Aaron Sorkin’s 'The Trial of the Chicago 7' Cast Looks Just Like Their Real-Life Counterparts

The Trial of the Chicago 7 was originally planned for a theatrical run during Oscar season, but COVID-19 had other plans for October 2020. Luckily, Netflix was standing by with open arms, willing and ready to both give Aaron Sorkin's star-studded courtroom drama a home, and bring a potentially Oscar-level drama right into subscribers living room (it was originally produced for Paramount Pictures). The movie, based on the real-life 1969 trial of the so-called "Chicago 7," tells a timely story of politics, telling the truth, and doing the right thing.

Even aside from its timely nature—the movie centers on a trial that's set to determine if the defendants, the titular Chicago 7, incited riots at the previous year's Democratic National Convention, or if it was instead provocation from the corrupt police—The Trial of the Chicago 7 features a number of compelling performances from some of the best actors in the industry. Sacha Baron Cohen, who's got his Borat sequel right around the corner, Michael Keaton, Jeremy Strong, and Yahya Abdul Mateen II are among the familiar faces who show up to knock their roles out of the park.

Not everything presented in the movie is factual; there was no undercover agent Daphne O'Connor flirting with a soon-to-be heartbroken Jerry Rubin, and attorney Richard Schultz may have been a bit more of a shark than the movie makes him out to be, for instance. But almost all of the film's main characters are based on people who were very real, and very much in the public eye. Which means we can look them up.

So, below, check out what the characters you just saw in Aaron Sorkin's film really looked like—and find out whether you agree or disagree with the movie's casting choices.