Bryan Cranston leads Trumbo as the title character, screenwriter Dalton Trumbo. Back in the 1940s, Trumbo was the best of the best, but after refusing to name names before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) and scoring a jail sentence, he was blacklisted in the industry and resorted to penning screenplays using pseudonyms.
Back when Trumbo was celebrating its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, I got the opportunity to sit down with Cranston to discuss his approach to the character, what he was actually typing while shooting his scenes, and to play a brief round of "Would You Rather." You can check all of that out in the video interview below and, in case you missed it, click here for my interview with director Jay Roach.
Trumbo also stars Diane Lane, Helen Mirren, Michael Stuhlbarg, Louis C.K., Elle Fanning, John Goodman, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, David James Elliott and Alan Tudyk. The movie is currently playing in select theaters and expands nationwide on Thanksgiving.
Here’s the official synopsis for Trumbo:
In 1947, Dalton Trumbo (Bryan Cranston) was Hollywood’s top screenwriter until he and other artists were jailed and blacklisted for their political beliefs. TRUMBO (directed by Jay Roach) recounts how Dalton used words and wit to win two Academy Awards and expose the absurdity and injustice under the blacklist, which entangled everyone from gossip columnist Hedda Hopper (Helen Mirren) to John Wayne, Kirk Douglas and Otto Preminger.
