Vice Presidents at the Movies Trivia Quiz

Answer: James Whitmore

Actor James Whitmore starred as Vice President/President Harry Truman in the one man play "Give 'em Hell, Harry" by Samuel Gallu which was turned into a 1976 film. Whitmore was nominated for an Academy Award and Golden Globe for his performance, and won a Grammy Award for a recording of the play.

James Whimore had an extremely distinguished six decade career in theater, film and television. He won a Tony, Grammy and Emmy for his work. Whitmore was a regular in westerns and war films in the 1950s and 1960s. Younger people might remember him as Brooks Hatlen from "The Shawshank Redemption" (1994). Whitmore also played VP Theodore Roosevelt in the play "Bully" (1977).

Harry Truman (1884-1972) was the 34th Vice President and 33rd President of the United States. A native of Missouri, he served in the Senate (1934-1944) until Franklin Roosevelt selected him as his running mate. With the death of FDR in April 1945, Truman became president; he was re-elected in 1948 and left office in January 1953. Truman died in December 1972.

Answer: Anthony Hopkins

Welsh actor Anthony Hopkins earned Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for his portrait of Richard Nixon in the Oliver Stone bio-pic "Nixon" (1996). The film focuses on the Watergate scandal and events between 1972 and 1974.

Sir Anthony Hopkins won two Academy Awards for "The Silence of the Lambs" (1991) and "The Father" (2020). He began acting in 1960, and in the six decades since has become one of the most acclaimed actors of his generation. He played President John Quincy Adams in "Amistad" (1997).

Richard Nixon (1913-1994) was easily the most complex person ever to become President. He served as the 36th Vice President under Dwight Eisenhower before being elected to the presidency in 1968. A complex web of corruption crashed down on Nixon, and he resigned to avoid impeachment in August 1974. Nixon died in April 1994.

Answer: Frank Langella

Frank Langella played Richard Nixon several years after he left the White House in the 2008 Ron Howard film "Frost/Nixon". The film is centered on the interviews the former president did with journalist David Frost (Michael Sheen). Langella earned Academy Award, Golden Globe, BAFTA and SAG nominations for his performance. He won a Tony Award for playing Nixon in the Broadway version of "Frost/Nixon".

Frank Langella earned four Tony Awards over a six decade career that began in 1963. His notable Broadway roles include Count Dracula (1977-78) and Salieri in "Amadeus" (1982). Notable film roles include Chief of Staff Bob Alexander in the political comedy "Dave" (1993) and William S Paley in "Good Night and Good Luck" (2005).

Answer: Christian Bale

Christian Bale plays Richard Cheney in the 2018 Adam McLay drama "Vice". The film covers the life of the former vice president from 1963 to his service in the George W. Bush White House. Bale earned a Golden Globe and several smaller film awards, and was nominated for the Academy Award and SAG Award for his performance.

Welsh actor Christian Bale is one of the more acclaimed actors of his generation. He earned an Academy Award for his performance in "The Fighter" (2011) and several nominations since. He may be best known as Bruce Wayne/Batman in Christopher Nolan's "Dark Knight" trilogy. Other notable performances include "The Prestige" (2007), "American Hustle" (2014) and "The Big Short" (2016).

Dick Cheney (born 1941) served in the Nixon and Ford administrations before running for Congress (1979-1988). Cheney was chosen by the first President Bush to serve as Secretary of Defense (1989-1993). After leaving the Pentagon, Cheney made a boatload of money at Haliburton, a military contractor. Chaney served as the 46th Vice President, under George W. Bush from 2001 to 2009.

The first notable performance of Cheney on film was in the 2008 Oliver Stone film "W.", the biopic of George W. Bush. Cheney was played by Richard Dreyfuss.

Answer: Woody Harrelson

Former "Cheers" star Woody Harrelson received praise for his portrayal of Texas politician Lyndon Johnson in the 2016 film "LBJ". Director Rob Reiner focuses on the early days of the Johnson presidency, immediately after the assassination of John F Kennedy.

Woody Harrelson is a native of Indiana, and gained some of his knowledge of vice presidents by attending college with future VP Michael Pence. Harrelson got his first big break on the NBC comedy "Cheers" as naive Indianan Woody Boyd. Harrelson started working in films in 1986. His notable films include "Natural Born Killers" (1994), "Wag the Dog" (1997), "No Country for Old Men" (2007) and the "Hunger Games" series (2012-15).

