HBO Introduces Robert De Niro as Bernie Madoff in The Wizard of Lies Trailer
If some of us were still questioning Robert De Niro’s flair for good roles after his recent career choices, HBO proves that the actor, now 73, has still got it via the release of a first trailer for its TV drama, The Wizard of Lies.
Set to air on the cable network on May 20 at 8pm, the movie will introduce De Niro as notorious fraudster Bernard Madoff, along with Michelle Pfeiffer (who will play his wife, Ruth Madoff), Hank Azaria, Nathan Darrow, Alessandro Nivola, Kristen Connolly, and Lily Rabe.
The Wizard of Lies was directed by Barry Levinson and based on the book of the same name written by financial journalist, Diana Blackmon Henriques. The story will be set in 2008 and follow how Madoff pulled off the biggest Ponzi scheme in history.
The real Bernard Madoff is currently serving a sentence of 150 years in prison (the maximum allowed) for having defrauded thousands of investors of billions of dollars since the 90’s with an amount missing from client accounts of almost $65 billion. During the many years Madoff ran the fraud scheme, he also employed his sons, Andrew and Mark, who were the first to alert federal agents about their father’s massive con, the day before he was arrested by the FBI. 2 years later, Mark Madoff hanged himself in his Manhattan apartment…
The HBO production is not the first biopic that focuses on Madoff’s journey to hell, as ABC aired a mini-series of 4 episodes in 2016 starring Richard Dreyfuss, who received many positive reviews for his performance.
