‘Dumb Money’ Gives 2021 GameStop Squeeze Players a Movie Makeover
RIPPING STORIES FROM the headlines is a common tactic when it comes to generating ideas for movies. Filmmakers like Adam McKay (with The Big Short), Danny Boyle (with Steve Jobs), and David Fincher (with The Social Network) have managed to take the stories of people who really lived, and things that really happened—in relatively recent history—and turn them into compelling dramatic feature films. The latest entry into this ever-expansive drama is Dumb Money, the latest work from director Craig Gillespie (I, Tonya).
Dumb Money tells the true story of something that feels very recent (especially in our post-2020 reality, where everything really just kind of mushes together): the 2021 GameStop stock squeeze, led by the Reddit group called r/WallStreetBets and a YouTuber named Keith Gill (aka Roaring Kitty). It's a story of power shifting from the elites who rigged the game to the little guys fighting for a fair piece of the pie—via virtual stock trading—and, as you may expect, it makes for quite a compelling story on the big screen.
And Gillespie has gotten an impressive cast of actors to come along for the ride. Paul Dano (always fantastic on screen, including in both The Batman and The Fabelmans a year ago) leads the way as Keith Gill, while he's joined by a cast that includes Vincent D'Onofrio, Seth Rogen, and Sebastian Stan. The cast also includes people like America Ferrara (riding a hot streak in 2023 after her role in Barbie), Anthony Ramos, and Industry's Myha'la Herrold, who don't play real-life characters, but rather composite characters based on several real people, meant to provide an important POV to the story the movie's telling.
But, as with any story ripped right from the headlines, a lot of the characters you're seeing on the screen really are real people. Below, you can see how the movie's versions of them compare to their real-life counterparts.
Paul Dano - Keith Gill/Roaring Kitty
As the movie's de facto lead, Paul Dano plays Keith Gill, also known as Roaring Kitty on his YouTube channel. Dano may just be the most underrated actor in the business: in 2022 he stunned audiences in both The Fabelmans and The Batman, and has been fantastic in movies like Little Miss Sunshine, There Will Be Blood, Prisoners, Swiss Army Man, and more.
Vincent D'Onofrio - Steve Cohen
While MLB fans likely know Steve Cohen as the (relatively new) owner of the New York Mets, he figures into Dumb Money as a a (very wealthy) investor who helped back Gabe Plotkin's Melvin Capital. Viewers likely recognize his performer, Vincent D'Onofrio, most recently as Wilson Fisk/Kingpin in both the Netflix/Disney+ series Daredevil and Hawkeye. He's got a long resume apart from that, though, playing memorable and fantastic parts in movies like Full Metal Jacket, Men In Black, and Jurassic World. He also led Law and Order: Criminal Intent for 141 episodes on NBC.
Nick Offerman - Ken Griffin
Ken Griffin, who owns most of the hedge fund known as Citadel LLC, was also a major player in the 2021 GameStop short squeeze, and, thus, a major player in Dumb Money. Here he's played by Nick Offerman, who you likely recognize first and foremost as Ron Swanson from Parks & Recreation. Offerman has proven his range in recent years, though, playing a great role in Alex Garland's underrated FX/Hulu sci-fi series Devs and Peacock's The Resort. Next year, he'll appear in both the final season of The Umbrella Academy and Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part Two.
Sebastian Stan - Vlad Tenev
Vlad Tenev is the co-founder and CEO of stock trading app Robinhood who became part of the Dumb Money saga when he made the (bad) choice to side with the wealthy power players in the squeeze rather than the people fighting to take their scraps. Did he live up to his app's name? Does not seem like it. Tenev is played in Dumb Money by Sebastian Stan, who audiences likely know best for his many appearances in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as James "Bucky" Barnes, aka The Winter Soldier. He's played plenty of other great roles, though, including in I, Tonya and Pam and Tommy (both also from Dumb Money director Craig Gillespie).
Rushi Kota - Baiju Bhatt
Baiju Bhatt is Tenev's co-founder and the Chief Creative Officer of the Robinhood app who also sided with the rich guys during the GameStop short squeeze. He's played by Rushi Kota, who's known for roles in Grey's Anatomy and Never Have I Ever.
Seth Rogen - Gabe Plotkin
When the GameStop squeeze at the center of Dumb Money was operating at full power, it was taking somewhere in the range of a billion dollars a day out of the pocket of wealthy investors like Gabe Plotkin—operator at the time of Melvin Capital. Plotkin is played in Dumb Money by Seth Rogen, who audiences know first and foremost for his comedic work—in movies like Superbad, This Is The End, Knocked Up, etc, but also for his work as a producer (on movies like Joy Ride and shows like Invincible and The Boys universe) and, of course, his pottery.
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