Who Played Me in "The Manchurian Candidate"? Quiz

Answer: Denzel Washington

Washington, born on December 28th, 1954 in Mount Vernon, New York, was cast as Ben Marco. Ben was a Gulf War veteran who became afflicted with post traumatic stress related symptoms. Ben was seen talking to Raymond, one of his military buddies and now a politician, on a couple occasions about their experiences in the war. Ben started to have doubts about the story which was told to him and others that Raymond saved many soldiers' lives during an ordeal in The Gulf War.

At one point, Raymond sought protection from Ben by getting a restraining order to prevent him from having any contact. During the movie, Ben also befriended an FBI agent named Rosie. Washington starred in the movies "Virtuosity", "Déjà Vu" and "Inside Man".

In 1988, he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for the movie, "Cry Freedom", but lost to Sean Connery for "The Untouchables".

Other Oscar nominees for Best Supporting Actor that year were Albert Brooks for "Broadcast News", Morgan Freeman for "Street Smart" and Vincent Gardenia for "Moonstruck".

Answer: Meryl Streep

Streep, a native of Summit, New Jersey, portrayed Eleanor Shaw. Eleanor Shaw was a U.S. Senator who had a habit of being ruthless in obtaining whatever she wanted. She had connections to a company called Manchurian Global which brainwashed members of Raymond Shaw's unit from The Gulf War into believing he was a war hero. Midway through the movie, Eleanor was seen getting ready for a function and made a nasty remark about Ben, and Raymond told her he did not appreciate her talking bad about him. In one scene, Eleanor was being interviewed by Al Franken and she mentioned in that interview that both she and her son were on a mission to make America better. Eleanor was seen at the political convention at the end of the movie and it was there where she was assassinated. Streep had roles in the films "Music of the Heart", "The Devil Wears Prada" and "Doubt".

In 1983, she won an Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for "Sophie's Choice". Other Oscar nominees for Best Actress in a Leading Role that year were Julie Andrews for "Victor/Victoria", Jessica Lange for "Frances", Sissy Spacek for "Missing" and Debra Winger for "An Officer and a Gentleman".

Answer: Liev Schreiber

Schreiber, born in 1967 in San Francisco, California, played Raymond Shaw. Raymond was Eleanor's son and served as a U.S. Congressman for a district in New York. Raymond was chosen to be his party's nominee for Vice President with his mother using a lot of influence to get him that nomination. Raymond was seen in one scene giving a speech which was televised and he was heard saying people should not have to choose between paying for food or paying for medicine. Eleanor had plans for Raymond to become the party's nominee for President in the wake of Governor Robert Arthur's assassination.

In Raymond's final scene, he was assassinated along with his mother at the political convention. Schreiber was seen in the movies "Ransom", "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" and "The Painted Veil".

Answer: Kimberly Elise

Elise landed the role of Rosie. When we first saw Rosie, she was on the same train as Ben and she said hello to him. Rosie told Ben she worked at a supermarket and then rattled off some grocery items which she remembered Ben liked to buy at the store.

In one scene, Ben looked a little startled so she asked him if he was okay and he replied that he was. In a subsequent scene, Ben and Rosie got into a fight and he told her he was going to call the authorities. Rosie then pulled out a gun and told him she was with the authorities as she worked with the FBI. Rosie was seen monitoring the situation at the political convention. Elise portrayed characters in the films "John Q", "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" and "The Great Debaters".

Answer: Jon Voight

Voight, born on December 29th, 1938 in Yonkers, New York, was cast as Thomas Jordan. Thomas was a U.S. Senator and was seen sparring with Eleanor Shaw near the beginning of the movie. He fought with her since she managed to convince the party leaders to nominate her son to be Vice President when he felt he should have been the nominee.

It was established that Eleanor and Thomas's feud stemmed in large part due to a relationship Raymond had with Thomas's daughter, with that relationship ending on acrimonious terms.

In a later scene, Thomas was at his home with Raymond there and Raymond soon became hypnotized. He was ordered to kill Thomas Jordan so he drowned him in the water near Thomas's home. Voight starred in the movies "Midnight Cowboy", "Transformers" and "Deliverance".

