spy on the community…
“…and report back to the Viet Cong, struggling between his original loyalties and his new life…”
Click the images to enlarge…...
- 4/1/2024
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
“Quiet on Set” Docuseries to Launch New Episode
The gripping Investigation Discovery docuseries “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV” will release one more episode next month.
The recent four-episode unscripted series details the toxic culture behind some of the most iconic children’s shows of the late 1990s and early 2000s at Nickelodeon, including “The Amanda Show” and “Drake & Josh,” and at the hands of TV producer Dan Schneider.
The surprise fifth episode will reportedly feature new interviews with earlier subjects, including Drake Bell and “All That” cast members Giovonnie Samuels, to build off the revelations from the first four episodes. The episode will also feature new interviewee and “All That” cast member Shane Lyons, who will be interviewed by journalist Soledad O’Brien for a discussion about where the industry can next.
Watch the trailer for “Quiet on Set” below:
According to ID, the first four...
The gripping Investigation Discovery docuseries “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV” will release one more episode next month.
The recent four-episode unscripted series details the toxic culture behind some of the most iconic children’s shows of the late 1990s and early 2000s at Nickelodeon, including “The Amanda Show” and “Drake & Josh,” and at the hands of TV producer Dan Schneider.
The surprise fifth episode will reportedly feature new interviews with earlier subjects, including Drake Bell and “All That” cast members Giovonnie Samuels, to build off the revelations from the first four episodes. The episode will also feature new interviewee and “All That” cast member Shane Lyons, who will be interviewed by journalist Soledad O’Brien for a discussion about where the industry can next.
Watch the trailer for “Quiet on Set” below:
According to ID, the first four...
- 3/29/2024
- by Ashley Steves
- The Streamable
Robert Downey Jr. recently raised headlines when he ended his award run for Oppenheimer with an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. It looks like the Iron Man actor whose acting credibility is often ignored due to his MCU affinity has transformed his script choices. His latest appearance in The Sympathizer trailer proves it.
Robert Downey Jr. in The Sympathizer
The Sympathizer is an upcoming limited series featuring Robert Downey Jr. alongside Sandra Oh and Hoa Xuande, made by the renowned South Korean filmmaker, Park Chan-wook. The 60-year-old is known for making critically acclaimed films like Oldboy, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, and The Handmaiden. It has convinced the fans that Rdj will have another award season to his name.
The Sympathizer trailer promises another Robert Downey Jr. acting masterclass Robert Downey Jr. will portray several role(s) in The Sympathizer
Robert Downey Jr. looked entirely different when he portrayed Lewis Strauss in Oppenheimer.
Robert Downey Jr. in The Sympathizer
The Sympathizer is an upcoming limited series featuring Robert Downey Jr. alongside Sandra Oh and Hoa Xuande, made by the renowned South Korean filmmaker, Park Chan-wook. The 60-year-old is known for making critically acclaimed films like Oldboy, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, and The Handmaiden. It has convinced the fans that Rdj will have another award season to his name.
The Sympathizer trailer promises another Robert Downey Jr. acting masterclass Robert Downey Jr. will portray several role(s) in The Sympathizer
Robert Downey Jr. looked entirely different when he portrayed Lewis Strauss in Oppenheimer.
- 3/29/2024
- by Subham Mandal
- FandomWire
Filmmaker Andrew Jarecki continues his investigation of convicted murderer Robert Durst in The Jinx – Part Two, a six-episode documentary series premiering on Max on April 21, 2024. The streaming service’s April lineup also includes the seven-episode limited series The Sympathizer, based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel and starring Oscar winner Robert Downey Jr in multiple roles.
Comedian Alex Edelman hosts a brand new comedy special, and Conan O’Brien visits favorite fans from his podcast series in the four-episode unscripted series Conan O’Brien Must Go. The documentary series The Synanon Fix exploring the drug rehabilitation program joins Max’s lineup on April 1st. And the streaming service has set April premiere dates for the documentaries Brandy Hellville & The Cult Of Fast Fashion and An American Bombing: The Road To April 19th.
Series & Films Arriving On Max In April 2024
April 1
American Renegades (2018)
Basquiat (1996)
Black Swan (2010)
Body of Lies (2008)
Bridget Jones’s Diary...
Comedian Alex Edelman hosts a brand new comedy special, and Conan O’Brien visits favorite fans from his podcast series in the four-episode unscripted series Conan O’Brien Must Go. The documentary series The Synanon Fix exploring the drug rehabilitation program joins Max’s lineup on April 1st. And the streaming service has set April premiere dates for the documentaries Brandy Hellville & The Cult Of Fast Fashion and An American Bombing: The Road To April 19th.
Series & Films Arriving On Max In April 2024
April 1
American Renegades (2018)
Basquiat (1996)
Black Swan (2010)
Body of Lies (2008)
Bridget Jones’s Diary...
- 3/29/2024
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
HBO has released the official trailer and key art for the seven-episode HBO Original limited series The Sympathizer, debuting Sunday, April 14 (9:00-10:00 p.m. Et/Pt). Park Chan-wook and Don McKellar co-showrun and executive produce. The series stars Hoa Xuande, Fred Nguyen Khan, Toan Le, Phanxine, Vy Le, Ky Duyen, Kieu Chinh, Duy Nguyen, Alan Trong, Emmy® winner Sandra Oh and Academy Award® nominee Robert Downey Jr., who plays multiple roles. Based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name, The Sympathizer is an espionage thriller and cross-culture satire about the struggles of a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist spy during the final days of ... Read more...
- 3/28/2024
- by Thomas Miller
- Seat42F
The trailer for HBO’s upcoming limited series The Sympathizer has debuted online!