Lyndon Johnson (1908-1973) was the 37th Vice President and 37th President. Johnson began his political career in the House of Representatives (1937-1948). He was elected to the Senate in 1948 and rapidly became one of its most powerful members. Johnson sought the presidency in 1960, but lost to John Kennedy, who added him to the ticket for geographic balance. Johnson became president following the assassination of Kennedy in November 1963. LBJ is best remembered for his civil rights and social safety net programs. The unsolvable quagmire of the Vietnam War doomed Johnson's presidency and he chose not to run in 1968. Johnson died in January of 1973, a month after Harry Truman.

Answer: Glenn Close

In "Air Force One" (1997), Glenn Close played Kathryn Bennett, the vice president faced with the choice of invoking the 25th amendment when President James Marshall (Harrison Ford) is hijacked. Close gives a steady performance as Bennett, making calm level decisions throughout the crisis. Close won a Blockbuster Entertainment Award as Favorite Supporting Actress.

Close is widely hailed as one of the greatest actresses on her time. In 2021, Close tied Peter O'Toole's eight Oscar nominations; she also tied his record of losses. Close does have multiple Tony, Emmy and Golden Globe awards. Among her many notable roles are Alex Forrest in "Fatal Attraction" (1987), Cruela de Ville in "101 Dalmations" (1996), and attorney Patty Hewes in "Damages" (2007-2012).

Answer: Morgan Freeman

Morgan Freeman plays Vice President Allan Trumbull in "London has Fallen", the 2016 sequel to "Olympus Has Fallen" (2013). It is a lateral move from the first film, in which Freeman played the Speaker of the House. Trumbull faces the challenge of invoking the 25th amendment when President Benjamin Asher is kidnapped and held hostage in London. In "Angel Has Fallen", Trumbull is President of the United States.

Morgan Freeman has one of the most distinctive voices in cinema, and is known for his voice overs, most notably "The Shawshank Redemption" (1994). Freeman won an Academy Award for his work in the Clint Eastwood boxing film "Million Dollar Baby" (2004). Freeman also worked with Christian Bale on the "Dark Knight" trilogy. Other notable films include "Driving Miss Daisy" (1989), "Glory" (1989), "Unforgiven" (1992), "Seven" (1995) and "Invictus" (2009). Freeman played the President in "Deep Impact" (1998).

Answer: Ben Kingsley

Ben Kingsley had a small (but important) role as Vice President Gary Nance in the 1993 political comedy "Dave". After a diplomatic mission to Africa, Nance presents the president with gifts. Nance later becomes President when President Mitchell (Kevin Kline) finally dies from the effects of a stroke.

In one of the few off notes in "Dave", Nance asked Mitchell about his political origins. It seems odd that the Vice President would not be aware of the political history of the President he is serving under.

Ben Kingsley is best known for playing Indian political activist Mohandas Gandhi in Richard Attenborough's 1982 bio-pic "Gandhi". Kingsley was a logical choice, as his family comes from the same Indian city that Gandhi grew up in. Since his Academy Award winning role in "Gandhi", Kingsley has regularly acted in films. His notable roles include "Schindler's List" (1993), "Sexy Beast" (2002), "House of Sand and Fog" (2003) and "Shutter Island" (2010).

Answer: Raymond Barry

Raymond Barry plays VP Daniel Binder, who is taken hostage during the NHL playoffs at Pittsburgh Civic Auditorium in the 1995 Jean Claude Van Damme thriller "Sudden Death". The film follows Van Damme as he kills the bad guys and ultimately rescues the Vice President. Powers Booth, who plays Foss, the lead terrorist in "Sudden Death", would play Vice President Noah Daniels on the Kiefer Sutherland series "24" (2007).

While Raymond Barry is not as famous as most of the other actors in this quiz, he has acted steadily between 1977 and 2016, performing in a wide range of plays and films. Films he can be seen in include "Born on the Fourth of July" (1989), "Falling Down" (1993), "Training Day" (2001) and "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story" (2007).

Answer: Miguel Ferrer

Miguel Ferrer played the vice president who betrayed the country in "Iron Man 3" (2013). In order to help save his daughter, Vice President Rodriguez provided classified information (including the location of POTUS) to industrialist Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce). Rodriguez was eventually exposed and arrested for treason.

Miguel Ferrer (1955-2017) was one of Hollywood's more notable character actors. He began his career in the early 1980s working in films and television. His breakout role was as corporate executive Bob Morton in "Robocop" (1987). Other notable appearances include Albert Rosenfield in "Twin Peaks" (1990-91), pathologist Garrett Macy on "Crossing Jordan" (2001-2007) and Owen Granger on "NCIS: Los Angeles" (2013-17).