When Team Downey co-founder Susan Downey and president of production Amanda Burrell were approached with what would become “The Sympathizer,” it presented them and fellow co-founder and star Robert Downey Jr. with what Susan Downey calls “an excellent creative opportunity and challenge.” It also led to a question: “How are we going to pull this off?”
Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book by Viet Thanh Nguyen and developed for television by acclaimed filmmaker Park Chan-wook and Don McKellar as well as A24, “The Sympathizer” is the kind of big-swing television show Team Downey has become known for getting behind, following projects like the acclaimed HBO series “Perry Mason” and the ongoing Netflix drama “Sweet Tooth” (which returns for its third and final season on June 6). The show focuses on an unnamed protagonist, called simply The Captain (breakout star Hoa Xuande), a North Vietnamese spy who infiltrated the South Vietnamese army...
Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book by Viet Thanh Nguyen and developed for television by acclaimed filmmaker Park Chan-wook and Don McKellar as well as A24, “The Sympathizer” is the kind of big-swing television show Team Downey has become known for getting behind, following projects like the acclaimed HBO series “Perry Mason” and the ongoing Netflix drama “Sweet Tooth” (which returns for its third and final season on June 6). The show focuses on an unnamed protagonist, called simply The Captain (breakout star Hoa Xuande), a North Vietnamese spy who infiltrated the South Vietnamese army...
- 5/31/2024
- by Christopher Rosen
- Gold Derby
The Captain (Hoa Xuande) is our guide through both Viet Thanh Nguyen’s novel and the HBO limited series version of “The Sympathizer,” but he is also a mystery — most especially to himself. A communist spy who is pulled irresistibly towards the height of Western decadence (Los Angeles in the late ’70s) and depravity (a film set in the late ’70s), the goal of the show is to mirror Nguyen’s prose and give the viewer a visceral sense of The Captain’s alienation.
While the flashiest choice “The Sympathizer” makes is Robert Downey Jr. playing all the significant Western figures who attempt to influence The Captain, there are also smaller, subtler tortures within the show’s imagery itself. The cinematography (by “Decision To Leave” maestro Kim Ji-yong and “The Hurt Locker” veteran Barry Ackroyd) continually puts pressure on The Captain through a sense of heat, sickly light, and eyes just beyond the frame.
While the flashiest choice “The Sympathizer” makes is Robert Downey Jr. playing all the significant Western figures who attempt to influence The Captain, there are also smaller, subtler tortures within the show’s imagery itself. The cinematography (by “Decision To Leave” maestro Kim Ji-yong and “The Hurt Locker” veteran Barry Ackroyd) continually puts pressure on The Captain through a sense of heat, sickly light, and eyes just beyond the frame.
- 5/30/2024
- by Sarah Shachat
- Indiewire
For Australian Vietnamese actor Hoa Xuande, the Vietnam War was a compilation of incredibly sad yet impactful stories shared by family members that up until recently, he didn’t fully understand.
But since joining the cast of the HBO miniseries The Sympathizer, based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name, Xuande wishes he could have those moments with his loved ones again with a better understanding of what their experiences might’ve been like as well as the atrocities of war.
From Park Chan-wook and Don McKellar, The Sympathizer is an espionage thriller and cross-culture satire about the struggles of Captain (Xuande), a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist spy during the final days of the Vietnam War and his resulting exile in the United States. As Captain keeps himself as a double agent across the 7-episode project, he meets and befriends a variety of interesting characters, four...
But since joining the cast of the HBO miniseries The Sympathizer, based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name, Xuande wishes he could have those moments with his loved ones again with a better understanding of what their experiences might’ve been like as well as the atrocities of war.
From Park Chan-wook and Don McKellar, The Sympathizer is an espionage thriller and cross-culture satire about the struggles of Captain (Xuande), a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist spy during the final days of the Vietnam War and his resulting exile in the United States. As Captain keeps himself as a double agent across the 7-episode project, he meets and befriends a variety of interesting characters, four...
