HBO has set the main cast for the new post-Vietnam War series The Sympathizer, after an intensive acting search, via The Hollywood Reporter. HBO and series co-producer A24 did an extensive search with open casting calls across North America, Vietnam, Europe, and Australia led by casting director Jennifer Venditti (Uncut Gems, Euphoria), according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Hoa Xuande (Cowboy Bebop, Hungry Ghosts) is set to play the series’ lead role, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Xuande will be joined by Fred Nguyen Khan (Rise of the Tomb Raider, The Burglar), Toan Le (Bigfoot, Visioneers), Vy Le (Have a Nice Flight), and Alan Trong (The Tomorrow War, Insecure), via The Hollywood Reporter. Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man, Sherlock Holmes) is set to play several supporting roles and executive produce the series, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Hoa Xuande, Fred Nguyen Khan, Toan Le, Vy Le and Alan Trong will star alongside Robert Downey Jr. in Park Chan-wook’s limited series ‘THE SYMPATHIZER’ for HBO.

The espionage thriller follows a communist spy in the final days of the Vietnam War

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The series is based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning debut novel, and follows the story of Captain, played by Xuande, a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist spy during the Vietnam war and his exile in the United States, via The Hollywood Reporter. 

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Khan is set to play Bon, the Captain’s childhood friend who refuses to expose his friend’s identity. Toan Le is set to play the General, the former head of the South Vietnamese Secret Police who is now fixated on uncovering traitors. Vy Le is set to play Lana, the General’s daughter who understands both Vietnamese and American culture, a skill the Captain finds dizzying. Trong is set to play Sonny, an idealistic former schoolmate of the Captain and the editor of a Vietnamese newspaper in Los Angeles. Downey is set to play multiple antagonist roles that represent different aspects of the American establishment. 

Don McKellar (Sensitive Skin, Last Night) is set to be a showrunner for The Sympathizer alongside Park Chan-wook (Oldboy, The Little Drummer Girl) who will also be directing, via The Hollywood Reporter. The series will be produced by HBO, A24, and Rhombus Media, in association with Cinetic Media and Moho Film, according to The Hollywood Reporter. 

HBO have also added Sandra Oh (Killing Eve, Grey’s Anatomy),  Kieu Chinh (The Joy Luck Club, City of Angels), and Nguyen Cao Ky Duyen (The Rich Woman, Lost Paradise) as key recurring roles in the series.