In 1979, he won an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for the movie "Coming Home". Other Oscar nominees for Best Actor in a Leading Role that year were Warren Beatty for "Heaven Can Wait", Gary Busey for "The Buddy Holly Story", Robert De Niro for "The Deer Hunter" and Laurence Olivier for "The Boys from Brazil".

Answer: Obba Babatunde

Babatunde, a native of Jamaica, New York, played Senator Wells. Senator Wells was seen at a meeting with Eleanor Shaw and other officials to discuss their party's ticket for the upcoming presidential election. Senator Wells informed Senator Shaw that it would be unwise to put her son on the ticket as Vice President as he was not as well known. Senator Wells was seen listening in while Senator Shaw outlined a plan she had regarding the upcoming election, and he did not like what he heard.

He told her she would not be able to pull off what she was proposing but Senator Shaw informed Senator Wells that she very well could do it. Senator Wells was also seen at the political convention at the end of the movie. Babetunde was seen in the films "The Silence of the Lambs", "Miami Blues" and "How High".

Answer: Anthony Mackie

Mackie, born in 1979 in New Orleans, Louisiana, portrayed Robert Baker in "The Manchurian Candidate". Robert served in The Gulf War with Raymond and Ben and was first seen in a flashback scene with many of his buddies. Robert and the men were gambling and one of the games which was mentioned was Texas Hold'em.

After Robert got done gambling with his friends, he was seen relaxing but then all of a sudden their unit was ambushed. The result was that Robert and another person died in the aftermath but a company called Manchurian Global brainwashed all the men on the unit into believing their were no casualties. Mackie was seen playing characters in movies like "Million Dollar Baby", "8 Mile" and "The Hurt Locker".

Answer: Tom Stechschulte

Stechschulte landed the role of Robert Arthur in "The Manchurian Candidate". Robert was a Governor and won enough contests in the primary season to become his party's nominee for U.S. President. Robert heard that U.S. Congressman Raymond Shaw would be his running mate and he made no objections to it.

At the political convention, Robert was seen heading out onstage with Congressman Shaw to wave to the spectators and he smiled at all the supporters there. Then, he walked a little further out onto the stage, turned around and signaled for Raymond to come join him.

The two raised their hands together to show they were united to win in the upcoming election. Robert was saddened once shots rang out and both Eleanor and Raymond Shaw were killed. Stechschulte starred in the films "The Clairvoyant", "What About Bob?" and "Fields of Freedom".

Answer: Jeffrey Wright

Wright, born on December 7th, 1965 in Washington, D.C., was cast as Al Melvin. Al served in the same unit that Raymond and Ben did in The Gulf War and he joked about needing to find an ATM so he could continue to gamble with his military buddies. Al was involved in the ambush during The Gulf War and did survive it while also noticing a while later Raymond receiving the Medal of Honor due to the incident. Al spoke to Ben early on in the film about how he was having some strange dreams in which he, Ben and Raymond were in a strange room. Al showed Ben a couple of pictures which he drew from his dreams. Wright was seen in starring roles in the movies "Syriana", "Broken Flowers" and "Crime and Punishment in Suburbia".

Answer: Simon McBurney

McBurney, a native of Cambridge, England, played Atticus Noyle. Atticus was a doctor and was seen both in images emanating from Ben's nightmares and in reality as well. In one of Ben's nightmares, Dr. Noyle was seen in a strange looking room with members of Ben's unit and he was shown manipulating the members to paint Raymond Shaw as some hero for his response to the ambush. Ben went to confront Dr. Noyle in one scene about his belief that Dr. Noyle somehow was the one who was responsible for brainwashing the members of the unit.

In the final scene of the film, Dr. Noyle's voice could be heard in a voiceover asking Ben which task he would undertake. In a voiceover, Ben responded to Dr. Noyle that he would ask that Raymond Shaw would be given the Medal of Honor since he saved many peoples' lives along with killing an enemy. McBurney had roles in the films "The Golden Compass", "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1" and "Being Human".