Judd Hirsch, Jeannie Berlin, Robin Bartlett, and Jonathan Hadary to Star in Spielberg Film Based on His Childhood

According to Variety, Steven Spielberg has added list of actors to portray a new generation of the fictional family at the heart of his semi-autobiographical film, which has the working title of The Fablemans. Oscar nominees Judd Hirsch (Ordinary People, Independence Day), Jeannie Berlin (The Heartbreak Kid, Succession), and veteran stage and screen actors Robin Bartlett (Mad About You, American Horror Story) and Jonathan Hadary (Veep, Girls5eva) will play the older relatives of young aspiring filmmaker (Gabriel LaBelle, The Predator) who is loosely based on Spielberg’s childhood living in Arizona. 

Hirsch, Berlin, Bartlett, and Hadary join an A-list ensemble cast led by Michelle Williams and Paul Dano, who are playing versions of Spielberg’s late mother and father. Seth Rogen’s character is based on Spielberg’s favorite uncle, Julia Butters stands-in for Spielberg’s sister, and Sam Rechner, Oakes Fegley, Chloe East, and Isabelle Kusman all play high school classmates.

Spielberg co-wrote the screenplay with Tony Kushner (Lincoln, West Side Story). Production for the film is currently underway with a release date planned for 2022. 

Hirsch earned an Oscar nomination for his role in the 1980 best picture winner Ordinary People, portraying a therapist. His most famous role, perhaps, is Jeff Goldblum’s doting father in the 1996 blockbuster Independence Day.

Berlin can be currently seen on HBO’s Succession as the tough news director of the fictional cable network ATN. She earned an Oscar nomination in Elaine May’s The Heartbreak Kid, playing a jilted wife. 

Since the 1980s, Bartlett has been in many memorable roles, including the Coen Brothers’ Inside Llewyn Davis, Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island, two seasons on American Horror Story, and 46 episodes as Paul Reiser’s sister on Mad About You.

Hadary has starred in ten Broadway productions, from AIDS drama As Is to the musical comedy Spamalot. He earned Tony nomination for his performance as Herbie in the 1989-1990 revival of Gypsy. His most recent appearance is in the role of billionaire prison magnate Sherman Tanz on HBO’s Veep and as the sleazy manager Larry Plumb on Peacock’s Girls5eva.