Who Played Robert Kennedy? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Martin Sheen

Martin Sheen was the first person to play RFK on screen. Nine years later, he would play John Kennedy in the 1983 BBC miniseries "Kennedy." As the title suggests, "The Missiles of October" is focused on the Cuban Missile Crisis.

During the real crisis, RFK suggested a blockade of Soviet ships entering Cuba, a provocative act, yet one that provided the Soviet Union a face-saving way to back down and resolve the crisis. The real RFK was also key behind the scenes in engineering a deal to remove US missiles from Turkey, a major issue for the USSR.

Martin Sheen began acting in the 1960s. He is probably best known as President Josiah Bartlet on the Aaron Sorkin drama "The West Wing" (1999-2006). Perhaps his best performances is as Captain Willard in "Apocalypse Now" (1979), one of the best films of the 1970s.

Sheen is a noted political activist, having been arrested over 60 times, for causes ranging from anti-nuclear weapons to immigration rights. I personally protested with Sheen at the School of the Americas at Fort Benning, Georgia.

Answer: Cliff DeYoung

Cliff DeYoung played Bobby in the 1978 miniseries "King" in which Paul Winfield plays the Civil Rights leader. King and RFK had a complicated relationship. At times Kennedy was an ally, even using his political muscle to get King out of jail. (The civil rights leader was arrested many times in his battle against immoral segregation laws). At other times their relationship was antagonistic, as John and Robert Kennedy felt King was pushing things too fast.

Kennedy did give a heartfelt and moving message when announcing the death of King at a rally in Indianapolis in April 1968.

Cliff DeYoung started out as rock musician in the 1960s, which lead him to the musical "Hair." He has been acting regularly in films and television since the 1970s. Some of his more notable credits include the TV miniseries "Centennial" (1978-79) and "Relativity" (1996-97). DeYoung is often cast as politicians and military officers.

Cliff DeYoung also played John Kennedy in the 1985 miniseries "Robert Kennedy and His Times."

Answer: John Shea

John Shea played Robert against Martin Sheen's John in "Kennedy," which is widely regarded as the best miniseries on the former president. The series is focused on 1961 to 1963, Kennedy's years in the White House.

John Shea began his acting career in 1977. Shea's first big break was in the 1982 Jack Lemmon drama "Missing." But he didn't really catch on until playing Lex Luthor in "Lois and Clark" (1993). From 2001 to 2004, Shea was Adam Kane on "Mutant X" And he had a recurring role on "Gossip Girl" as Blair's father.

Answer: Cotter Smith

"Blood Feud" is about the battle between RFK (Cotter Smith) and James Hoffa (Robert Blake), the head of the Teamster's Union. The feud goes back to the 1950s, when John Kennedy was on a Senate Committee investigating organized crime. Robert's pursuit of Hoffa continued when he was Attorney General, with the Justice Department filing charges against Hoffa several times.

Hoffa was finally convicted in 1964, and went to prison in 1967. Robert Kennedy was assassinated in June 1968. While Hoffa was released by Rjchard Nixon in 1971, the former union leader never regained his former power, and vanished in 1975.

Cotter Smith gives one of the better performances as RFK in "Blood Feud." It was a huge break for the young actor, who only had two TV episodes under his belt (episodes of "St Elsewhere" and "Hill Street Blues"). However, Smith had been acting in theater since 1978, and was a student of Stella Adler.

Since "Blood Feud" Smith has made numerous film and television appearances, including playing the president in "X-Men 2" (2003). One of Smith's best performances was in the 1986 "Twilight Zone" episode "To See the Invisible Man."

Answer: Brad Davis

Brad Davis plays RFK in the miniseries based on Arthur Schlesinger's book. Schlesinger is a noted historian and was a close associate of the Kennedys during their time in the White House. The miniseries follows Bobby from John's 1946 congressional campaign to his assassination in 1968.

Brad Davis was one of the best actors of his generation and was gone much too early; he died of AIDS at the age of 41. His most notable performance was as Billy Hayes in the prison drama "Midnight Express" (1978). Davis also had a memorable turn as runner Jackson Scholz in "Chariots of Fire" (1981).

