The first Trumbo image from director Jay Roach’s (Recount, Meet the Parents) upcoming biopic of blacklisted Hollywood screenwriter Dalton Trumbo has been released, giving us our first look at Bryan Cranston’s portrayal of the scribe.  Trumbo famously refused to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee and was subsequently blacklisted and sentenced to an 11-month stay in prison.  Despite his professional exile, Trumbo continued to write screenplays under pseudonyms, even winning two Academy Awards in the process for Roman Holiday and The Brave One.  Roach’s film chronicles Trumbo’s fight against the blacklist and battles with gossip columnist Hedda Hopper, played by Helen Mirren.

This debut Trumbo image shows off Cranston’s swell facial hair, and with the film recently wrapping production and gearing up for release in the U.S. by Bleeker Street sometime in 2015, I can’t help but wonder if five-time Emmy winner Cranston might find himself in the Oscar race next year.  Check out the full image after the jump.  The cast also includes Elle Fanning, Diane Laney, John Goodman, Michael Stuhlbarg, Louis C.K., and Alan Tudyk.

Image via EW.