How The Gaslit Cast Compares To Their Controversial Real-Life Counterparts

Gaslit, Starz’s new political drama adapted from Slate's Slow Burn, tells the real-life story of Martha Mitchell, the lesser-known figure crucial to the Watergate Scandal that led to U.S. President Richard Nixon’s resignation in 1974.

Martha, the socialite married to Nixon’s attorney general, uncovered the former president's involvement in the scandal. When she started publicly speaking out, she was targeted in a smear campaign. Out on April 24, meet the Gaslit cast's controversial real-life counterparts.

Julia Roberts plays the outspoken wife of former Attorney General John Mitchell. Martha later became a Watergate whistleblower, and on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Roberts called Martha, aka the “Mouth of the South,” a “pioneer of women speaking their mind.”

Martha revealed what she knew about Watergate to the press. To shut her up, she was locked away and sedated. She was even called crazy to discredit her. It worked — the public largely disregarded her remarks until her story was later corroborated. She died of cancer in 1976.

Sean Penn is barely recognizable as Martha’s husband, John Mitchell. He was Nixon’s loyal attorney general who also served as the director of his re-election campaign.

To keep Martha quiet, John had her “basically kidnapped” and decried her mental stability. Later, John was revealed as the one who authorized the Watergate break-in and was sentenced to 19 months in prison for his role in the scandal.

Dan Stevens (Downtown Abbey) plays John Dean III, Nixon’s former legal counsel who initially helped cover up the scandal, eventually turned on him, was charged with obstruction of justice, and pleaded guilty. Meanwhile, Betty Gilpin (Glow) plays Maureen “Mo” Dean, John's wife.

John’s testimony was crucial to the trial — it set off the hunt for the tapes that proved Nixon’s Watergate involvement. Still, John served four months in prison before shifting to investment banking after his release. He later wrote the memoir Blind Ambition.

Mo, who had just married John in 1972, made an impression on the public by always being by her husband’s side. After, she authored multiple works, including the steamy fictional novel Washington Wives and the memoir Mo: A Woman’s View of Watergate.

True Detective’s Shea Whigham plays G. Gordon Liddy, the former FBI agent-turned-prosecutor who organized and supervised the botched Watergate break-in.

The Watergate mastermind was released on parole after four and a half years in prison. After, he became an actor, talk show host, and author of the memoir Will. He died in March of 2021.