Best Well-Played Real Life Heroes in TV movies
Emmy and Golden Globe Nominees and Winners for playing real life heroes and other TV awards
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- DirectorBarry LevinsonStarsAl PacinoBrenda VaccaroJohn GoodmanA look at the life and work of doctor-assisted suicide advocate Jack Kevorkian.
- DirectorMick JacksonStarsJames WoodsMercedes RuehlLolita DavidovichLawyers and the media argue the alleged child abuse at the McMartin preschool in Manhattan Beach, California.
- DirectorRobert DornhelmStarsJames WoodsPenelope Ann MillerMichelle NoldenA New York mayor tries to cut back the city's crime and social problems, all in the face of his own battle with cancer, the tragedy of the September 11th Attacks and his troubled marriage.
- DirectorSteven SchachterStarsWilliam H. MacyKyra SedgwickKathy BakerA man with cerebral palsy is determined to become a salesman.
- DirectorThaddeus O'SullivanStarsBrendan GleesonClive MantleAdrian ScarboroughContinuing the storyline of The Gathering Storm (2002), Churchill at War is a look at the former British prime minister's life and career at the end of WWII.
- DirectorRichard LoncraineStarsAlbert FinneyVanessa RedgraveJim BroadbentWinston Churchill's wilderness years prior to World War II, when only he could see the threat that Adolf Hitler and a rearmed Germany posed to Europe.
- DirectorRoss KatzStarsKevin BaconTom AldredgeNicholas ArtBased on real-life events, Lt. Col. Michael Strobl, a volunteer military escort officer, accompanies the body of 19-year-old Marine Chance Phelps back to his hometown of Dubois, Wyoming.
- DirectorRobert DornhelmStarsLinus RoacheJames CromwellDavid PaymerFollowing the death of his brother John, Robert Kennedy is forced to rise to the challenge of leading his country and carrying on his brother's vision of what America could be.
- DirectorPaul AaronStarsJane AlexanderJames WoodsConcetta TomeiAn account of US Navy Commander James Stockdale's 8 year imprisonment in North Vietnam.
- StarsPaul GiamattiLaura LinneyJohn DossettThe life of one of the USA's Founding Fathers, its second President, and his role in the nation's first 50 years.
- StarsJohn SheaE.G. MarshallGeraldine FitzgeraldBiography of the 1961-1963 Presidency of John F. Kennedy with Martin Sheen and Blair Brown. Covers the momentous presidential years and the lives, loves, and triumphs of one of the most controversial families of the twentieth-century.
- StarsPaul WinfieldCicely TysonTony BennettThe story of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., stretching from his days as a Southern Baptist minister up to his assassination in Memphis in 1968.
- DirectorRichard LoncraineStarsMichael SheenDemetri GoritsasAdam GodleyA dramatization that traces former UK prime minister Tony Blair's relationships with Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.
- StarsDavid HuffmanMackenzie PhillipsLilia SkalaThe story of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, from early youth to his election as President of the United States, as told from Eleanor's point of view.
- DirectorDaniel PetrieStarsJane AlexanderEdward HerrmannPriscilla PointerThe story of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt during their 12-year stay at the White House.
- DirectorJohn ErmanStarsJean StapletonE.G. MarshallCoral BrowneBiography of former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt, who forged a new role for herself in the years after her husband's death.
- DirectorPaul MazurskyStarsStanley TucciGlenne HeadlyPaul GiamattiThe true story of the influential and controversial columnist, Walter Winchell.
- DirectorDaniel PetrieStarsJames WoodsJoBeth WilliamsJames GarnerThe story of Bill Wilson and the founding of Alcoholics Anonymous.
- StarsGary SiniseAngelina JolieStieven DavidsonFollowing Alabama governor George Wallace through segregation, presidential elections, an assassination attempt and personal trauma.
- DirectorFrank PiersonStarsGary SiniseDiana ScarwidRichard DysartThough considered unqualified, Harry S. Truman becomes the 33rd president following the April 1945 death of Franklin D. Roosevelt.
- DirectorMichael Toshiyuki UnoStarsBeau BridgesJoan AllenDavid StrathairnBased on a true story, this film focuses on James Brady, the press secretary to Ronald Reagan who was severely injured in an attempt on the president's life. When John Hinckley Jr. Jr. tries to kill Reagan, he also shoots Brady. Although Brady recuperates, he is left partially paralyzed and continues to heal with the support of his wife, Sarah. The shooting inspires Brady to seek stricter gun control laws, resulting in the Brady Bill.
- DirectorRobert Allan AckermanStarsJudy DavisJames BrolinZeljko IvanekA non-partisan telling of the marriage and political career of Ronald and Nancy Reagan. The movie tells a tale of love, devotion, controversy, and patriotism.
