How the Stars of White House Plumbers Compare to Their Real-Life Counterparts

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Thanks to the classic that is All the President's Men, we're more than familiar with the sensational true story of how Washington Post journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein uncovered Watergate. Lesser known perhaps is the other duo at the heart of this scandal, a pair of operatives named E. Howard Hunt and G. Gordon Liddy, who also had a hand in toppling the Nixon presidency—except they had been scheming to do the exact opposite.

The producers of Succession and Veep are turning a satirical lens onto these individuals and their co-conspirators in a new HBO miniseries, White House Plumbers. The show's title refers to the actual name of this group, a covert unit formed during the Nixon administration to plug leaks of classified information (namely, the Pentagon Papers) to the press. The plumbers would eventually be responsible for the illegal activities—breaking into and bugging the Democratic National Committee headquarters—that would blow up into Watergate and force Nixon's resignation. White House Plumbers is also based on a book written by one of these fixers, Egil Krogh.

Woody Harrelson and Justin Theroux lead an ensemble cast as Hunt and Liddy. Below, a who's who of White House Plumbers and how they compare to their real-life counterparts.

Watch White House Plumbers on HBO

Woody Harrelson as E. Howard Hunt

E. Howard Hunt, portrayed by Triangle of Sadness star Woody Harrelson, was a former CIA officer who joined the White House Plumbers in 1971, where his covert assignments included breaking into the office of Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrist (Ellsberg was the military analyst who released the classified Pentagon Papers to the media) and digging for scandalous dirt on Ted Kennedy. Both were unsuccessful. Later, Hunt, along with G. Gordon Liddy, masterminded the burglary of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at Watergate. When they were arrested, a vast network of cover-ups and payoffs from Nixon's top brass followed in order to buy their silence—which obviously backfired. Hunt spent 33 months in prison for burglary, wiretapping, and conspiracy. He died in 2007.

Justin Theroux as G. Gordon Liddy

The Mosquito Coast actor Justin Theroux plays G. Gordon Liddy, who had stints in the FBI, at the Department of Treasury, and in various positions in Nixon's administration before becoming a "plumber," as well as serving as general counsel in the Committee to Re-elect the President, another group created to act out political sabotage, among other things. Liddy earned a reputation for his wild ideas while at the CRP, like tricking Democratic officials onto a Miami houseboat to secretly photograph them with prostitutes, and other questionable things: he ran an FBI background check on his future wife. Like Hunt, Liddy was convicted of burglary, wiretapping, and conspiracy for the break-in at the DNC. He spent more than 4 years behind bars. After his release, he became a radio host, a college lecturer, an author (his 1980 autobiography was turned into a TV movie), and even an actor. He died in 2021.

Lena Headey as Dorothy Hunt

The Game of Thrones actress plays Dorothy Hunt, first wife of E. Howard Hunt. She was killed in December 1972, when United Airlines Flight 553 crashed en route from Washington to Omaha. Though it was ruled an accident, her presence on the flight (and the fact that she had $10,000 in cash on her) led to various Watergate-related conspiracy theories, including that the crash was planned by the CIA.

Judy Greer as Fran Liddy

Iconic character actress Judy Greer (Reboot, the Halloween franchise) plays Frances, wife of G. Gordon Liddy. The couple were married for more than 50 years and had five children.

Domhnall Gleeson as John Dean

Irish actor Domhnall Gleeson (Run, Ex Machina) stars as John Dean, a principal player in the cover-up of Watergate. Dean, who was Nixon's White House Counsel from 1970-1973, destroyed evidence and supervised hush money payments to Hunt, Liddy, and the burglars after their arrests. He also figured prominently in the secret White House tapes Nixon recorded of his conversations with top officials, which later revealed the president knew about the Watergate break-ins and orchestrated the cover-up. After gleaning he was being set up to take the fall for the scandal, Dean began cooperating with the prosecution and ended up serving just four months, done in a safe house, after which he became an investment banker and author based in Beverly Hills.

Ike Barinholtz as Jeb Magruder

Jeb Magruder worked for Nixon in the White House before becoming director of the Committee to Re-elect the President in 1971, during which time he was involved in the planning and orchestrating of Watergate. Thanks to his cooperation with prosecutors, he served three months in federal prison, and another four at a safe house with Dean and others (they had been getting threats from fellow inmates). He was ordained as a Presbyterian minister in 1981. In the show he is portrayed by Ike Barinholtz, whose acting credits include The Afterparty and The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.

Yul Vazquez as Bernard Barker

Severance actor Yul Vazquez plays Bernard Barker, a Cuban-born operative who worked for the FBI and CIA before being recruited into the White House Plumbers by Hunt. He was one of the five burglars paid by the CRP to break into the DNC offices—he served one year in prison for the crime.

Kim Coates as Frank Sturgis

Sons of Anarchy actor Kim Coates is Frank Sturgis, another one of the five burglars involved in Watergate. In the '50s, Sturgis moved to Cuba and worked for Fidel Castro and as a CIA informant, and opened a training camp where he taught Che Guevarra guerilla warfare, then eventually defected and joined the anti-Castro opposition. He was also involved in a number of conspiracy theories surrounding the assassination of John F. Kennedy, including some he perpetuated himself. For his role in Watergate, he spent 14 months in prison. As for his life post-jail? Another link to another assassination, that of Portuguese prime minister Francisco de Sá Carneiro.

Rich Sommer as Egil Krogh

Mad Men star Rich Sommer is Egil Krogh, author of the book that inspired this HBO series. Ironically, he was known as a man of ethics, serving as a fellow on Ethics and Leadership at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress and as a counselor to the director at the School for Ethics and Global Leadership. He was tapped to lead the White House Plumbers unit and in the role he authorized the break-in of Ellsberg's psychiatrist's office. His ethics background apparently served him well: when the Watergate scandal broke, Krogh pleaded guilty to charges of violating the psychiatrist's civil rights and spent four months behind bars. He died in 2020.

The White House Plumbers

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