Answer: Nicholas Campbell

The animosity between FBI director J Edgar Hoover and the Kennedy Brothers was legendary. It especially galled Hoover that as Attorney General, Robert Kennedy was technically his boss. Nicholas Campbell plays RFK against Jack Warden's Hoover. Robert Pine plays John Kennedy. The films takes place between June 1960 and Robert's assassination in 1968.

Nicholas Campbell is a Canadian actor who has been working since 1976. His first major film role was in "A Bridge Too Far" (1977). Other notable films include "the Dead Zone" (1983) and "Cinderella Man" (2005). Campbell has done lots of television over his four-decade career, including the Canadian drama "Coroner" (2019-2022)

Answer: Linus Roache

British actor Linus Roache takes on the US Attorney General in the 2002 film "RFK." The film focuses on the period of 1963 to 1968, as Kennedy sought to shape his own identity after the death of his brother. James Cromwell plays Lyndon Johnson, who hated the younger Kennedy but could do little about it after John's tragic death.

Linus Roache is probably best known as assistant district attorney Michael Cutter during the final seasons of "Law and Order." The British actor actually got his start on "Coronation Street" back in 1975 at the age of 11. He spent much of his early career on stage in London before returning to television.

Since "Law and Order" Roache has appeared on "Vikings" (2017) and "Homeland" (2017-2020).

Answer: Barry Pepper

"The Kennedys" covers the legendary family from 1940 until 1968. Barry Pepper won an Emmy Award for his work as Robert. Greg Kinnear played JFK. In a wild casting decision, real life couple Tom Wilkinson and Diana Hardcastle play Joseph and Rose Kennedy. While fans of the Kennedy family claimed the film was character assassination, it does deal with some of the shadier aspects of the Kennedy administration, including Joe's tries with organized crime.

Barry Pepper is another Canadian playing the American politician. Pepper began his career on the Canadian teen drama "Madison" in 1993. Since then, he was in "Saving Private Ryan" (1998), "The Green Mile" (1999), "Flags of Our Fathers" (2006) and the "Maze Runner" series. He also holds the dubious distinction of being one of the stars of "Battlefield Earth" (2000), possibly the worst Science Fiction film EVER.

Answer: Andrew McCarthy

"Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis" is a biopic about the former First Lady, starring Joanne Whaley, with Tim Matheson as John. Andrew McCarthy plays Robert. The film is based on Donald Spoto's biography of Jackie. Robert provided a great deal of emotional support to Jackie in the years following the murder of John.

Andrew McCarthy was a member of the "Brat Pack" in the 1980s. He jumped in head first as the star of "Class" in 1983, and appeared in "St Elmo's Fire" (1985) and "Pretty in Pink" (1986). Other films include both "Weekend at Bernies" (1989/93) and "Mulholland Falls" (1996), Since 2016, McCarthy has done a great deal of work in television, including "The Family" (2016), "Good Girls" (2020-21) and "The Resident" (2022).

Answer: James F Kelly

No quiz on people who played RFK would be complete without James F Kelly, who along with playing the late Attorney General in the science fiction series "Dark Series" in the mid 1990s, was in FIVE mini-series and the film "Prince Jack" (1984).

James Kelly was Bobby in "Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy" (TV 1981), "LBJ: The Early Years" (TV 1987), "J Edgar Hoover" (TV 1987), "Onassis: The Richest Man in the World" (TV 1988) and "Marilyn and Bobby: Her Final Affair" (TV 1993).

Kelly also played John Kennedy in the TV miniseries "Sinatra" (1992). Times when he wasn't a Kennedy include "The A Team" (1985), "Murder She Wrote" (1994), and "JAG" (1998).

"Dark Skies" was a UFO-centered science fiction series that aired for one season on NBC (1996 to 1997). Eric Close and Megan Ward tried to expose the government coverup surrounding aliens, while JT Walsh was the military officer leading the coverup. Kelly played RFK in five episodes. The show often featured people and events from the 1960s as part of its storyline.