5 Familiar Names (and Faces) You'll Recognize in 'Confirmation'
Famous Senators, politicians and the original fixer.
— -- While there are a bevy of familiar television stars in HBO's upcoming movie "Confirmation," one of the most startling revelations is the sheer number of familiar names among the characters.
The drama portrays the confirmation hearing process for Clarence Thomas and the sexual harassment allegations made against him by law professor Anita Hill when he was nominated to the Supreme Court in 1991.
Here are some of the characters who are important both to the "Confirmation" story but are still prominent in politics today.
Joe Biden
At the time, the senator from Delaware was the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which had him effectively leading a portion of the hearings.
He's since moved on from the Senate: now he's got a job listed in the Constitution.
Biden is played by the Greg Kinnear, wearing a wig that shows the impact that time had on the now-Vice President's hairline.
Familiar Senators
The group of (all male) senators who were on the Judiciary Committee at the time include the prominent Alan Simpson, Orrin Hatch and Arlen Specter.
Another famous member of the group: the late Sen. Ted Kennedy.
Janet Napolitano
Hill had a team of legal scholars, lawyers and friends helping her navigate the complicated process of making her claims, and one name in particular stands out from that team.
In the film, Janet Napolitano isn't the lawyer leading Hill's charge, but she is the one who went to arguably have the most public political career.
More than two decades later, she was elected governor of Arizona and then made Secretary of Homeland Security.
She is now the president of the University of California school system.
Judy Smith
Okay. There are several layers to this one.
Judy Smith was an aide to President George H.W. Bush, who nominated Thomas to the Supreme Court spot. She subsequently went on to work as a political consultant and crisis management expert.
She also the inspiration for lead character of the T.V. show "Scandal," which is played by Kerry Washington... who plays the lead character in "Confirmation." Worlds colliding.
The Journalists
The HBO movie interjects real news footage from the time into their version of events, with a number of recognizable broadcasters.
ABC News' Peter Jennings is featured, along with Tom Brokaw and Andrea Mitchell from NBC and Candy Crowley from CNN.
They all covered politics throughout their careers, and two are still doing so. Brokaw and Mitchell still report for NBC. Crowley left CNN in 2014 and Jennings died in 2005.