There's something extremely unsettling about hearing stories of spies and espionage set outside of the realm of fiction. In case you haven't heard, eleven men and women have been arrested in the United States as suspected members of a deep cover Russian spy ring with an untold long-term mission in the country. We're not just [...]
There's something extremely unsettling about hearing stories of spies and espionage set outside of the realm of fiction. In case you haven't heard, eleven men and women have been arrested in the United States as suspected members of a deep cover Russian spy ring with an untold long-term mission in the country. We're not just talking government officials or members of the press — some of these spies were average Joes living right next door to you.
Like I said, pretty unsettling, isn't it? The developing story is reminiscent of a high octane espionage thriller, where the main character slowly realizes that these men and women he's known his entire life are secretly enemies of the state. In fact, this story has played out several times on the big screen. After the jump, check out some of the most stunning spy betrayals in cinema history.
Alec Trevelyan
Dubbed 006 by the MI6, Alec Trevelyan (Sean Bean) worked alongside friend and colleague James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) for several years before seemingly perishing during a botched mission in "GoldenEye." Except the mission was botched by Trevelyan himself, who reveals to Bond ten years later that he's actually a Russian sympathizer looking vengeance against the British government for their role in the deaths of his parents.
Jim Phelps
In "Mission Impossible," Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is left reeling after his entire IMF unit is wiped out during one mission gone horribly awry. Scrambling to uncover the identity of the person who sold him out, Hunt is shocked to discover that the traitor is Jim Phelps (Jon Voight), the presumed dead director of IMF. It is a shocking betrayal not just for Hunt, but also for longtime "Mission Impossible" fans who were used to the character's famous portrayal by Peter Graves on television throughout the '60s, '70s and '80s.
Oliver Lang
The most vicious villains aren't always high tech spies — sometimes, they're the neighbors next door. Oliver Lang (Tim Robbins) in "Arlington Road" is one such example of this, setting up innocent people to take the fall for terrible acts of domestic terrorism. The ending of "Arlington Road" is as depressing as it is chilling, as (**SPOILER ALERT**) Lang walks away scot free after successfully fooling Michael Faraday (Jeff Bridges) into killing himself and almost 200 other government officials with a hidden bomb.
Richard & Elizabeth Grant
"Little Nikita" presents another example that reflects the currently ongoing spy scandal: Richard (Richard Jenkins) and Elizabeth Grant (Caroline Kava) are two seemingly innocent domestic parents raising their young son Jeff (River Phoenix) in the suburbs. When Jeff decides to apply for the Air Force, an FBI agent (Sidney Poitier) begins to suspect that Jeff's parents are terrorists — and when Sidney Poitier accuses you of something, you can be sure that he's on the right path.
Robert Hanssen
In "Breach," young FBI employee Eric O'Neill (Ryan Phillippe) is tasked with investigating his boss, senior agent Robert Hanssen (Chris Cooper), who is suspected of being a sexual deviant. Soon, it's clear that the seemingly upstanding Hanssen is actually a deadly spy for the Russians, offering trade secrets and confidential government knowledge to his foreign superiors. The scariest part? "Breach" is based on the real life story of Hanssen's treachery.
Tell us what you think of the current spy scandal in the comments and on Twitter.
Olivia Wilde
Megan Fox
Bar Refaeli
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