Snowden - actors, characters and roles

All actors and their roles in the film "Snowden"
Snowden (2016)
Timing: 2:14 (134 min)
Snowden - TMDB rating
7.1/10
4230
Snowden - Kinopoisk rating
7.208/10
230098
Snowden - IMDB rating
7.3/10
172000

Actors and characters

Photo Shailene Woodley #15Photo Shailene Woodley #16Photo Shailene Woodley #17Photo Shailene Woodley #18

Shailene Woodley

Shailene Woodley
Character Lindsay Mills
Photo Melissa Leo #3964Photo Melissa Leo #3965Photo Melissa Leo #3966Photo Melissa Leo #3967

Melissa Leo

Melissa Leo
Character Laura Poitras
Photo Zachary Quinto #31483Photo Zachary Quinto #31484Photo Zachary Quinto #65386Photo Zachary Quinto #327874

Zachary Quinto

Zachary Quinto
Character Glenn Greenwald
Photo Tom Wilkinson #29052Photo Tom Wilkinson #29053Photo Tom Wilkinson #29054Photo Tom Wilkinson #29055

Tom Wilkinson

Tom Wilkinson
Character Ewen MacAskill
Photo Scott Eastwood #3446Photo Scott Eastwood #3447Photo Scott Eastwood #3448Photo Scott Eastwood #3449

Scott Eastwood

Scott Eastwood
Character Trevor James
Photo Timothy Olyphant #32052Photo Timothy Olyphant #32053Photo Timothy Olyphant #32054Photo Timothy Olyphant #32055

Timothy Olyphant

Timothy Olyphant
Character CIA Agent Geneva
Photo Ben Schnetzer #90208

Ben Schnetzer

Ben Schnetzer
Character Gabriel Sol
Photo LaKeith Stanfield #31156Photo LaKeith Stanfield #31157Photo LaKeith Stanfield #31158Photo LaKeith Stanfield #31159

LaKeith Stanfield

LaKeith Stanfield
Character Patrick Haynes
Photo Rhys Ifans #5398Photo Rhys Ifans #5399Photo Rhys Ifans #5400Photo Rhys Ifans #312181

Rhys Ifans

Rhys Ifans
Character Corbin O'Brian
Photo Nicolas Cage #18087Photo Nicolas Cage #18088Photo Nicolas Cage #18089Photo Nicolas Cage #18090

Nicolas Cage

Nicolas Cage
Character Hank Forrester
Photo Joely Richardson #21685Photo Joely Richardson #21686Photo Joely Richardson #21687Photo Joely Richardson #21688

Joely Richardson

Joely Richardson
Character Janine Gibson
Photo Jaymes Butler #21054Photo Jaymes Butler #21055

Jaymes Butler

Jaymes Butler
Character Master Sgt. Robinson
Photo Robert Firth #48873

Robert Firth

Robert Firth
Character Dr. Stilwell
Photo Ben Chaplin #32765Photo Ben Chaplin #32766

Ben Chaplin

Ben Chaplin
Character Robert Tibbo
Photo Bhasker Patel #44311

Bhasker Patel

Bhasker Patel
Character Marwan Al-Kirmani
Photo Edward Snowden #90209Photo Edward Snowden #90210

Edward Snowden

Edward Snowden
Character Edward Snowden
Photo Christy Meyer #18231
Christy Meyer
Character Dr. Laurel
Gregory Schwabe
Character Drill Sgt. 2 Martinez
Photo Patrick Joseph Byrnes #90211
Patrick Joseph Byrnes
Character NSA Dep. Director Lowell
Jamie Hodge
Character Coffee Shop Patron / Pedestrian
Photo Mathangi Ray #90212
Mathangi Ray
Character Mother - Tong Lau Hong Kong
Photo Alan Rusbridger #90213
Alan Rusbridger
Character Moderator
Photo Stephanie Simbeck #90214
Stephanie Simbeck
Character Female Drone Pilot
Photo Logan Marshall-Green #19756Photo Logan Marshall-Green #19757Photo Logan Marshall-Green #19758Photo Logan Marshall-Green #19759

Logan Marshall-Green

Logan Marshall-Green
Character Male Drone Pilot
Photo Demetri Goritsas #35537Photo Demetri Goritsas #35538
Demetri Goritsas
Character CIA Supervisor
Photo Rachel Handshaw #12509