- 5/28/2024
- by Rosy Cordero
- Deadline Film + TV
Will There Be The Sympathizer Season 2? ( Photo Credit – IMDb )
HBO’s The Sympathizer has reached its conclusion with its finale episode, ‘Endings Are Hard, Aren’t They?’ The makers could not have come up with a better title, as nobody wanted the historical black comedy series to end.
Over seven episodes, the show garnered a dedicated following owing to its riveting storyline and fascinating performances by Hoa Xuande and Robert Downey Jr. As the audience still can not get enough of the series, there is already a demand for a second season. But has The Sympathizer been renewed for a second season? Here is everything we know so far.
Will The Sympathizer Return with Season 2 on HBO?
The Sympathizer has not been renewed for a second season as of now. Based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name, the series was labelled as a limited series,...
HBO’s The Sympathizer has reached its conclusion with its finale episode, ‘Endings Are Hard, Aren’t They?’ The makers could not have come up with a better title, as nobody wanted the historical black comedy series to end.
Over seven episodes, the show garnered a dedicated following owing to its riveting storyline and fascinating performances by Hoa Xuande and Robert Downey Jr. As the audience still can not get enough of the series, there is already a demand for a second season. But has The Sympathizer been renewed for a second season? Here is everything we know so far.
Will The Sympathizer Return with Season 2 on HBO?
The Sympathizer has not been renewed for a second season as of now. Based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name, the series was labelled as a limited series,...
- 5/28/2024
- by Jashandeep Singh
- KoiMoi
[Editor’s note: The following interview contains mild spoilers for “The Sympathizer,” Episode 7, “Endings Are Hard, Aren’t They?”]
In the end, “The Sympathizer” was not a show that kept things simple. An adaptation of Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning 2015 novel, the HBO limited series helmed by filmmaker Park Chan-wook and Don McKellar concludes in a way that reframes the events of its premiere episodes, and eventually arrives at a thesis that helps ease the protagonist’s internal tug-of-war.
According to star Hoa Xuande, putting an emphasis on the “nothing” in the phrase “Nothing is more important than independence and freedom” makes his character The Captain, a Communist spy embedded in the South Vietnamese army, who begins to lose himself when he’s forced to follow that community in exile in the United States, “realize that he’s been fighting for these things that have been out of his reach, that are just ideals that are unobtainable, and that...
In the end, “The Sympathizer” was not a show that kept things simple. An adaptation of Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning 2015 novel, the HBO limited series helmed by filmmaker Park Chan-wook and Don McKellar concludes in a way that reframes the events of its premiere episodes, and eventually arrives at a thesis that helps ease the protagonist’s internal tug-of-war.
According to star Hoa Xuande, putting an emphasis on the “nothing” in the phrase “Nothing is more important than independence and freedom” makes his character The Captain, a Communist spy embedded in the South Vietnamese army, who begins to lose himself when he’s forced to follow that community in exile in the United States, “realize that he’s been fighting for these things that have been out of his reach, that are just ideals that are unobtainable, and that...
- 5/27/2024
- by Marcus Jones
- Indiewire
Sky Atlantic debuts the limited series The Sympathizer, based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. Premiering on May 27 at 9:00 p.m., the series blends espionage and cross-cultural satire with a top flight cast, including Hoa Xuande and Robert Downey Jr. in multiple roles. The Sympathizer takes us into the world of a half-French, […]
Sky Atlantic Premieres Espionage Thriller The Sympathizer on Monday 27 May...
Sky Atlantic Premieres Espionage Thriller The Sympathizer on Monday 27 May...
- 5/25/2024
- by Noah Masire
- MemorableTV
Much like “Hannibal,” it’s difficult to believe a show as spooky and complex as “Evil” ever aired on network television. But as the horror series about an unlikely trio investigating reports of demonic incidents for the Catholic Church debuts its entertaining final season on Paramount+, where the Robert and Michelle King-created series moved in Season 2, it’s also hard to believe the show exists anywhere, as it remains wholly unlike anything else on TV.
