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The Famous Cheating Scandal Drama That Made Ralph Fiennes A Superstar

Ralph Fiennes as a smiling Charles Van Doren in 'Quiz Show'.Image via Hollywood Pictures

By André Joseph Published 37 minutes ago André Joseph is a movie features writer at Collider. Born and raised in New York City, he graduated from Emerson College with a Bachelor's Degree in Film. He freelances as an independent filmmaker, teacher, and blogger of all things pop culture. His interests include Marvel, Star Wars, Ghostbusters, Robocop, wrestling, and many other movies and TV shows. His accomplishments as a filmmaker include directing the indie movie Vendetta Games now playing on Tubi, the G.I. Joe fan film "The Rise of Cobra" on YouTube, and receiving numerous accolades for his dramatic short film Dismissal Time. More information can be found about André on his official website. Sign in to your Collider account Add Us On Summary Generate a summary of this story follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap

Ralph Fiennes has established himself as a reliable supporting player in cinema since the early ‘90s. From his breakout role as Nazi lieutenant Amon Göth in Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List to a doctor surviving a zombie outbreak in 28 Years Later, the actor brings a Shakespearean quality, full of complexity, to his portrayals of morally corrupted men. Though he made a name for himself playing iconic villains and unforgettable allies in major franchises, Fiennes’s performance as college instructor-turned-television star Charles Van Doren in Robert Redford’s Quiz Show elevated him to leading man status without shouting at the rooftops.

The Paul Attanasio-penned screenplay, based on former Congressional lawyer Richard Goodwin’s book Remembering America: A Voice from the Sixties, depicted the infamous cheating scandal surrounding the popular game show Twenty-One. Leading an ensemble of acting heavyweights, including John Turturro, Rob Morrow, David Paymer, and even Martin Scorsese, Fiennes serves as the true-life drama’s moral center against a ‘50s backdrop where truth can be manufactured simply by what is presented on television. Despite underperforming at the box office, Quiz Show was universally praised by professional critics such as Roger Ebert, who singled out Fiennes for his superb performance.

What Is 'Quiz Show' About?

Set in 1958, Columbia University English professor Charles Van Doren (Fiennes) agrees to audition for the game show Tic-Tac-Dough when television producers Dan Enright (Paymer) and Albert Freeman (Hank Azaria) encourage him to participate in the more challenging Twenty-One instead. Outside of Van Doren’s involvement, the producers are under pressure by network bosses and sponsors to improve ratings, as the show’s reigning champion, Herb Stempel (Turturro), has created audience fatigue. With Stempel promised a future career on the small screen, he purposely fails to answer an easy question about the movie Marty, which results in Van Doren as Twenty-One’s new champion.

The surprise turn of events on the show draws the attention of Goodwin (Morrow) to investigate the possibility of the entire game show scene being rigged. An interview with a disgruntled, near-broken Stempel opens Goodwin’s eyes to the truth that the Twenty-One contestants are given the correct answers in advance of the show tapings. With Van Doren turning into a superstar with his week-to-week wins, he faces pressure to consistently play into the lie while Goodwin’s investigation hangs over him like a dark cloud.

Redford’s direction and Attanasio’s screenplay detail the cheating scandal from various perspectives, with the motivations clearly realized. Turturro’s unhinged Stempel symbolizes the working-class American being sold on success by the elite, only to be deceived when he is no longer of value. Morrow’s Goodwin is not on a mere witch hunt against Twenty-One but to ensure that television programs at large do not hoodwink the public. Either of these characters could be portrayed as central protagonists, bringing the story to a natural conclusion under a different screenplay. However, the importance of Van Doren as the Quiz Show’s tragic central player is emblematic of the film’s commentary about how celebrity can make a person shed their core values for the sake of admiration.

How Ralph Fiennes Turns a Confident TV Star Into a Tragic Figure

Ralph Fiennes as Charles Van Doren smiling in 'Quiz Show'.Image via Hollywood Pictures

Fiennes elevates Quiz Show by leaning heavily into Van Doren’s arc from an ambitious contestant to the target of scorn due to the public deception by Twenty-One. The early scenes feature Fiennes carrying himself like a handsome primetime star with his sharp suits, slick-backed hairstyle, and a winning smile. But beneath his pretentious, upper-crust image, Fiennes portrays Van Doren as a habitual liar masking his insecurities with charisma. Even in scenes where Goodwin presses Van Doren for involvement in the game show hoax, Fiennes’s rapid-fire defensive responses become a living embodiment of Twenty-One’s gimmick of answering questions in a near airtight booth.

The pressure simply becomes too much, and Fiennes articulates such a feeling as Van Doren’s smiles get smaller and his manner of speech becomes increasingly hesitant.

For all the early confidence he displays in playing the game early on, the actor’s portrayal of Van Doren shows signs of something deeply revealing within his interactions with the professor’s father, Mark Van Doren (Paul Scofield). Throughout the film, Charles struggles to measure up to Mark’s intellectualism and ideals, while the family patriarch only sees the superficial aspect of his son’s fame. The real heartbreak between father and son comes right before Charles agrees to testify to Congress when he tells Mark the truth about Twenty-One. Fiennes’s vulnerability shines through in Van Doren, realizing the effort he made to live up to the family name ultimately turned him into an outcast. Despite his shattered self-esteem, the magic of Fiennes working alongside Scofield, who brings Mark down to a sympathetic level in an intimate moment, allows the audience to see into Charles’s soul.

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Quiz Show was the defining film that transitioned Fiennes into a true movie star. Had it not been for the acclaimed Redford-directed drama, it is very possible we would not have seen Fiennes’s land such winning performances in Strange Days, The End of the Affair, and The English Patient. He did not play into the spectacle surrounding the cheating scandal but instead created a human portrait of a good man corrupted by the allure of notoriety.

Quiz Show is streaming on Prime Video in the US.

Quiz Show

Like Follow Followed PG-13 Drama Biography History Release Date October 7, 1994 Runtime 133 Minutes Director Robert Redford Writers Paul Attanasio, Richard N. Goodwin