Rachel Handshaw

Rachel Handshaw
Character CIA Polygraph Adminstrator
Photo Christian Contreras #44332

Christian Contreras

Christian Contreras
Character CIA Psychologist
Photo Parker Sawyers #35708

Parker Sawyers

Parker Sawyers
Character CIA Interviewer
Photo Michael Benz #58033
Michael Benz
Character CIA Student
Photo Ken Thomas #45988
Ken Thomas
Character Warrenton Gate Guard
Photo Nicholas Rowe #55010

Nicholas Rowe

Nicholas Rowe
Character Assistant Editor Guardian
Photo Erol Sander #90215Photo Erol Sander #90216
Erol Sander
Character Diplomat Party Guest
Photo Anatoly Kucherena #90217
Anatoly Kucherena
Character Russian Diplomat
Photo Eric Kofi Abrefa #22528Photo Eric Kofi Abrefa #22529Photo Eric Kofi Abrefa #22530

Eric Kofi Abrefa

Eric Kofi Abrefa
Character NSA Tunnel Guard 1
Photo Stanley I. Walker Jr. #90218
Stanley I. Walker Jr.
Character NSA Tunnel Guard 2
Photo Olga Koda #90219
Olga Koda
Character Pole Dancer
Photo Alexandra Adomaitis #90220
Alexandra Adomaitis
Character CIA Trainee Bangkok (uncredited)
Photo Andreas Dubois #90221Photo Andreas Dubois #90222Photo Andreas Dubois #90223Photo Andreas Dubois #90224
Andreas Dubois
Character Audience
Photo Barack Obama #48449Photo Barack Obama #48450Photo Barack Obama #48451Photo Barack Obama #67105

Barack Obama

Barack Obama
Character Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Photo Osama Bin Laden #50355

Osama Bin Laden

Osama Bin Laden
Character Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Photo Hugo Chávez #90231

Hugo Chávez

Hugo Chávez
Character Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Photo Hillary Clinton #52270Photo Hillary Clinton #52271

Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton
Character Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Sarah Harrison
Character Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Photo John Kerry #90232

John Kerry

John Kerry
Character Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Photo Michelle Obama #48452Photo Michelle Obama #48453

Michelle Obama

Michelle Obama
Character Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Photo Vladimir Putin #90233

Vladimir Putin

Vladimir Putin
Character Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Photo Donald Trump #61568Photo Donald Trump #61569Photo Donald Trump #61570Photo Donald Trump #61571

Donald Trump

Donald Trump
Character Self (uncredited)
Photo Al Sotto #90234

Al Sotto

Al Sotto
Character Coffee Shop Patron (uncredited)

