Scroll To See More Images
If you’ve seen the poster for Bombshell, you know that Charlize Theron looks spookily like Megyn Kelly. But what does the rest of the Bombshell cast look like vs. the real people they’re playing? Turns out, Theron isn’t the only cast member to resemble her inspiration’s appearance.
Bombshell follow the sexual harassment case between former FOX News CEO Roger Ailes and dozens of female staffers who accused him of misconduct. Ailes resigned in July 2016 after he was given an ultimatum from 20th Century Fox owner Rupert Murdoch. The film is nominated for two awards at the 2020 Golden Globes, one for Best Actress and another for Best Supporting Actress. But what’s perhaps made more headlines is perhaps how much Theron looks like Kelly in the movie, a resemblance that even fooled the journalist’s 6-year-old son Thatcher.
“My husband @dougbrunt and I recently took our three kids to see the movie Frozen 2,” Kelly wrote in an Instagram post in December. “As we walked into the theatre, our 6-year-old stopped at this poster promoting another movie hitting the big screen. The ad confused him because it appears to show a picture of me.”
As for her reaction to the movie, Kelly wrote that, though the film was based on real events of her life, she didn’t sell her rights or approve of any of its content. “Watching this picture was an incredibly emotional experience for me, and for those with whom I saw it,” she wrote on Instagram. “Sexual harassment is pervasive in this country; it can leave scars that do not heal. My heart goes out to those who’ve gone through it, who I hope might find some comfort in this story. As for my thoughts about the film, I’ll have more soon.”
Ahead of Bombshell‘s release on Dec. 20, check out what the cast looks like vs. the real-life people they’re portraying.
Charlize Theron as Megyn Kelly
Theron plays former Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, who accused Ailes of making “unwanted sexual advances toward her” at the start of her career, according to New York magazine. The statement was one of the key confessions that led to Ailes’ resignation. In her 2016 book Settle for More, Kelly claimed that in 2006, soon after she was hired at Fox News, Ailes made tried to kiss her in a closed-door meeting. She wrote that when her coworker Gretchen Carlson made the first sexual harassment allegations at Fox News, the network pressured Kelly to defend Ailes, which she refused to do.
Image: Lionsgate
Image: Chris Carlson/AP/Shutterstock.
Nicole Kidman as Gretchen Carlson
Carson, who is played by Kidman, was the first Fox News staffer to accuse Ailes of sexual harassment in 2016. She filed a lawsuit against her former boss, in which she claimed that she was fired because she refused his sexual advances. Carlson’s statement led to dozens of other confessions from Fox News employees, who accused Ailes and other men at the network of inappropriate behavior. After Ailes’ resignation, Carlson told The Washington Post, “It’s complicated—there was relief that now I would be believed—and I was happy to a certain extent over that.” She also expressed that she felt “angry” it “took so long” for Ailes to be fired.
Image: Lionsgate
Image: Richard Drew/AP/Shutterstock.
Margot Robbie as Kayla Pospisil
Robbie’s character Kayla Pospisil is one of the few Bombshell characters to not be based on one real person. Instead, the character, an associate producer at Fox News who moves from Carlson’s program to The O’Reilly Factor, is inspired by more than 20 Fox News staffers who accused Ailes of sexual harassment, according to Esquire. Kayla, who some have compared to Tomi Lahren because of a line about being a “Christian millennial,” is meant to represent the victims who couldn’t speak on the record about their experiences because of non-disclosure agreements, Esquire reports.
Image: Lionsgate
John Lithgow as Roger Ailes
Lithgow stars as Roger Ailes, the former chairman and CEO of Fox News and Fox Television Stations, who resigned in July 2016 after sexual harassment allegations from dozens of female staffers, including Gretchen Carlson and Megyn Kelly. New York magazine reported at the time that Ailes was given an ultimatum to by August 1, 2016 or be fired. Ailes received $40 million as part of his exit agreement. He died at the age of 77 in May 2017 due to a blood condition. Bombshell was first announced days after Ailes’ death.
Image: Lionsgate
Image: Jim Cooper/AP/Shutterstock.
Connie Britton as Beth Ailes
Britton played Ailes’ third wife, Beth Ailes, a former TV executive and the owner and publisher of two local New York state newspapers. The couple had one son, Zachary. Ailes was married to Beth at the time he was accused of sexual harassment. In the film, Beth defended his husband amid the allegations.
Image: Matt Baron/Shutterstock.
Bree Condon as Kimberly Guilfoyle
Guilfoyle, played by Condon, worked at Fox News from 2006 to 2018. According to Vox, host, who is also Donald Trump Jr.’s current girlfriend, pressured women at Fox News to support Ailes amid the sexual harassment allegations. In Bombshell, she’s shown wearing a Team Roger T-shirt and passing shirts to other staffers to wear on air.
Image: Lionsgate
Image: Kris Connor/Variety/Shutterstock.
Elisabeth Rohm as Martha MacCallum
Rohm played Martha MacCallum, a Fox News anchor and the host of The Story with Martha MacCallum. MacCallum, who still works at Fox News, was among several women at the network who defended Ailes amid the allegations.
Image: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP/Shutterstock.
Image; AWNewYork/Shutterstock.
Ashley Greene as Abby Huntsman
Greene, who is best known for starring in Twilight, portrayed Abby Huntsman, a former cohost on Fox & Friends who is currently a cohost on The View. Huntsman was shown in Bombshell as an example of how Ailes preferred female Fox News reporters to show their legs in short dresses.
Image: Matt Baron/Shutterstock.
Nazanin Boniadi as Rudi Bakhtiar
Boniadi (best known for her role on How I Met Your Mother) played Rudi Bakhtiar, a journalist and anchor who claimed that she was fired from Fox News in 2007 because she accused anchor Brian Wilson of sexual harassment. After the allegation, which Wilson denied, Bakhtiar reached a confidential settlement with Fox News. She spoke up about the harassment again when Carlson filed her lawsuit against Ailes.
Image: Stewart Cook/Shutterstock.
Allison Janney as Susan Estrich
Susan Estrich, Ailes’ lawyer, was played by Allison Janney. Estrich, who met Ailes on the George H.W. Bush’s presidential campaign trail in 1988, was criticized for her attacks against New York magazine reporter Gabe Sherman, who broke the news of the scandal.
Image: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP/Shutterstock.
Image: Rob Latour/Variety/Shutterstock.
Robin Weigert as Nancy Erika Smith
Nancy Erika Smith, one of Gretchen Carlson’s lawyers, was played by Robin Weigert. In Bombshell, Smith played an important part in Carlson’s settlement with Ailes and Fox News by counseling her before the network fired her.
Image: Lionsgate
Image: AP/Shutterstock.