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How ‘The Sympathizer’ Casting Director Crafted a Vietnamese Ensemble Over an ‘Insane and Cathartic’ Eight-Month Journey


Iconic casting director Jennifer Venditti unpacks the eight-month process of putting together 'The Sympathizer's' Vietnamese ensemble.

While portraying the war experiences of the Vietnamese people as nuanced and immeasurable in order to try and undo the historic stereotyping of Asians in Hollywood, “The Sympathizer” had a different take on its white characters. Each one represents an archetype previously seen in countless iterations, so Park turned that paradigm on its head, casting Robert Downey Jr. in all five roles to suggest that maybe those men have something in common worth paying attention to. “We were just populating it with people that the Vietnamese community adores, and the rest of the cast was honored to be around them and share stories.”

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