What's left behind the scenes

  • After filming, Oliver Stone met with Edward Snowden and showed him a rough cut of the film.
  • Shailene Woodley learned to pole dance for her role.
  • This is Oliver Stone's first narrative feature film shot on digital cameras. Previously, the director had only used digital cameras for his documentary projects.
  • Before filming, Edward Snowden advised Oliver Stone not to depict the NSA command center as lavish as it is typically shown in movies and television shows, as these centers are actually maintained on very limited budgets.
  • Nicolas Cage previously starred in Oliver Stone's "World Trade Center" (2006) and, due to a good relationship with Stone, agreed to participate in this project as well.
  • While filming in Germany, Oliver Stone's mother passed away. Stone was forced to miss her funeral due to the project's time and budgetary constraints. Otherwise, completing the film within the existing budget and schedule would not have been possible.
  • Filming began on February 16, 2015. At that time, the film was slated for release on December 25, 2015. The release date was then pushed back to May 2016 because the visual effects were too complex and required more time to complete. After the film was fully finished, the premiere date was moved again to September 2016 because the distributor wanted to avoid competition with summer blockbusters.
  • This is the 20th feature film directed by Oliver Stone.
  • This film was one of the first to be shot primarily using the ARRI 65 6.5k camera.
  • Before deciding to film this movie, Oliver Stone met with Edward Snowden three times in Moscow.
  • Melissa Leo played the role of journalist Laura Poitras, who previously made the film "Citizenfour: The Snowden Files" (2014).
  • To ensure the script didn't leak, Oliver Stone worked on it only on one computer that had no internet connection.
  • The dating site used by Lindsay Mills and Edward Snowden to communicate is a reference to the classic anime "Ghost in the Shell" (1995).
  • Shailene Woodley was cast in the film on November 15, 2014 – on her 23rd birthday.
  • The US premiere took place on September 16, 2016, the day after Oliver Stone's birthday. The director turned 70 years old.
  • Tom Wilkinson previously played the role of President Joseph F. Kennedy in the series "The Kennedys" (2011). Oliver Stone directed the film "JFK" (1991).
  • During its opening weekend, the film had the lowest box office results of any film directed by Oliver Stone.
  • Timothy Olyphant and Zachary Quinto both appeared in Hitman films. Olyphant starred in "Hitman" (2007), and Quinto in "Hitman: Agent 47" (2015).
  • The character Corbin O'Brien is a reference to the character O'Brien from George Orwell's novel '1984'.
  • The film is based on Luke Harding's book 'The Snowden Files: The Story of the Most Wanted Man in the World' and Anatoly Kucherena's 'Time of the Octopus'.
  • Oliver Stone met with Julian Assange in April 2013 at the Ecuadorian embassy in London, but Assange himself did not appear in the film, even as a character. In reality, Assange actively helped Snowden leave Hong Kong. The only participant from WikiLeaks who took part in this film is Sarah Harrison, who traveled with Snowden from Hong Kong to Moscow and supported him there. She appears in archival footage towards the end of the film.
  • Snowden uses a Rubik's Cube to secretly smuggle out a microSD card from a secure NSA facility. He uses an updated version of this cube, as evidenced by the small slots on its faces. Snowden worked at the NSA in 2013 and contacted journalists in the same year, while the cube model he uses only appeared in 2014.
  • When Snowden leaves his hotel room, a cell phone can be noticed inside the microwave.
  • As Snowden copies files onto his microSD card on the base in Hawaii, he does so from a computer running Windows, and dozens of pop-up windows appear reporting file copying. In reality, only one pop-up window should have appeared.
  • During a video chat between Janine and Greenwald and others from the hotel room, Janine receives an image showing depth of field in the camera, as two people sitting behind Greenwald are out of focus. This wouldn't have happened if it had been filmed with a webcam.
  • Despite being portrayed as an extremely experienced hacker, Snowden copies files onto the card simply by dragging and dropping. Any advanced user, let alone a hacker, would use the command line for this and minimize windows to keep them off-screen.
  • As Snowden and Lindsay walk through a crowd of protesters, a woman with a stroller can be seen on Lindsay's side. In the next shot, that same woman is now on Snowden's side. Furthermore, it’s clearly visible that the baby in the stroller is just a doll.
  • When Snowden is making pasta in the kitchen, he pours boiling water into the sink. Steam then hits his face and his glasses fog up. He then collapses, and when he is lying down, it’s visible that his glasses, which were fogged up just a few seconds earlier, are now completely clear.
  • Nicolas Cage previously starred in Oliver Stone's "World Trade Center" (2006) and, due to his good relationship with Stone, agreed to participate in this project of his as well.
  • Melissa Leo played the role of journalist Laura Poitras, who previously made the film "Citizenfour: The Truth About Snowden" (2014).
  • The dating site used by Lyndie Mills and Edward Snowden to communicate is a reference to the classic anime "Ghost in the Shell" (1995).
  • Shailene Woodley was cast in the film on November 15, 2014 – her 23rd birthday.
  • Tom Wilkinson previously played the role of President Joseph F. Kennedy in the series "The Kennedys" (2011). Oliver Stone directed the film "JFK" (1991).
  • Timothy Olyphant and Zachary Quinto both starred in Hitman films. Olyphant appeared in "Hitman" (2007), and Quinto in "Hitman: Agent 47" (2015).
  • The character Corbin O'Brien is a reference to the character O'Brien from George Orwell's novel "1984".
  • The film is based on the books "The Snowden Files: The Inside Story of the World's Most Wanted Man" by Luke Harding and "Time of the Octopus" by Anatoly Kucherena.
  • Oliver Stone met with Julian Assange in April 2013 at the Ecuadorian embassy in London, but Assange himself did not appear in the film, even as a character. In reality, Assange actively helped Snowden leave Hong Kong. The only participant from WikiLeaks who took part in this film is Sarah Harrison, who travelled with Snowden from Hong Kong to Moscow and supported him there. She is shown in archival footage towards the end of the film.
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