HBO Max — er, Max — has released the teaser trailer for its upcoming limited series The Sympathizer, which reveals Robert Downey Jr. playing multiple characters. Watch it below.
Based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name, the show is described in the official logline as “an espionage thriller and cross-culture satire about the struggles of a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist spy during the final days of the Vietnam War and his resulting exile in the United States.”
In the trailer, Hoa Xuande is so mysteriously opaque as the titular spy (“I could be Viet Cong for all you know,” he says, before chillingly chuckling, “I love America!”) that everyone he interacts with ends up confused about his allegiances. At one point, when one of Downey Jr.’s many characters attempts to enlist Xuande’s services, he puts on a confused facade that throws Downey Jr. off his trail completely. “Look at you all serious!,” he laughs. “Man, you’d be a terrible spy.”
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Besides these stars, The Sympathizer cast also features Fred Nguyen Khan, Toan Le, Ky Duyen, and Sandra Oh. Co-showrunners and writers Park Chan-wook (Oldboy) and Don McKellar will executive produce alongside Robert Downey Jr., with Park Chan-wook also directing the first three episodes. The series is a co-production between HBO, A24, and Rhombus Media.
Downey Jr. may soon appear in a remake of Albert Hitchcock’s Vertigo. Revisit our roundup of his 10 Best Performances here.
