How the 'Impeachment: American Crime Story' Cast Compares to Their Real-Life Counterparts
How the 'Impeachment: American Crime Story' Cast Compares to Their Real-Life Counterparts
Impeachment: American Crime Story is the third go-around for FX's American Crime Story franchise, and like each of the first two installments, it's looking to examine something entirely different. Where The People vs. OJ Simpson looked, largely, at the trial of O.J. Simpson and the aftermath of the crime itself, and The Assassination of Gianni Versace followed Andrew Cunanan as he went on a cross-country killing spree, Impeachment dives into a much more nuanced and public scandal: a presidential impeachment.
The story this time centers on Monica Lewinsky, played here by Beanie Feldstein. It's a well-known story, but as a 22-year old White House intern, Lewinsky had an affair with Bill Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States of America. This was just the tip of the iceberg, though, as Impeachment will explore throughout its 8-episode run. The show is executive produced, as always, with Sarah Burgess writing.
What makes the American Crime Story series all that more compelling is the fact that, yes, these are true stories. Likely at least somewhat dramatized versions of these stories, yes, but the vast majority of the characters here have counterparts who at least at some level really didwhat we're seeing depicted on screen. And at that point, it's natural to want to know what the real person's deal is, and if they looked even somewhat like the person playing them.
So, without further ado, let's take a look at how the Impeachment: American Crime Story cast compares to their real-life counterparts.
1) Beanie Feldstein - Monica Lewinsky
The center of Impeachment: American Crime Story is Monica Lewinsky, whose had an affair with President Bill Clinton during her time as a White House Intern, leading at least in part to the Impeachment of the story’s title. Lewinsky herself is a producer on the series, and Feldstein has been a star on the rise for the last couple years, appearing in beloved movies Lady Bird, and Booksmart, along with a small but memorable role in TV’s What We Do In The Shadows.
2) Clive Owen - Bill Clinton
Little known fact, but Bill Clinton was the 42nd President of the United States of America. His impeachment—making him the second U.S. President to be impeached—is the subject of this latest American Crime Story season. Clinton was president from 1993 to 2001. He’s played here by a much-different-than-usual-looking Clive Owen, who is likely best known for his roles in movies like Inside Man and Children of Men. This isn’t his first foray into prestige TV, as he led the underrated Steven Soderbergh series The Knick a few years back.
3) Edie Falco - Hillary Clinton
Speaking of both people you may have heard of and prestige TV, Hillary Clinton is played in Impeachment: American Crime Story by Edie Falco. You may remember Clinton from her time as First Lady, her time as a Senator, her time as the Secretary of State, or her runs for President in 2008 and 2016. Falco, of course, is television royalty from her time playing Carmela Soprano on The Sopranos (when she won three Emmys for Best Lead Actress) and on Nurse Jackie (when she added another Emmy to her collection).
4) Sarah Paulson - Linda Tripp
Linda Tripp was a whistleblower in the case, a civil servant responsible for the recorded Lewinsky voice conversations that publicly revealed the affair between the President and the intern. Paulson—who has already expressed regret for wearing a fat suit for the role—is perhaps the most prominent actor to have worked with Ryan Murphy in his various projects over the last decade, including prominent roles in most seasons of American Horror Story and a memorable and much-heralded turn as Marcia Clark in American Crime Story: The People vs. OJ Simpson (for which she won her only Emmy).
5) Annaleigh Ashford - Paula Jones
Jones was an employee of the state of Arkansas, another civil servant, who sued Bill Clinton for seuxal harassment in 1994 for an incident that had allegedly taken place in 1991—just before the state’s three-year statute of limitations expired. Jones’ suit eventually brought Clinton to the stand in court, when he was also asked about sexual relations with Lewinsky, which he denied. When evidence of the relationship later came to light, Clinton was then accused of perjury. Ashford is known for her work on Showtime’s Masters of Sex, and on Broadway. She’s also currently starring in the CBS sitcom B Positive, and had a brief but memorable appearance in John Mulaney and the Sack Lunch Bunch on Netflix.
6) Judith Light - Susan Carpenter-McMillan
Susan Carpenter-McMillan was a conservative republican and advisor to Paula Jones during her time in the public eye, following Jones’ 1991 sexual harassment suit against Clinton. She’s played in Impeachment: American Crime Story by Judith Light, best known for her role on ‘80s sitcom Who’s The Boss?, but a recent collaborator of Ryan Murphy in American Crime Story: The Assasination of Gianni Versace and The Politician.
7) Margo Martindale - Lucianne Goldberg
Goldberg is a literary agent, notable in the Impeachment story for being the person who advised Linda Tripp to record Monica Lewinsky’s private phone calls about her relationship with Clinton. She’s played here by the always-excellent Margo Martindale, who won an Emmy for her role in Justified, and has appeared in….approximately ten million other things. Quick shout out to her incredible voice role in BoJack Horseman as a fictionalized version of herself, ‘Character Actress Margo Martindale.’
8) Colin Hanks - Mike Emmick
Emmick was an attorney on Ken Starr’s team, who famously spent nearly 12 hours with Lewinsky at one point trying to coax her into cooperating with a probe aiming to find Clinton guilty of perjury. Hanks, yes, is Tom Hanks’ son, but is also a more than accomplished actor in his own right. He’s been down the prestige TV road before in the first season of Fargo, and has been in several notable movies, including Orange County, Peter Jackson’s King Kong, and the recent Jumanji movies.
9) Cobie Smulders - Ann Coulter
Ann Coulter remains an outspoken conservative pundit to this day, but she first got started during the era of the Clinton impeachment trial. She first wrote a book about the Clinton Impeachment trial, which came from her experience writing briefs for Paula Jones’ attorneys. She’s played by Cobie Smulders, who is well known to sitcom fans as Robin Scherbatsky from How I Met Your Mother and to Marvel Cinematic Universe fans as Maria Hill. Smulders’ most recent foray on TV was in the underrated series Stumptown, which was unfortunately cancelled after only one season.
10) Billy Eichner - Matt Drudge
Drudge was one of the earliest forms of a political blogger/aggregator, and he got really popular right around the time that he started publishing the news that eventually became the Lewinsky scandal. Before he founded The Drudge Report, Drudge worked a series of odd jobs, including the counter at 7-Eleven. He’s played here by Billy Eichner, the hilarious comedian best known for his chaotic game show Billy on the Street. Eichner has previously worked with Murphy on American Horror Story.
Does Clive Owen make a convincing Bill Clinton?