In Season 4, the first episode of which is now streaming, the series continues to balance its unique cases of the week with storylines involving overarching mythology, all while engaging with and exploring the personal beliefs and fears of Kristen (Katja Herbers), David (Mike Colter) and Ben (Aasif Mandvi). And then there’s that little issue of the antichrist and the fact it’s Kristen’s biological child. All of these things come together nicely...
In Season 4, the first episode of which is now streaming, the series continues to balance its unique cases of the week with storylines involving overarching mythology, all while engaging with and exploring the personal beliefs and fears of Kristen (Katja Herbers), David (Mike Colter) and Ben (Aasif Mandvi). And then there’s that little issue of the antichrist and the fact it’s Kristen’s biological child. All of these things come together nicely...
- 5/25/2024
- by Kaitlin Thomas
- Gold Derby
The Sympathizer is a period spy thriller and dark comedy series created by Park Chan-wook and Don McKellar. Based on a 2015 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name by Vietnamese author Viet Thanh Nguyen, the HBO series follows the story of the Captain, a North Vietnam spy planted in the army of South Vietnam but when he is forced to flee to the United States, he keeps gathering information on his community to send it back to the Viet Cong. The Sympathizer stars Hoa Xuande in the lead role with Robert Downey Jr., Toan Le, Fred Nguyen Khan, Duy Nguyễn, Vy Le, Ky Duyen, Kieu Chinh, Alan Trong, and Sandra Oh starring in supporting roles. If you loved the spy thriller and dark comedy aspects of The Sympathizer here are some similar shows you could watch next.
The Americans (Hulu & Rent on Prime Video) Credit – FX
The Americans is a...
The Americans (Hulu & Rent on Prime Video) Credit – FX
The Americans is a...
- 5/21/2024
- by Kulwant Singh
- Cinema Blind
South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook is the latest auteur making the migration to television. He previously dabbled in serialized narratives by directing all six episodes of the 2018 BBC spy thriller mini-series "The Little Drummer Girl." Adapting a John Le Carré novel, famous for their intricate plots, for his second English-language work? Park's pulled off that and more.
This year, Park co-created "The Sympathizer," a Vietnam War satire starring Robert Downey Jr. and Hoa Xuande. Adapted from Viet Thanh Nguyen's 2015 novel (and Pulitzer winner), Park also directed the series' first three episodes. Most recently, it's been confirmed that he's producing a TV remake of his most famous film: 2003 revenge thriller "Oldboy."
Park is one of the most internationally known filmmakers from South Korea. The country has a thriving movie industry. (Check out /Film's picks for the best South Korean film directors here.) Before Park took off as a director,...
This year, Park co-created "The Sympathizer," a Vietnam War satire starring Robert Downey Jr. and Hoa Xuande. Adapted from Viet Thanh Nguyen's 2015 novel (and Pulitzer winner), Park also directed the series' first three episodes. Most recently, it's been confirmed that he's producing a TV remake of his most famous film: 2003 revenge thriller "Oldboy."
Park is one of the most internationally known filmmakers from South Korea. The country has a thriving movie industry. (Check out /Film's picks for the best South Korean film directors here.) Before Park took off as a director,...
- 5/18/2024
- by Devin Meenan
- Slash Film
Sandra Oh's character in Grey's Anatomy, heart surgeon Cristina Yang, has a difficult personality and the ability to accept the blows of fate with dignity: she experienced the death of her father, a runaway bridegroom, unsuccessful pregnancies, and a plane crash.
Why Did Sandra Oh Leave Grey's Anatomy?
Sandra Oh began her career as a ballerina, but later decided to connect her life to the film industry. Unlike Ellen Pompeo, Sandra already had experience playing leading roles before filming Grey's Anatomy.
She starred in The Diary of Evelyn Lau and Bean, Last Night, The Red Violin and Waking the Dead. But her biggest work was of course Grey's Anatomy. Sandra was a member of the medical procedural cast for almost ten years: from 2005 to 2014.
However, in 2014, after ten seasons, the actress announced her departure from the television project. She felt that she had given her character everything she could...
Why Did Sandra Oh Leave Grey's Anatomy?