Here’s the logline: Based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name, the show is an espionage thriller and cross-culture satire about the struggles of a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist spy during the final days of the Vietnam War and his new life as a refugee in Los Angeles, where he learns that his spying days aren’t over.
Keep reading to find out more…
The series stars Robert Downey, Jr. (who plays multiple roles), Sandra Oh, Hoa Xuande, Fred Nguyen Khan, Toan Le, Phanxine, Vy Le, Ky Duyen, Kieu Chinh, Duy Nguyen, and Alan Trong.
The show will debut on Sunday (April 14) on HBO.
Watch the teaser below and see some stills in the gallery!
Here’s the logline: Based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name, the show is an espionage thriller and cross-culture satire about the struggles of a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist spy during the final days of the Vietnam War and his new life as a refugee in Los Angeles, where he learns that his spying days aren’t over.
Keep reading to find out more…
The series stars Robert Downey, Jr. (who plays multiple roles), Sandra Oh, Hoa Xuande, Fred Nguyen Khan, Toan Le, Phanxine, Vy Le, Ky Duyen, Kieu Chinh, Duy Nguyen, and Alan Trong.
The show will debut on Sunday (April 14) on HBO.
Watch the teaser below and see some stills in the gallery!
- 3/28/2024
- by Just Jared
- Just Jared
“Welcome to the world of spycraft!”
HBO released the newest trailer for its upcoming series The Sympathizer, based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name. Robert Downey Jr. stars in and executive produces the seven-episode show alongside his wife and producing partner Susan Downey.
“Biracial. Bilingual. I was a synthesis of incompatibilities, so what did I do?” Hoa Xuande’s The Captain says at the beginning of the trailer, over scenes of his spy work. “Saigon 1975. I was a man of two faces. The war was ending, and I awaited my new assignment.”
When his handler, played by Downey, appears in Vietnam, he tells The Captain his next job for the CIA is in America. “By the time I’m through with you, you’ll be able to blend in with the Harvard rowing crew,” Downey tells him.
As the two-and-half-minute trailer goes on, it...
HBO released the newest trailer for its upcoming series The Sympathizer, based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name. Robert Downey Jr. stars in and executive produces the seven-episode show alongside his wife and producing partner Susan Downey.
“Biracial. Bilingual. I was a synthesis of incompatibilities, so what did I do?” Hoa Xuande’s The Captain says at the beginning of the trailer, over scenes of his spy work. “Saigon 1975. I was a man of two faces. The war was ending, and I awaited my new assignment.”
When his handler, played by Downey, appears in Vietnam, he tells The Captain his next job for the CIA is in America. “By the time I’m through with you, you’ll be able to blend in with the Harvard rowing crew,” Downey tells him.
As the two-and-half-minute trailer goes on, it...
- 3/28/2024
- by Christy Piña
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
HBO has released the official trailer for its seven-episode limited series The Sympathizer, which will premiere on Sunday, April 14 (9:00-10:00 p.m. Et/Pt). In addition to premiering on HBO, the series will be available to stream on Max.
Based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name, The Sympathizer is an espionage thriller and cross-culture satire about the struggles of a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist spy during the final days of the Vietnam War and his new life as a refugee in Los Angeles, where he learns that his spying days aren’t over.
Park Chan-wook and Don McKellar co-showrun and executive produce the show, which comes from A24.
The series stars Hoa Xuande, Fred Nguyen Khan, Toan Le, Phanxine, Vy Le, Ky Duyen, Kieu Chinh, Duy Nguyen, Alan Trong, Emmy winner Sandra Oh, and Academy Award nominee Robert Downey Jr., who plays multiple roles.
Based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name, The Sympathizer is an espionage thriller and cross-culture satire about the struggles of a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist spy during the final days of the Vietnam War and his new life as a refugee in Los Angeles, where he learns that his spying days aren’t over.
Park Chan-wook and Don McKellar co-showrun and executive produce the show, which comes from A24.
The series stars Hoa Xuande, Fred Nguyen Khan, Toan Le, Phanxine, Vy Le, Ky Duyen, Kieu Chinh, Duy Nguyen, Alan Trong, Emmy winner Sandra Oh, and Academy Award nominee Robert Downey Jr., who plays multiple roles.
- 3/28/2024
- by Mirko Parlevliet
- Vital Thrills
Robert Downey Jr. may newly be wearing the title of Oscar winner, but the “Oppenheimer” star is shedding all semblance of self for Park Chan-wook’s “The Sympathizer.”
Downey is a chameleon in multiple roles for the HBO seven-episode limited series, co-showrun by Park and Don McKellar who both executive produce. “The Sympathizer” is based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name and is at once an espionage thriller and cross-culture satire about the struggles of a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist spy (Hoa Xuande) during the final days of the Vietnam War. As he starts his new life as a refugee in Los Angeles he learns that his spying days aren’t over.
“The Sympathizer” cast also includes Sandra Oh, Fred Nguyen Khan, Toan Le, Phanxine, Vy Le, Ky Duyen, Kieu Chinh, Duy Nguyen, and Alan Trong. The series is a co-production between A24 and HBO,...
Downey is a chameleon in multiple roles for the HBO seven-episode limited series, co-showrun by Park and Don McKellar who both executive produce. “The Sympathizer” is based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name and is at once an espionage thriller and cross-culture satire about the struggles of a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist spy (Hoa Xuande) during the final days of the Vietnam War. As he starts his new life as a refugee in Los Angeles he learns that his spying days aren’t over.
“The Sympathizer” cast also includes Sandra Oh, Fred Nguyen Khan, Toan Le, Phanxine, Vy Le, Ky Duyen, Kieu Chinh, Duy Nguyen, and Alan Trong. The series is a co-production between A24 and HBO,...
- 3/28/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
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