The Sympathizer

The Sympathizer TV Series Details:

The Sympathizer TV Series Cast & Character:

• Hoa Xuande as the Captain, a police captain in Saigon who is secretly a communist spy for the North
• Robert Downey Jr. in several antagonist roles including (in order of appearance):
  • Claude, a CIA agent who mentors the Captain
  • Professor Hammer, the Captain’s Orientalist grad school professor
  • Niko, an auteur filmmaker making a film on the Vietnam War, based on Francis Ford Coppola
  • Ned Godwin, a Congressman in Southern California trying to appeal to the local Vietnamese American population
• Toan Le as the General, a high-ranking Southern Vietnamese general that the Captain serves under
• Fred Nguyen Khan as Bốn, the Captain’s childhood best friend
• Duy Nguyễn as Mẫn, the Captain’s other childhood friend and his handler
• Vy Le as Lana, the General’s daughter and the Captain’s love interest
• Ky Duyen as Madame, the General’s wife
• Phanxinê as the Major
• Kieu Chinh as the Major’s Mother
• Alan Trong as Sonny, a Vietnamese American reporter and the Captain’s former college rival
• Sandra Oh as Ms. Sofia Mori, a middle-aged Japanese American secretary who develops a sexual relationship with the Captain
• VyVy Nguyen as the Major’s wife
• Kayli Tran as the Communist Spy
• Scott Ly as Gunner Dao
• David Duchovny
• John Cho
• Marine Delterme

Storyline:

The series is based on the story of the Captain, a North Vietnam plant in the South Vietnam army. He 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 secretly spy on the community and report back to the Viet Cong, struggling between his original loyalties and his new life.

About The Sympathizer TV Series:

The Sympathizer is a historical black comedy drama miniseries based on the 2015 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name by Viet Thanh Nguyen. The series was created by co-showrunners Park Chan-wook and Don McKellar, with Park directing for the series as well.

In April 2021, Viet Thanh Nguyen announced that his novel The Sympathizer had been optioned by A24 to be adapted into a television series with Park Chan-wook directing. Rhombus Media is also involved in the production.

In July, HBO ordered the series from A24, and Robert Downey Jr. joined the project in a producer and co-star role. The state of California awarded the production over $17.4 million in tax credits ensuring significant production would take place in state. Marc Munden and Fernando Meirelles were also hired to direct some episodes of the series.

Casting director Jennifer Venditti opened a worldwide casting call in order to find a main cast of Vietnamese descent, ultimately hiring Hoa Xuande, Fred Nguyen Khan, Toan Le, Vy Le, and Alan Trong. Recurring roles for Sandra Oh, Kieu Chinh, and Nguyen Cao Ky Duyen were also announced in November 2022, and Downey was portraying several supporting antagonistic roles representing the American establishment. In May 2023, Scott Ly and Marine Delterme joined the cast, in recurring roles.

Filming took place in Los Angeles and Thailand. Downey shaved his head for the series in order to save time required to use a bald cap for each of the various characters he portrayed. A significant portion of Downey’s performance was also improvised.

The series premiered on HBO and became available to stream on Max on April 14, 2024.

The Sympathizer TV Series Episodes List: