The satirical spy-thriller “The Sympathizer” hopes to make a mark at the Primetime Emmys this year, as HBO/Max has submitted the show for 27 Emmy categories. The hopeful bids from creators Park Chan-wook and Don McKellar include acting recognition for breakout performer Hoa Xuande and superstar Robert Downey Jr., as well as outstanding limited or anthology series.
Based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s 2015 debut novel, “The Sympathizer” tells the story of “The Captain” (Xuande), a North Vietnamese soldier in the South Vietnamese army who is forced to flee to the United States with his general near the end of the Vietnam War. While living within a community of South Vietnamese refugees, he continues to spy on the community, struggling between his original loyalties and his new life.
Fresh off his Oscar win for supporting actor in “Oppenheimer,” Downey aims to become the first male actor to win an Oscar and...
Based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s 2015 debut novel, “The Sympathizer” tells the story of “The Captain” (Xuande), a North Vietnamese soldier in the South Vietnamese army who is forced to flee to the United States with his general near the end of the Vietnam War. While living within a community of South Vietnamese refugees, he continues to spy on the community, struggling between his original loyalties and his new life.
Fresh off his Oscar win for supporting actor in “Oppenheimer,” Downey aims to become the first male actor to win an Oscar and...
- 5/14/2024
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Robert Downey Jr.’s brilliant string of roles in A24’s “The Sympathizer” (streaming Sundays on HBO) is a tour de force reminiscent of Peter Sellers’ legendary turns in “Dr. Strangelove.” But Downey does Sellers one better by portraying four characters that serve as interconnected projections of American patriarchy to the Captain (Hoa Xuan Nguyen), a communist spy embedded in the South Vietnam army with a severe identity crisis. It was all part of an ingenious plan by director Park Chan-wook.
After the fall of Saigon, the Captain is forced to flee to the U.S. to continue his post-war mission. He winds up in L.A., where he continues interacting with Claude, a pop music-loving CIA operative, and his college mentor, Hammer, a gay East Asian studies professor who sponsors him. In addition, the Captain gets introduced to Ned Godwin, a military vet-turned-congressman, and Niko, a counter-culture film director,...
After the fall of Saigon, the Captain is forced to flee to the U.S. to continue his post-war mission. He winds up in L.A., where he continues interacting with Claude, a pop music-loving CIA operative, and his college mentor, Hammer, a gay East Asian studies professor who sponsors him. In addition, the Captain gets introduced to Ned Godwin, a military vet-turned-congressman, and Niko, a counter-culture film director,...
- 5/6/2024
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
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
[Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for “Barry” Season 4.]
“Barry” Season 4 is effectively split in half. The first four episodes take place in the regular flow of the three seasons that came before it, however ominous things have gotten for the people at the center. But the end of Episode 4 brings quite the cliffhanger, with characters suddenly living in a visibly different future. It’s the classic farewell season time jump.
That big storytelling swing led to some dramatic physical changes, too. In Episodes 5 and 6, when the show catches up with its main characters, they’ve each transformed in their own way. Sally (Sarah Goldberg) is going by Emily, Gene (Henry Winkler) has flowing locks and a thick beard, and Fuches (Stephen Root) has a whole body’s worth of elaborate tattoos.
In some cases where hair changes to show the passage of time, it’s an opportunity for an actor to really grow things out and get physically connected to the character,...
“Barry” Season 4 is effectively split in half. The first four episodes take place in the regular flow of the three seasons that came before it, however ominous things have gotten for the people at the center. But the end of Episode 4 brings quite the cliffhanger, with characters suddenly living in a visibly different future. It’s the classic farewell season time jump.
That big storytelling swing led to some dramatic physical changes, too. In Episodes 5 and 6, when the show catches up with its main characters, they’ve each transformed in their own way. Sally (Sarah Goldberg) is going by Emily, Gene (Henry Winkler) has flowing locks and a thick beard, and Fuches (Stephen Root) has a whole body’s worth of elaborate tattoos.
In some cases where hair changes to show the passage of time, it’s an opportunity for an actor to really grow things out and get physically connected to the character,...
- 5/16/2023
- by Steve Greene
- Indiewire
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