The Kennedys - History Channel

The Kennedys Premieres on History Channel

 

The Kennedys - History Channel

19 September 2011, Singapore – Eight episode miniseries The Kennedys chronicles the lives of the Kennedy family looking back to November 8, 1960 where Americans had to vote for either Senator John F. Kennedy and his far more experienced opponent Vice President Richard M. Nixon.  The series plotted with key triumphs and tragedies in the world of Greek.

The Kennedys premieres from today till 22 September and 26 – 29 September, Monday – Thursday at 9pm at HISTORY (StarHub TV Ch. 401).

The cast behind the characters are:

Greg Kinnear as John Fitzgerald “Jack” Kennedy – JFK

The Kennedys - Greg Kinnear as John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy - JFK
The Kennedys - Greg Kinnear as John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy - JFK

A Harvard graduate and war hero, JFK aspired to turn to politics stemming from his father Joseph P. Kennedy Sr after military service during World War II as torpedo boat commander in the South Pacific.   His father eyed the presidency but was frustrated in his plans.  Joe Sr.’s ambition to be president was shortlived as he was dismissed for his pro-Nazi sentiments during his disastrous tenure in London.  He made a solemn oath to have either his first or second son to make it to the White House if he failed to.

Born in Logansport, Indiana, Greg Kinnear was starred in The Convincer, The Last Song, Little Miss Sunshine Invincible, Fast Food Nation, As Good As It Gets, You’ve Got Mail, What Planet Are You From?.   He received the Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations and was named Best Supporting Actor by the National Board of Review.  He was also the voice behind “Ratchet” for the animated film Robots.

Greg grew up around the world as his family followed his State Department father to locations including Washington, DC, Beirut, Lebanon and Athens in Greece.  He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and three daughters.
Barry Pepper as Robert Francis “Bobby” Kennedy

The Kennedys - Barry Pepper as Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy
The Kennedys - Barry Pepper as Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy

 

Robert joined the United States Navy during World War II while still at Harvard.  After receiving his law degree, he worked for the criminal division of the Department of Justice but also helped run John’s campaign for the Senate.  In 1960, he was campaign manager for John’s race for the Presidency.

Robert was appointed Attorney General in his brother’s administration and also the president’s closest confidant.

Barry Pepper came to fame from his portrayal of “Private Jackson” in the Academy Award winning movie.  He starred in the Coen Brother’s True Grit, Casino Jack, 25th Hour, The Green Mile, Seven Pounds and Like Dandelion Lust.  Barry’s most talked about starring role in the HBO Feature “61*” earned him nominations for a Golden Globe, an Emmy, a Critic’s Choice Award and the Best Supporting Male in the 2006 independent Spirit Awards.

He did his own film The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada for Sony Pictures Classics that was shown in competition at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival.  He also executive produced and starred int he title role of the ESPN feature 3: The Dale Earnhardt Story and The Snow Walker.

Barry was born and raised in Canada and resides there with his wife and daughter.

 

Katie Holmes as Jacqueline Kennedy “Jackie”

The Kennedys - Katie Holmes as Jacqueline Kennedy "Jackie"
The Kennedys - Katie Holmes as Jacqueline Kennedy "Jackie"

 

One of the world’s most famous lady, Jacqueline Kennedy was a poised and glamourous yet private and shy person.  She was always busy transforming her new home into a place of elegance and culture, restoring it to its original glory.  She was famous for throwing stylish and memorable parties for royalty and well-known personalities and was always in the media limelight in terms of fashion, art, music and literature.  She is also known for being a caring and thoughtful wife and mother who held a balance being the First Lady.

Katie Holmes has appeared in Wonder Boys, Batman Begins, Thank You For Smoking, The Gift, Abandon, Phone Booth, The Singing Detective, First Daughter, Teaching Mrs Tingle, Disturbing Behaviour, The Extra Man, The Romantics, The Ice Storm and Pieces of April.

Katie is married to Tom Cruise and has a five year old daughter.