- DirectorJeff BlecknerStarsGlenn CloseJudy DavisJan RubesThe true story of a decorated officer's legal challenge to her involuntary discharge when she admitted she was homosexual.
- DirectorBruce BeresfordStarsAntonio BanderasEion BaileyAlan ArkinHollywood makes a deal with Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa to film his war and recreate his life.
- DirectorMartha CoolidgeStarsHalle BerryBrent SpinerKlaus Maria BrandauerDorothy Dandridge's way to fame and fortune as a dancer, singer and actress.
- DirectorJohn FrankenheimerStarsKyle MacLachlanSamuel L. JacksonClarence Williams IIIBased on the true story of the Attica Prison uprising of 1971.
- DirectorRobert MarkowitzStarsLaura DernRobert LoggiaVincent SpanoBased on a true story, one woman takes on the U.S. military and General Dynamics; maker of the F-16, thought to be the very best tactical fighter in the world. Air Force Captain Theodore T. Harduvel was one of the best F-16 pilots the U.S. had to offer. After much digging, Janet Harduvel discovers a joint military and General Dynamic cover-up. She proves to be unwavering in her search for the truth to clear his name.
- DirectorJay RoachStarsKevin SpaceyBob BalabanDenis LearyA chronicle of the weeks after the 2000 U.S. Presidential election, and the subsequent recounts in Florida.
- DirectorJack GoldStarsJohn HurtLiz GebhardtPatricia HodgeThe life and times of Quentin Crisp, an outrageous and flamboyant homosexual, coming of age and growing into old age in conservative England.
- DirectorRoger SpottiswoodeStarsMatthew ModineAlan AldaPatrick BauchauThe story of the discovery of the AIDS epidemic, and the political infighting of the scientific community hampering the early fight with it.
- DirectorLamont JohnsonStarsRichard ChamberlainAlice KrigeKenneth ColleyThe story of Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat responsible for saving thousands of lives from the Nazi Holocaust.
- DirectorJohn FrankenheimerStarsRaul JuliaCarmen ArgenzianoSonia BragaBased on the true story of a Brazilian rubber tapper who leads his people in protest against government and developers who want to cut down their part of the rainforest for a new road and ranch land. The rich and the powerful will stop at nothing, and frequently resort to murder.
- DirectorMick JacksonStarsClaire DanesJulia OrmondDavid StrathairnA biopic of Temple Grandin, an autistic woman who has become one of the top scientists in the humane livestock handling industry.
- DirectorJohn Kent HarrisonStarsAnna PaquinGoran VisnjicMichelle DockeryThe story of Irena Sendler, a social worker who was part of the Polish underground during World War II and was arrested by the Nazis for saving the lives of nearly 2,500 Jewish children by smuggling them out of the Warsaw ghetto.
- DirectorDan CurtisStarsTed DansonChristopher PlummerBrian DennehyA dramatized account of the hidden sexual abuse and scandal that shook the foundation of the Catholic Church, and the characters, events, and policies that brought the abuse and scandal into existence.
- DirectorGlenn JordanStarsJames GarnerJonathan PrycePeter RiegertThe president of a major tobacco company decides to buy the company himself, but a bidding war ensues as other companies make their own offers.
- DirectorTom HooperStarsLee BoardmanJim BroadbentTam Dean BurnA portrait of Lord Longford, a tireless British campaigner whose controversial beliefs often resulted in furious political debate and personal conflict.
- DirectorPeter WernerStarsRandy QuaidPatti LuPoneMorgan BrittanyThis made-for-TV film chronicles the years 1934 through 1963, tracing the beginnings of Johnson's public career, chronicling his reputation for down-and-dirty politicking, and following his progress.
- DirectorJulie DashStarsAngela BassettPeter Francis JamesTonea StewartA seamstress recalls events leading to her act of peaceful defiance that prompted the 1955 bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama.
- DirectorStephen FrearsStarsDavid MorrisseyMatt BlairMichael SheenFollows the rise to power of Tony Blair, and his friendship and rivalry with his contemporary, Gordon Brown.
- DirectorJohn FrankenheimerStarsMichael GambonDonald SutherlandAlec BaldwinIn the mid 1960s, President Lyndon B. Johnson (Sir Michael Gambon) and his foreign-policy team debate the decision to withdraw from or escalate the war in Vietnam.
- DirectorChris GerolmoStarsStephen ReaDonald SutherlandMax von SydowDuring the 1980s, Soviet authorities hunt for a serial killer who picks his victims in railway stations and commuter trains and lures them into the woods.
