'Billion Dollar Spy' Boasts a Billion Dollar Cast in First Look Image
Harry Lawtey and Russell Crowe in 'Billion Dollar Spy'
Kerry Brown
The film Billion Dollar Spy was only officially announced as being in production in March 2025, but the first image is already out, and the period film already looks like it's worth as much as its title. Adapted from the bestselling 2015 book by David E. Hoffman, The Billion Dollar Spy: A True Story of Cold War Espionage and Betrayal, the film dramatizes the true story of Adolf Tolkachev, a Soviet electronics engineer who smuggled thousands of documents to the CIA during his tenure working for the organization.
The Kazakh-born Tolkachev was a Russian radar expert and engineer who had recently watched the government kill his mother-in-law and imprison her husband. According to CIA records, he approached a CIA officer in 1978, who turned out to be one of the CIA's principal counter-intelligence officers, Gardner Hathaway. It is estimated that the information provided by Tolkachev saved the U.S. ~$2 billion, earning him the nickname "the Billion Dollar Spy." Unfortunately, Tolkachev was eventually caught in 1985 and executed a year later.
Though the film was only announced in March, the project had spent time in development hell, with actors and producers coming and going, including Mads Mikkelsen in the title role. (He's still featured in some of the marketing that hasn't been updated yet.) However, the latest script managed to nail down Russell Crowe (Gladiator) to play the titular lead and Rufus Sewell (Victoria) as Hathaway.
Here's the film's synopsis:
Set against the high-stakes backdrop of the late Cold War, Billion Dollar Spy follows Adolf Tolkachev, an ordinary man who risks everything to pass thousands of pages of top-secret Soviet intelligence to the U.S. Despite repeated rejections by a wary CIA, Tolkachev persisted, embodying the courage to stand against a regime that betrayed its own people. Finally finding an ally in CIA agent Tom Lenihan, Tolkachev was able to fundamentally shift the balance of power, proving that true patriotism lies not in blind allegiance but in the willingness to challenge a government when it strays from its ideals. In an era when resistance and bravery are more relevant than ever, his story resonates deeply.
Crowe and Sewell co-star alongside Vera Farmiga (Bates Motel) as his wife, Natasha Tolkachev; Harry Lawtey (Industry) as Tolkachev's handler, Tom Lenihan; and Willa Fitzgerald (House of Cards) as Tom's wife, Mae Lenihan. Supporting cast includes an international mix of actors, including Tony Goldwyn (Oppenheimer), Claes Bang (Dracula), Justin Theroux (Star Wars), and newcomer Tennyson Crowe (Russell's son).
Hoffman’s book was adapted for the screen by Stephen Gaghan (Traffic) and Ben August (Class Rank) and directed by Amma Asante (Belle). Jane Hooks and Naia Cucukov executive produce alongside Frank Smith, Benjamin Tappan & Cher Hawrysh for Walden Media, Akiva Goldsman & Greg Lessans for Weed Road Pictures, and Ildiko Kemeny, David Minkowski & Ferenc Szále serve as co-producers for Pioneer Stillking Films.
Billion Dollar Spy is expected to arrive in theaters in late 2025 or early 2026.
