WhileSteven Spielberg’sThe Postis led by two Oscar darlings —Meryl StreepandTom Hanks— the rest of the cast is a who’s who of prestige TV.Sarah Paulson(American Crime Story: The People vs. O.J. Simpson) plays Hanks’ on-screen wife,Jesse Plemons(Breaking Bad) plays a lawyer for The Washington Post,BradleyWhitford(West Wing) is a misogynist board member working against Streep’s Kay Graham – the first female pubisher for the paper,Matthew Rhys(The Americans) is the leak that brings The Pentagon Papers to the media, and the journalists of the Post haveCarrie Coon(The Leftovers) andBobOdenkirk(Better Call Saul) on their team.
And every single one of them is able to go toe-to-toe with the two that get top billing.
What made Odenkirk more comfortable was seeing how Hanks worked with his longtime collaborator. (Together, Hanks has headlined a Spielberg film withCatch Me If You Can,The Terminal,Saving Private Ryan, and nowThe Post.) “That made me feel better, was Tom trying stuff and then discarding it,” Odenkirk laughed in an interview with Collider. “And I’m like, ‘Okay, if he can go down the wrong path once in a while, maybe I’ll be alright.'”
Spielberg heard aboutThe Postin January during postproduction onReady Player Oneand started shooting in June. With such a fast turnaround, there wasn’t much time for a traditional audition phase. So, it seemed everyone Spielberg called up for roles in the film had already been percolating in his mind. Rhys met with the filmmaker in “late March, early April,” and Odenkirk confirmed he didn’t have an audition either.
The Postis now playing in limited release, followed by a wide expansion on Jan. 12.
Here’s the official synopsis:
Steven Spielberg directs Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks in The Post, a thrilling drama about the unlikely partnership between The Washington Post’s Katharine Graham (Streep), the first female publisher of a major American newspaper, and editor Ben Bradlee (Hanks), as they race to catch up with The New York Times to expose a massive cover-up of government secrets that spanned three decades and four U.S. Presidents. The two must overcome their differences as they risk their careers - and their very freedom - to help bring long-buried truths to light.
