The Cast of "Good Night, and Good Luck" Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Only one cast member of the film received an Academy Award nomination for his/her acting in the film. Can you identify this talented thespian?

Answer: David Strathairn

David Strathairn received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor for playing legendary newsman Edward R. Murrow. Unfortunately, he lost to Phillip Seymour Hoffman's amazing portrayal of Truman Capote in the film "Capote". An accomplished character actor, Strathairn has also appeared in such films as "Lincoln", "L.A. Confidential", "The Bourne Ultimatum", and "Fracture".

2. Even though only one cast member received an Oscar nomination for acting in the film, another co-star received two different Oscar nominations for the film. Which cast member received Oscar nominations for Best Director and Best Writing, Original Screenplay?

Answer: George Clooney

Hollywood superstar George Clooney received two Oscar nominations for his work on this film. He lost the Oscar for Best Director to Ang Lee, the director of "Brokeback Mountain". The film ended up losing to the film "Crash" in the Best Writing, Original Screenplay category. Clooney did not go home empty-handed though, as he won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his work in the film "Syriana".

3. Grant Heslov portrays the character of Don Hewitt in the film. In addition to his acting, Heslov also shared a nomination for Best Writing, Original Screenplay for his writing contributions. In what other category did he receive an Oscar nomination for the film?

Answer: Best Picture

As the producer of the film, Heslov received a nomination for Best Picture. Heslov would lose that nomination when "Crash" took home the top honor at the Oscars. Seven years later, Heslov and fellow cast member George Clooney would team up as producers for the film "Argo" which which won the Oscar for Best Picture.

Heslov and Clooney would share their Oscar with fellow producer Ben Affleck, who also directed and starred in the political thriller.

4. Robert Downey Jr. appeared in the film as a member of the CBS news team. Downey has been able to conquer drug addiction to become a major film star. For his portrayal of which acting legend did Downey earn his first Oscar nomination?

Answer: Charles Chaplin

Downey received his first Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Charlie Chaplin in the film "Chaplin", though he lost the award to Al Pacino in "Scent of a Woman." Downey's struggles with drug addiction landed him in prison on repeated occasions, but was finally able to kick his habit in 2001.

His comeback included high profile roles as Sherlock Holmes and Iron Man. He received a second Oscar nomination (this time for Best Supporting Actor) for his work in the film "Tropic Thunder", but lost the award to Heath Ledger in "The Dark Knight".

5. Patricia Clarkson played the wife of Robert Downey Jr.'s character and fellow member of the news team. The two are forced to hide their marriage to protect their careers. Fortunately Clarkson has not had to hide her acting talent. For what film did she received her first Academy Award nomination?

Answer: Pieces of April

Clarkson received a nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role in "Pieces of April". Portraying a woman suffering from breast cancer, Clarkson starred alongside Katie Holmes, Derek Luke, and Oliver Platt. Additionally, Clarkson has starred in several high profile films including "The Untouchables", "The Green Mile", "Miracle", and "Vicky Cristina Barcelona".

6. Frank Langella portrays a chief executive for CBS. Langella has a history of playing men who are in high positions of power. In perhaps his most high profile performance, Langella received an Academy Award nomination for playing what 37th President of the United States of America?

Answer: Richard Nixon

Langella gave an acclaimed performance of Richard Nixon in the film "Frost/Nixon" which centered around interviews between Nixon and reporter David Frost. During the course of the interviews, Nixon admits his guilt in the cover-up of the Watergate scandal.

In addition to playing Nixon in the film, Langella originally played the role in the Broadway play of the same name, winning a Tony Award for his powerful performance.

7. Versatile actor Jeff Daniels plays the Director of CBS news. Daniels' successful film career includes roles in successful dramas like "Terms of Endearment" to action films like "Speed," and goofy comedies like "Dumb and Dumber." In 2012 he starred as Will McAvoy in his first television series. What is the name of this show created by Aaron Sorkin?

Answer: The Newsroom

In "Newsroom" Daniels portrays Will McAvoy, a veteran news anchor who has a history of non-offensive newscasts that emphasize television ratings over quality programming. McAvoy has an epiphany and joins with his news team to change course and start offering higher quality broadcasts.

He is also forced to work with his ex-girlfriend and deal with pressure from management to go back to his previous broadcast with higher ratings.

8. One of the more important roles of the film was the role of anti-communist Senator Joseph McCarthy. Ultimately, who played portrayed this essential role?

Answer: Joseph McCarthy (archive footage)

Only archive footage of McCarthy was used for the film. As the footage of McCarthy was in black and white, the film was shot in black and white. Ironically, an initial complaint of test audience members was that the "actor" portraying McCarthy was too over-the-top.

They did not realize they were watching actual footage of McCarthy. All the actors listed as choices had smaller roles in the film.

9. Alex Borstein portrayed Natalie in the film. While not necessarily a recognizable face, she is well recognized by television audiences for her vocal work. In what popular animated voice does she portray Lois Griffin?

Answer: Family Guy

Borstein is best known for playing the long suffering matriarch Lois Griffin on "Family Guy." She also provides the voices for Loretta Brown, Barbara Pewterschmidt, and other minor characters. In addition to her voice roles, she has also appeared the television shows such as "Friends", "Shameless", and "Gilmore Girls", as well as the movies "Ted", "Killers", and "Bad Santa".

10. A minor role in the film is portrayed by Simon Helberg. He is best known to television audience as a cast member of the hit television comedy "The Big Bang Theory". What is the name of the nerdy engineer played by Helberg?

Answer: Howard Wolowitz

Helberg plays Howard, a nerdy engineer with a serious attachment to his mother. Despite being a self-described ladies' man, he is genuinely unlucky with members of the fairer sex. He get lucky later in the show, meeting his eventual wife Bernadette. Helberg has appeared in minor roles in films like "Old School", "Evan Almighty", and "Van Wilder". Additionally he has co-starred in the popular web miniseries "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog".

Source: Author kstyle53

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor kyleisalive before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

This quiz goes over some basic questions about some of the cast members of the hit movie "Good Night, and Good Luck."

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