How "Syriana" Led To "Good Night, and Good Luck" For Tom McCarthy

Actor/writer/director Tom McCarthy (who has helmed such films as The Station Agent, The Visitor, and the forthcoming Win Win) only had a small part in Syriana, but it led to a job on George Clooney's next project.

Playing a CIA operative in Syriana, McCarthy's character Fred Franks first tries to orchestrate a promotion for Clooney's character (based on real life agent Bob Baer, but it's only to silence him about some missing weapons. He later hangs him out to dry when an operation goes south, and issues the kill order, although he has a different target in mind. The two had some scenes together, including a pivotal moment when Clooney goes to his suburban home to confront him, and during one of their breaks on set, Clooney mentioned his next project would be Good Night, and Good Luck, about Edward R. Murrow taking on Senator Joseph McCarthy (no relation).

"We were having lunch and he asked, 'Would you be interested?'" McCarthy told Current, "and I said, 'Yup, call me when you're ready.' Because that gets said a lot. But he actually did, six months later. He called and said, 'We're ready!""

By then, McCarthy was working on Pixar's Up!, which he co-wrote, so he worked out a way to be on both sets at once. For Good Night, and Good Luck, McCarthy took on the role of Palmer Williams, a member of the CBS News team who at one point expresses concern that he might hurt, rather than help, their effort. He didn't know until after the divorce, but his ex-wife, prior to their marriage, attended some meetings of the Communist Party, although she was not a member. "Somebody'll find out," he tells the team. "They'll hurt us with it."

"Basically, he's a decent guy who is man enough to own up that he's vulnerable," McCarthy said. "That took some guts for those guys, because it was an incredible boy's club, and everyone knew they were making history, and nobody wanted to be left out. But I think he realized he was jeopardizing their mission, which is why he offered to step down. He's the most decent character I've played. Every other character has had questionable motives and ethics!"

Even though the McCarthy Communist witch hunts of the 1950s are long over, that kind of persecution -- based on association and no solid foundation -- "happens every day," the actor said. "It's actually the trend in today's supposedly transparent society, the amount of connections people make can ruin careers. It's all about putting the message out there, and that's where we're at as a society."