- DirectorThomas CarterStarsCuba Gooding Jr.Kimberly EliseAunjanue Ellis-TaylorBiography of Ben Carson who grew up to be Dr. Ben Carson, a world famous neurosurgeon at Johns Hopkins.
- DirectorJoseph SargentStarsCliff McMullenYasiin BeyLuray CooperA dramatization of the relationship between heart surgery pioneers Alfred Blalock and Vivien Thomas.
- DirectorJerry CiccorittiStarsColm FeorePolly ShannonPatrick McKennaA biography of the famous, controversial and flamboyant Prime Minister of Canada, Pierre Elliot Trudeau.
- DirectorJoseph SargentStarsSidney PoitierMichael CaineTina LiffordOn June 12, 1964, Nelson Mandela, along with numerous political detainees, was sentenced to life imprisonment in what remains the most sensational treason trial in the history of South Africa. The incarceration of Mandela and other political prisoners on Robben Island would become a symbol of the struggle to end apartheid and win freedom for the black majority in South Africa. On February 2, 1990, President F.W. De Klerk stood before Parliament and announced the legalization of the African National Congress and a host of other banned political organizations. At the same time, he announced that Nelson Mandela, having served twenty-seven years in prison, would be released within seven days. Yet the world, and indeed most South Africans, knew little about how this momentous occasion came to pass. Until now. This movie was filmed in South Africa. Most of the locations are those where the actual events took place, and the dramatized sequences are augmented with newsreel footage to ensure the most accurate portrayal possible of recent historical events.
- DirectorPete TravisStarsWilliam HurtChiwetel EjioforJonny Lee MillerA story based on the covert discussions that brought down the Apartheid regime in South Africa.
- DirectorFrank PiersonStarsJames WoodsAnn MarinCraig T. NelsonA Cincinnati museum director goes on trial in 1990 for exhibiting sadomasochistic photographs taken by Robert Mapplethorpe.
- StarsLouis Gossett Jr.John Rhys-DaviesMadolyn Smith OsborneThe dramatization of the life of Egyptian leader Muhammad Anwar al-Sadat, from his early years as a young officer fighting the British, to his assassination in 1981.
- DirectorJack GoldStarsAlan ArkinJoanna PaculaRutger HauerGerman death camp in Sobibor, Poland, killed two hundred fifty thousand Jews. It had the most successful prisoner escape in World War II on October 14, 1943.
- DirectorLarry ElikannStarsJudy DavisSam NeillAnthony HigginsMary Lindell works for the French Red Cross in occupied France during World War II and helps Allied airmen who have been shot down to escape to the unoccupied side. Her activities are complicated by her high profile and her daughter's love affair with a German officer. Based on the true story.
- DirectorPhilip SavilleStarsDanny GloverTam MpofuPriscilla MundawararaNelson Mandela (1918-2013) become South Africa's first Black President, and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his leadership in negotiating a bloodless revolution in that country.
- DirectorThomas SchlammeStarsJohn GoodmanMatt CravenAnne HecheA look at the life and career of controversial Louisiana governor Huey Long, whose nickname was "The Kingfish."
- StarsJonathan Rhys MeyersRose McGowanRandy QuaidA chronicle of the life of Elvis Presley, from his humble beginnings to his rise to international stardom.
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsKurt RussellShelley WintersBing RussellBiographical movie about the famous rock singer Elvis Presley.
- DirectorRoger YoungStarsTom HulceJennifer GreyBlair UnderwoodIn 1964, members of the Ku Klux Klan murdered three Civil Rights workers who had traveled to the South to encourage African-American voter registration. Examines the last three weeks in the lives of the slain activists.
- DirectorJohn HerzfeldStarsVing RhamesVondie Curtis-HallJeremy PivenA cinematic portrait of the famous fight promoter and boxing manager.
- StarsKarl MaldenEva Marie SaintBarry NewmanA retiree spends nine years relentlessly seeking to prove that his son-in-law, a former Green Beret Army doctor, murdered his pregnant wife and two daughters.
- StarsMichael CaineArmand AssanteRay McAnallyA Scotland Yard police inspector, battling the booze, investigates the Jack the Ripper murders and discovers a conspiracy that leads all the way up to the Queen.
- DirectorBuzz KulikStarsCliff De YoungAnthony HopkinsDenise AlexanderOn March 1, 1932, the infant Charles Lindbergh, Jr., the son and namesake of the famed pilot, is kidnapped. After he is later found dead, a German immigrant named Bruno Hauptmann is tried for kidnapping and murder.
