Jason Reitman‘s The Front Runner has released its full cast list, seeing J.K. Simmons and Vera Farmiga joining Hugh Jackman in the political comedy. The Front Runner tells the story of Democratic presidential candidate Gary Hart (Jackman) who was disgraced after getting caught up in a sex scandal with model Donna Rice.
Gary Hart was among the frontrunners of the 1998 Democratic presidential nomination before rumours of the affair tanked his chances in politics. The scandal changed public views on both politics and the media. And yet, director Jason Reitman has chosen to portray the tale as a comedy, perhaps in an effort to make the film somewhat more relatable.
J.K. Simmons will portray Hart’s campaign manager, Bill Dixon. The Front Runner will be Simmons and Reitman’s seventh collaboration under the latter’s direction, joining titles including Juno, Up in the Air, and Labor Day. Simmons is well known for his Academy Award winning performance in Whiplash.
Vera Farmiga will play Hart’s wife, Lee Hart, who stayed with her husband despite the scandal that shook his career. Farmiga, too, starred in Up in the Air, but is better known for her work in The Conjuring.
The cast also includes Josh Brener, Kaitlyn Dever, Spencer Garrett, Ari Graynor, Toby Huss, Kevin Pollack, and Steve Zissis. Sara Paxton stars as Donna Rice in what Reitman also describes as a “wry ’70s-era political movie”.
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