Sandra Oh began her career as a ballerina, but later decided to connect her life to the film industry. Unlike Ellen Pompeo, Sandra already had experience playing leading roles before filming Grey's Anatomy.
She starred in The Diary of Evelyn Lau and Bean, Last Night, The Red Violin and Waking the Dead. But her biggest work was of course Grey's Anatomy. Sandra was a member of the medical procedural cast for almost ten years: from 2005 to 2014.
However, in 2014, after ten seasons, the actress announced her departure from the television project. She felt that she had given her character everything she could...
- 5/16/2024
- by zoe-wallace@startefacts.com (Zoe Wallace)
- STartefacts.com
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
For decades, the Gotham Awards have honored the best in independent film as decided by select committees of industry insiders, festival programmers, and media experts. In recent years they have expanded into TV, but in 2024, for the first time, they are holding a separate awards show dedicated to the best new television programs of the year. Scroll down for the complete list of inaugural nominees. Winners will be presented on Tuesday, June 4, in New York City.
Jeffrey Sharp, The Gotham’s Executive Director, said in a statement, “In a historic moment for The Gotham, we’re thrilled to recognize an extraordinary collection of TV series and the brilliant creators responsible for bringing them to the screen. As an organization dedicated to celebrating and nurturing independent media, we know the inaugural 2024 Gotham TV Awards will honor many truly deserving creatives while widening our reach and expanding our impact. We are enormously...
Jeffrey Sharp, The Gotham’s Executive Director, said in a statement, “In a historic moment for The Gotham, we’re thrilled to recognize an extraordinary collection of TV series and the brilliant creators responsible for bringing them to the screen. As an organization dedicated to celebrating and nurturing independent media, we know the inaugural 2024 Gotham TV Awards will honor many truly deserving creatives while widening our reach and expanding our impact. We are enormously...
- 5/14/2024
- by Daniel Montgomery
- Gold Derby
The Gotham Film & Media Institute announced today the nominations in seven competitive award categories for its inaugural Gotham TV Awards, recognizing a range of series, including Baby Reindeer, Ripley, The Curse, Shōgun, Bodkin, Mr. & Mrs. Smith and Black Twitter: A People’s History as well as performances from Emma Stone and Nathan Fielder in The Curse, Andrew Scott in Ripley, Kristen Wiig in Palm Royale, Richard Gadd in Baby Reindeer, and Lily Gladstone in Under The Bridge, among others. The awards ceremony is set for June 4 in NYC.
“In a historic moment for The Gotham, we’re thrilled to recognize an extraordinary collection of TV series and the brilliant creators responsible for bringing them to the screen,” said Jeffrey Sharp, The Gotham’s Executive Director.
The longstanding Gotham Awards is focused on film but includes three television categories. From here on, they will migrate to the new event.
“In a historic moment for The Gotham, we’re thrilled to recognize an extraordinary collection of TV series and the brilliant creators responsible for bringing them to the screen,” said Jeffrey Sharp, The Gotham’s Executive Director.
The longstanding Gotham Awards is focused on film but includes three television categories. From here on, they will migrate to the new event.
- 5/14/2024
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
The Gotham Film & Media Institute has announced its nominees in seven categories for the inaugural Gotham TV Awards.
Baby Reindeer, Ripley, The Curse, Shōgun, Bodkin, Mr. & Mrs. Smith and Black Twitter: A People’s History are among the nominees, with Emma Stone and Nathan Fielder (The Curse), Andrew Scott (Ripley), Kristen Wiig (Palm Royale), Richard Gadd (Baby Reindeer) and Lily Gladstone (Under the Bridge) receiving nods in the acting categories.
“In a historic moment for The Gotham, we’re thrilled to recognize an extraordinary collection of TV series and the brilliant creators responsible for bringing them to the screen,” said Jeffrey Sharp, the Gotham’s executive director. “As an organization dedicated to celebrating and nurturing independent media, we know the inaugural 2024 Gotham TV Awards will honor many truly deserving creatives while widening our reach and expanding our impact. We are enormously proud to celebrate the remarkable talent represented in today’s nominations.
