The Cast of "The Death of Stalin" Quiz

Answer: Adrian McLoughlin

Adrian McLoughlin was born in London in 1947. He appeared many times in Ayckbourn's work, such as the trilogy, "The Norman Conquests", and "Taking Steps".

In the movie, Stalin is shown as a restless tyrant, phoning a radio station to get a recording of a broadcast- which made them re-play an entire concert and force an audience to attend for reasons of acoustics - and compelling his Politburo members to watch Hollywood movies with him. A letter from the pianist at the concert (played by Olga Kurylenko) causes him to have a haemorrhage, which incapacitates and ultimately kills him.

"The Death of Stalin" was directed by Armando Iannucci, known as the creator of TV shows "The Thick of It" and "Veep".

Answer: Simon Russell Beale

Simon Russell Beale was one of the leading English actors of his generation. He appeared as Iago in "Othello", and the title role in "King Lear", both in London and the title role in "Hamlet" in New York. He also appeared as "Uncle Vanya" in London and New York.

Beale plays the role of Beria with great gusto. He is shown as the man responsible for carrying out the purges according to the latest list of people who have fallen foul of Stalin. When Stalin is incapacitated, he substitutes the list with one of his own, and plays the role of the "nice guy" while gathering all the incriminating paperwork he can.

The movie screenplay was written by Iannucci, along with David Schneider, Ian Martin and Peter Fellows.

Answer: Jeffrey Tambor

San Franciso-born actor Jeffrey Tambor played Hank Kingsley in "The Larry Sanders Show", Maura Pfefferman in "Transparent" and Oscar Bluth in "Arrested Development".

In "The Death of Stalin", Malenkov is shown as weak and easily led. He panics, and Beria takes control of his actions.

Historians have pointed to scores of historical errors in the movie. It is certainly played for laughs, but the terrifying aspects of life in a totalitarian state really come across as well.

Answer: Andrea Riseborough

Andrea Riseborough was born on Wallsend in the North of England in 1981. She starred in Madonna's "W.E." in the lead role, and also appeared in "Birdman" (2014) and "Made in Dagenham" (2010).

Svetlana's approval for their course of actions is sought by Beria and Khrushchev. She is concerned to protect her impulsive brother.

Answer: Rupert Friend

Rupert Friend played Mr Wickham in "Pride & Prejudice" (2005) and Albert in "The Young Victoria" (2009).

Vasily is shown as a hot-headed liability, responsible for the deaths of members of an ice hockey team in a plane crash, and unable to deliver a coherent eulogy for his father.

The 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash was a historical fact - most of the USSR Air Force team were killed in a heavy snowstorm.

Answer: Jason Isaacs

Jason Isaacs played Lucius Malfoy in the "Harry Potter" movie series. He also played the dual role of George Darling and Captain Hook in "Peter Pan" (2003).

In "The Death of Stalin", Field Marshal Zhukov is shown as the leader of the army and the man the army will follow. He puts Vasily in his place and acts as a power broker.

The historians point out that Zhukov, the hero of the Second World War, was only a marshal at the time, and exiled by Stalin because of his paranoid jealousy.

Answer: Paddy Considine

Paddy Considine was born in Staffordshire in 1973. His many credits include "24 Hour Party People" (2002), "Hot Fuzz" (2007) and "The World's End" (2013).

Andreyev, like the other leaders, is shown to be looking over his shoulder for threats and eager to see which way to jump to protect himself.

The movie was called an "unfriendly act by the British intellectual class", and banned in Russia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.

Answer: Paul Whitehouse

Paul Whitehouse was born, despite his accent, in the Vale of Glamorgan in Wales in 1958. His family moved to Enfield when he was four. Whitehouse has appeared in "The Fast Show" and various shows with Harry Enfield on TV. His radio show "Down the Line" was a big success.

Mikoyan was shown to be very cautious, along with Andreyev. In real life, Anastas Mikoyan was one of the early supporters of Stalin, and managed to stay at the top levels of the Soviet Union all the way through to the Brezhnev era.

Answer: Michael Palin

Michael Palin was one of the most popular figures in British entertainment for several decades. When fellow "Monty Python" star John Cleese was on "Desert Island Discs" he asked to have Palin as his luxury! After working on "Monty Python's Flying Circus" and its associated movies, Palin became a star of travelogue shows, including "Around the World in 80 Days" (1989). He was made a BAFTA fellow in 2013.

Molotov is shown in "The Death of Stalin" as absurdly loyal to Stalin and the USSR, despite his own wife having been taken away and, he believes, executed as a traitor. Beria has had her (played by Diana Quick) hidden and brings her back to try to get Molotov on side.

Answer: Steve Buscemi

Steve Buscemi was one of the stalwarts of mainstream and independent US cinema and TV. His roles included Mr Pink in "Reservoir Dogs" (1992), Donny in "The Big Lebowski" (1998) and Randall in "Monsters Inc" (2001).

In "The Death of Stalin", Khrushchev is initially shown as wrong footed by Beria, turning up in pyjamas when Stalin is taken ill and assigned the role of arranging Stalin's funeral. He turns it around, with the help of the Army and some smart footwork and, Game, Set and Match, gets Beria taken out and executed and later ousts Malenkov to become the leader.

Khrushchev in reality led the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964. In the movie, the bushy eyebrowed figure of Leonid Brezhnev (played by Gerald Lepkowski) is shown looking over his shoulder as we are told that Khrushchev was eventually deployed by Brezhnev.