Their True Colors

To know the Primary Colors real-life players, it helps to have a scorecard. Sure, the movie employs some artistic license and some compositing, but, as with Joe Klein's "Anonymous" book, the characters clearly reside in Clinton-ville, U.S.A. Here's a partial guide to who's playing whom.

Jack Stanton (John Travolta) = Bill Clinton:
Travolta makes no effort to hide the fact that he's impersonating William Jefferson Clinton, right down to the southern accent, gray hair, dough-boy heft, and occasional mannerism. "I'm really playing him," the actor admitted to Time magazine, adding that he studied hours of Clinton video. "It's false p.r. for me to do it any other way."

Susan Stanton (Emma Thompson) = Hillary Rodham Clinton:
Actually, of all the major Colors characters, Thompson went the farthest to veer away from a head-on Hillary. While there are definite similarities, Thompson has said she refused to do a direct impersonation. To New York magazine, she explained, "I sort of cast her a few glances. . .I got out a few bios and thought, 'She's splendid,' but wanted to go my own way. It made me much freer."

Richard Jemmons (Billy Bob Thornton) = James Carville:
Thornton has said he's not imitating Carville, and his characterization is slightly toned down from the real Carville, and bearded for good measure. Just the same, he plays an off-center, sharp, southern political strategist.

Henry Burton (Adrian Lester) = George Stephanopoulos + Ron Brown:

"A young, idealistic, trusted aide," was how former White House Press Secretary Dee Dee Myers described the Henry Burton character after seeing the movie. She deemed Henry Burton the movie's equivalent of real-life adviser George Stephanopoulos. There is also, however, some of the late commerce secretary Ron Brown thrown in, and not just because actor Lester is an African-American. Lester, in fact, has said he did some research on Brown.

Cashmere McLeod (Cia Carides) = Gennifer Flowers: In a departure from her real-life muse, Caride's Cashmere McLeod plays a hairdresser to the movie's future first lady. Still, like Gennifer Flowers, she tells all.

Back to The Primary Source

Stranger Than Fiction
Hollywood Fibs
All The President Movies

Written by Rob Medich with graphic design by Dana Byerly