Baby Reindeer, Ripley, The Curse, Shōgun, Bodkin, Mr. & Mrs. Smith and Black Twitter: A People’s History are among the nominees, with Emma Stone and Nathan Fielder (The Curse), Andrew Scott (Ripley), Kristen Wiig (Palm Royale), Richard Gadd (Baby Reindeer) and Lily Gladstone (Under the Bridge) receiving nods in the acting categories.
“In a historic moment for The Gotham, we’re thrilled to recognize an extraordinary collection of TV series and the brilliant creators responsible for bringing them to the screen,” said Jeffrey Sharp, the Gotham’s executive director. “As an organization dedicated to celebrating and nurturing independent media, we know the inaugural 2024 Gotham TV Awards will honor many truly deserving creatives while widening our reach and expanding our impact. We are enormously proud to celebrate the remarkable talent represented in today’s nominations.
- 5/14/2024
- by Beatrice Verhoeven
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
When prosthetic makeup designer Vincent Van Dyke first met with Robert Downey Jr., the two men somewhat immediately hit it off. And good thing, too, since just a couple of days later, Van Dyke heard from the producers of the HBO limited series “The Sympathizer” with the hope of signing him onto the ambitious project.
“Luckily we had that earlier meeting because we had to hit the ground running,” Van Dyke tells Gold Derby in an exclusive video interview. “It was a quick turnaround to start creating and designing these looks, and get them in front of everyone’s eyes.”
SEE2024 Emmy Experts predict Best Movie/Limited Supporting Actor: Robert Downey Jr. (‘The Sympathizer’) out front
Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Viet Thanh Nguyen and created for television by acclaimed filmmaker Park Chan-wook and Don McKellar, “The Sympathizer” focuses on an unnamed man called the Captain (breakout star...
“Luckily we had that earlier meeting because we had to hit the ground running,” Van Dyke tells Gold Derby in an exclusive video interview. “It was a quick turnaround to start creating and designing these looks, and get them in front of everyone’s eyes.”
SEE2024 Emmy Experts predict Best Movie/Limited Supporting Actor: Robert Downey Jr. (‘The Sympathizer’) out front
Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Viet Thanh Nguyen and created for television by acclaimed filmmaker Park Chan-wook and Don McKellar, “The Sympathizer” focuses on an unnamed man called the Captain (breakout star...
- 5/13/2024
- by Christopher Rosen
- Gold Derby
Unveiling the Overlay Between Fiction and History in The Sympathizer The latest episode from The Sympathizer, an adaptation of Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, continues to stir attention. Directed by Park Chan-wook and backed by noted figures like Robert Downey Jr., this HBO series adeptly challenges long-standing Hollywood narratives about the Vietnam War, or as it’s referred to in Vietnam, the American War. The creative intention behind the series is marked by Viet Thanh Nguyen’s aim, I want to understand the Vietnamese experience as it relates to history and America and the world beyond. This focus has birthed a
The post The Sympathizer Explores the Complex Legacy of Vietnam War Films in Latest Episode first appeared on TVovermind.
The post The Sympathizer Explores the Complex Legacy of Vietnam War Films in Latest Episode first appeared on TVovermind.
- 5/13/2024
- by Steve Delikson
- TVovermind.com
The Sympathizer took the Max streaming service by storm, leading fans to want to know more about one of the show's brightest rising stars, Vy Le.
Based on the debut novel of the same name by Vietnamese-American professor and writer Viet Thanh Nguyen, The Sympathizer is a political drama that follows a North Vietnamese plant placed in a refugee camp in the United States full of South Vietnamese people.
In the show, actress Vy Le portrays Lana, the daughter of Toan Le's The General.
Read full article on The Direct.
Based on the debut novel of the same name by Vietnamese-American professor and writer Viet Thanh Nguyen, The Sympathizer is a political drama that follows a North Vietnamese plant placed in a refugee camp in the United States full of South Vietnamese people.
In the show, actress Vy Le portrays Lana, the daughter of Toan Le's The General.
Read full article on The Direct.
- 5/7/2024
- by Nathan Johnson
- The Direct
[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
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