Charlie Wilson’s War is the outrageous true story of how one congressman who loved a good time, one Houston socialite who loved a good cause and one CIA agent who loved a good fight conspired to bring about the largest covert operation in history.

Oscar® winners TOM HANKS (Forrest Gump, Philadelphia), JULIA ROBERTS (Erin Brockovich, Closer) and PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN (Capote, The Savages) team with Academy Award®-winning director MIKE NICHOLS (Closer, The Graduate) and Emmy Award-winning screenwriter AARON SORKIN (A Few Good Men, television’s The West Wing) to bring GEORGE CRILE’s best-selling book to the screen. 

Charlie Wilson (Hanks) was a bachelor congressman from Texas whose “Good Time Charlie” personality masked an astute political mind, deep sense of patriotism and compassion for the underdog. 

In the early 1980s, with the looming advance of a Russian invasion, that underdog was Afghanistan. 

Charlie’s longtime friend, frequent patron and sometime lover was Joanne Herring (Roberts), one of the wealthiest women in Texas and a virulent anticommunist.  Believing the American response to the invasion of Afghanistan was anemic at best, she prodded Charlie into doing for the Mujahideen—the country’s legendary freedom fighters—what no one else could: secure funding and weapons to eradicate Soviet aggressors from their land. 

Charlie’s partner in this uphill endeavor was CIA agent Gust Avrakotos (Hoffman), a bulldog, blue-collar operative who worked in the company of Ivy League blue bloods dismissive of his talents.

Together, Charlie, Joanne and Gust traveled the world to form an unlikely alliance among Pakistanis, Israelis, Egyptians, lawmakers and a belly dancer.  Their success was remarkable. 

Over the nine-year course of the occupation of Afghanistan, United States funding for covert operations against the Soviets went from $5 million to $1 billion annually, and the Red Army subsequently retreated from Afghanistan. 

Joining the acclaimed cast are a group of seasoned performers and promising up-and-coming actors, including AMY ADAMS (Junebug, Enchanted) as Charlie’s right-hand-woman, Bonnie Bach; NED BEATTY (Network, Deliverance) as the chairman of the House’s Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, Doc Long; EMILY BLUNT (The Devil Wears Prada, Jane Austen Book Club) as a randy constituent of Charlie’s district, Jane Liddle; OM PURI as Pakistani President Zia ul-Haq; KEN STOTT as arms dealer Zvi Rafiah; and JUD TYLOR as aspiring starlet/former Playboy cover girl Crystal Lee.

To re-create the early 1980s world of Charlie Wilson’s War, the filmmakers have assembled an acclaimed creative team that includes director of photography STEPHEN GOLDBLATT (Closer, The Prince of Tides); production designer VICTOR KEMPSTER (Miami Vice, Any Given Sunday); composer JAMES NEWTON HOWARD (King Kong, Michael Clayton); two-time-Academy Award®-winning costume designer ALBERT WOLSKY (Across the Universe, Bugsy); two-time-Oscar®-winning visual effects supervisor RICHARD EDLUND (Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark); and the editing team of Oscar® winner JOHN BLOOM (Notes on a Scandal, Gandhi) and ANTONIA VAN DRIMMELEN (Notes on a Scandal, Closer).  Charlie Wilson’s War is produced by Tom Hanks and GARY GOETZMAN (My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Mamma Mia!). 

The executive producers for the film are CELIA COSTAS, RYAN KAVANAUGH and JEFF SKOLL.