- DirectorMark RydellStarsStephen ReaIsabella RosselliniJ.T. WalshIn 1932, the nation was shocked when the 14-month-old son of Charles Lindbergh was kidnapped, held for ransom, and murdered. Two years later, Bruno Richard Hauptmann was arrested, convicted, and executed. This film dramatizes the investigation against Hauptmann, the trial, and the execution, painting a picture of a corrupt police force under pressure to finger a killer framing an innocent man by manufacturing evidence, paying-off and blackmailing witnesses, and covering up exculpatory evidence.
- DirectorJud TaylorStarsPeter BoyleJohn ForsytheHeather Menzies-UrichA dramatization of the life of Joe McCarthy, the alcoholic senator from Wisconsin whose tactics of accusing prominent people of Communist sympathies were initially designed to give him a national power base when he later planned to run for President.
- StarsKenneth BranaghEve BestMark TandyThe true story of Shackleton's 1914 Endurance expedition to the South Pole, and his epic struggle to lead his twenty-eight man crew to safety after his ship was crushed in the pack ice.
- DirectorJoseph SargentStarsKenneth BranaghCynthia NixonDavid PaymerThe stirring true story of Franklin D. Roosevelt's battle with polio in 1921.
- DirectorBenjamin RossStarsLiev SchreiberJames CromwellMelanie GriffithOrson Welles produces his greatest film, Citizen Kane (1941), despite the opposition of the film's de facto subject, William Randolph Hearst.
- DirectorLamont JohnsonStarsWilliam DevaneGeorge C. ScottDorothy TristanThe story of John Henry Faulk, a radio/TV personality of the 1950s, who was blacklisted during the McCarthy era. Faulk sued the organization that was behind the blacklisting, and the resultant trial, and Faulk's victory, helped to put an end to the blacklisting period.
- StarsHal HolbrookSada ThompsonMichael CristoferThe life of Abraham Lincoln is told in episodic parts.
- DirectorPaul BogartStarsHal HolbrookRecreating the one-man show he starred in on Broadway, 'Hal Holbrook' portrays Mark Twain as a 70-year old humorist who skewers politicians, newspapermen and so-called patriots in this 90 minute monologue. Holbrook adapted Twain's own words for a commentary on slavery, religion and politics, mixing the satire with comic yarns about life on the Mississippi and a very effective ghost story. The show's highlight are the lengthy passages from "Huckleberry Finn".
- StarsSidney PoitierBurt LancasterRichard KileyA dramatization of the American court case that destroyed the legal validity of racial segregation.
- DirectorBrian GibsonStarsLynn WhitfieldRubén BladesDavid DukesBorn poor in St. Louis, Missouri, Josephine Baker achieved fame and fortune through her sizzlingly exotic, erotic performances. Starting life on the American Vaudeville circuit, success takes Josephine to Paris where her semi-nude dancing causes an international sensation. Through her marriages to an Italian pseudo-count and an orchestra leader, to her bond with army officer Sydney Williams, Josephine's life is a rollercoaster ride of love and rejection from both her lovers and her country. But semi-nude, or head-to-toes in sequins; in battle fatigues or rags - her beauty and ambition ensured that Josephine Baker will always be remembered as the first, and possibly most loved, truly international star.
- StarsSteven BauerElizabeth PeñaMiguel FerrerAn undercover DEA stationed in Mexico exposed large-scale marijuana trafficking, which led to his own murder and a high-profile investigation into government corruption.
- StarsPowers BootheLesley Ann WarrenLili TaylorBased on a true story, a naval officer (Powers Boothe) sells top-secret information to the Soviets and recruits family and friends into the scheme.
- DirectorBrian GibsonStarsBen KingsleyAnton LesserCraig T. NelsonA biographical portrayal of Simon Wiesenthal, famous Nazi Hunter. From his imprisonment in a Nazi Concentration Camp, the film follows his liberation and his rise to become one of the leading Nazi hunters in the world, bringing such criminals to justice as Adolf Eichmann and Klaus Barbie.
- DirectorGregory HoblitStarsHolly HunterAmy MadiganJames GammonEllen Russell is a lonely, single, poorly-educated Texan who finds herself pregnant with no means to support a child. To avoid giving up the child, she seeks an abortion. Denied an abortion in Texas, Ellen hires a novice lawyer to plead her case in the US Supreme Court.
- DirectorLamont JohnsonStarsJohn RitterAlfre WoodardPatti LaBelleFrank Coleman is a Vietnam veteran dying from cancer brought on by exposure to the defoliant chemical Agent Orange which he turns to Maude DeVictor, a Veterans Administration benefits counselor who teams up with Coleman to fight a lopsided batted against the bureaucratic system for its cover up of the possible dangers of Agent Orange.