‘The Sympathizer’: Robert Downey Jr. Takes on Multiple Roles in Teaser for Spy Thriller (VIDEO)

Meredith Jacobs April 12, 2023, 3:34 pm

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Welcome to the world of spy craft.

HBO has released the official teaser for its new original limited series The Sympathizer, and it asks the question, “What happens to a mole when it is suddenly forced into the sun?”

The espionage thriller and cross-culture satire is based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel and follows the struggles of a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist spy (Hoa Xuande) during the final days of the Vietnam War and his resulting exile in the United States.

“How about this? You work for me while pretending to work for them. You’re a spy and a counter-spy at the same time. You’re a spy, right?” Robert Downey Jr. (who plays multiple roles) says to Xuande’s character at the end of the video, which you can watch above. “Look at you, all serious. You’d be a terrible spy.”

The teaser, released as part of Warner Bros. Discovery’s unveiling of the Max streaming service, also offers a look at the rest of the cast, including Fred Nguyen Khan, Toan Le, Ky Duyen, and Sandra Oh. The cast also includes Vy Le, Alan Trong, and Vy Le.

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Park Chan-wook and Don McKellar co-showrun, write, and executive produce. Chan-wook also directed the first three episodes. Executive producers also include Robert Downey Jr., Susan Downey, and Amanda Burrell for Team Downey; Kim Ly; Niv Fichman for Rhombus Media; Ron Schmidt; Nguyen; and Jisun Back for Moho Film. Also directing are Fernando Meirelles and Marc Munden. Writers also include Mark Richard, Naomi Iizuka, Maegan Houang, Anchuli Felicia King, and Tea Ho.

The Sympathizer is a co-production between HBO, A24, and Rhombus Media, produced in association with Cinetic Media and Moho Film.

The Sympathizer, Limited Series Premiere, 2024, HBO