The new film Truth tells the real-life story of the scandal that occurred at CBS News in 2004. As you may recall, longtime CBS Evening News host Dan Rather was forced to exit the anchor's chair he inhabited for 24 years after reporting on documents alleging that President George W. Bush, who at the time was gearing up for the 2004 election, was given preferential treatment while serving in the Air National Guard and was able to avoid being sent to Vietnam as a result. The story was considered a huge blow to Bush's campaign, until the documents were made available online by CBS — and accused of being forgeries. The troubling story is now being brought to life in Truth, with a number of big name actors on board to tell the tale. But how do the Truth actors compare to the real people, in terms of both physicality and the way they inhabited their roles? Take a look and see for yourself.
But before you dive into the movie itself, remember how the events actually went down. After the report was accused of being fabricated, CBS retracted the story and Rather apologized on air. Producer Mary Mapes, who had helped guide the story to the airwaves, was fired by CBS. Rather retired shortly after the scandal, but many assume that his exit was hastened by the head honchos at the network. CBS president Andrew Heyward also left the network in 2005. Rather and Mapes still maintain to this day that the story they ran was accurate, whether or not the exact copies of the documents they possessed were original. It's a cautionary tale of journalism that will be hotly debated for years to come, and now that Truth is hitting theaters, people can decide for themselves what they think really happened — and see how well the filmmakers cast their leading roles.
Robert Redford As Dan Rather
Most people would agree that Redford is a little more handsome than Rather because, well, he's Robert Redford. But he definitely got the hairstyle down. Redford at 79 is actually a little older in the film than Rather was in 2004 (he was 72 then), and has a few more wrinkles because of it. Overall though, he looks a lot more like Rather than I had anticipated, but as the movie's trailer shows, he definitely doesn't come close to matching Rather's famous Texas drawl. In fact, I don't even think he tried to.
Cate Blanchett As Mary Mapes
In many ways this is Mary Mapes' movie rather than Dan Rather's. Blanchett gets top billing, and Mapes herself even has a writer credit on the film, which is based on her book, Truth and Duty: The Press, the President, and the Privilege of Power. Blanchett's face isn't as round as Mapes', but like Redford she got the hair down pretty well. Unlike Redford though, she went for the accent, and the Aussie pulls off a convincing average American sound.
Dennis Quaid As Colonel Roger Charles
Charles was a retired Marine working as a military liaison for CBS who helped Mapes break both the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal and the Bush memo story. He's played by Quaid here, who is a little younger, but they're both fairly average-looking white dudes with their hair combed to the side, so it works.
Bruce Greenwood As Andrew Heyward
Not really sure what they were going for here. Greenwood looks much younger and has softer features than the former CBS President, and he doesn't even sport a mustache in the film. That's Hollywood for you, amirite?
Stacy Keach As Bill Burkett
Burkett was the source of the documents, known as the Killian Documents since they were purported to be the work of Bush's commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Jerry B. Killian. Burkett himself was a former member of the Texas Army National Guard, and has changed his story on where he received the documents, further casting doubt on Mapes' claim that the story is accurate. He's portrayed in the film by Keach, who shares Burkett's larger build but is definitely older-looking, with more gray hair and less hair overall.
Like any movie that portrays real people, Truth excels in some depictions while lacking in others. But what matters most about a film such as this isn't how much the actors physically resemble the characters they're playing, it's how accurate the events depicted are. And that truth is the one that will decide how people ultimately feel about Truth.
Images: Sony Pictures Classics; C-Span; CBS