Diana Hardcastle as Rose Kennedy

The Kennedys - Diana Hardcastle as Rose Kennedy
The Kennedys - Diana Hardcastle as Rose Kennedy

 

Rose was born in Boston in 1890, the eldest child of a congressman.  Her father, John F. “Honey Fitz” Fitzgerald was one of the most popular and colour mayors Boston had ever known when she was 15 years old.  Educated in a convent school where she received religious training, she made religion, family and politics the foundations of her life.

Rose married Joseph P. Kennedy in 1914 and settled down in Brookline, a Boston suburb.  A decade later, her husband was a multimillionaire.  They both had nine children within the first 18 years of marriage.

Diana Hardcastle is a British actress who has appeared largely in television roles such as Midsomer Murders, Inspector Lynley and Taggart.  She also played recurring roles in the series First Among Equals and Fortunes of War.

Diana is married to actor Tom Wilkinson, with whom she has two children.  In this miniseries, The Kennedys, Hardcastle and Wilkinson portrayed real life husband and wife Joe and Rose Kennedy.

 

Kristin Booth as Ethel Kennedy

The Kennedys - Kristin Booth as Ethel Kennedy
The Kennedys - Kristin Booth as Ethel Kennedy

Ethel Skakel was born in Chicago in 1928.  Her father George started work as a railroad clerk and managed to start a small coal and coke business with co-workers that quickly became the huge and successful Great Lakes Carbon Corporation.  The family became extremely wealthy and moved to a 31-room English country manor house in Greenwich, Connecticut.  Ethel was raised with six siblings and had the best of everything.  She was a competitive athlete and attended a Catholic convent school where she became friends and roommates with Jean Kennedy, Robert “Bobby” Kennedy’s sister.  Ethel helped Robert with his brother John F. Kennedy’s congressional campaign in 1946.

Robert and Ethel married in 1950 and soon settled in Washington DC, where Robert began work for the Department of Justice.

Kristin Booth is a versatile performer experienced in film, television and theatre.  She appeared in award winning plays such as Young People Fucking (ACTRA Award nomination), Defendor, This Beautiful City, On The Line, Detroit Rock City, Gossip, Cruel Intentions 2 and Kardia.  She won a 2009 Genie Award for Best Supporting Actress, 2005 Gemini Award.  She received her second Gemini Award nomination for her portrayal of “Connie Lewis

 

Tom Wilkinson as Joseph Kennedy Sr

The Kennedys - Tom Wilkinson as Joseph Kennedy Sr
The Kennedys - Tom Wilkinson as Joseph Kennedy Sr

Joe Sr. was a fiercely ambitious businessman who thrived on competition.  Feeling himself an outsider because of his immigrant Irish roots, he was fixated on joining the ranks of America’s upper class establishment.  After graduating Harvard University in 1912, Joe Sr. turned to a career in finance, and quickly made a large fortune in the stock and commodity markets, real estate and in a wide range of industries.  During World War I, he was an assistant general-manager of Bethlehem Steel and developed a friendship with Franklin D. Roosevelt, then assistant secretary of the Navy.

He became a leading member of the Democratic Party and was appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to be the inaugural chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).  He later directed the Maritime Commission.  In 1938, he became Ambassador to Great Britain, a post he greatly enjoyed and one, he thought would lead him to the White House.  But Joe Sr. believed in appeasing Adolf Hitler and urged the United States to stay out of the war, even while bombs fell on London.

Tom Wilkinson is an award-winning actor of stage and screen.  Wilkinson received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in Michael Clayton.  For his unforgettable role in Todd Field’s acclaimed drama In The Bedroom, Wilkinson earned himself a BAFTA nomination, won the Independent Spirit Award, a Sundance Film Festival Special Jury Prize and a New York Film Critics Circle Award.

Most recently, Wilkinson won an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award for Supporting Actor for the miniseries John Adams, in which he portrayed Benjamin Franklin and was nominated for a SAG Award for his performance in A Number with Rhys Ifans.

 

 

Photo credit: HISTORY Channel

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