Behind the Candelabra

Year:

2013

Duration:

118 min

Genres:

Biography | Drama | Romance

IMDB rate:

7

Director:

Steven Soderbergh

Awards:

Won 2 Golden Globes. Another 39 wins & 43 nominations

Details

Country: USA

Release Date: 2013-06-07

Filming Locations: Santa Clarita, California, USA

Earnings

Opening Weekend: HUF 2,381,510 (Hungary) (25 August 2013)

Gross: €246,212 (Netherlands) (28 August 2013)

Cast

Actor

Character

Brandon Henschel

Corey Eid

Matt Damon

Scott Thorson

Scott Bakula

Bob Black

Eric Zuckerman

Lou

Eddie Jemison

Assistant Director

Randy Lowell

Director

Tom Roach

Stunt Actor

Shamus Cooley

Camera Assistant

John Smutny

Sound Mixer

Jane Morris

Rose Carracappa

Garrett M. Brown

Joe Carracappa

Michael Douglas

Liberace

Pat Asanti

George Liberace

Debbie Reynolds

Frances Liberace

Casey Kramer

Dora Liberace

Cheyenne Jackson

Billy Leatherwood

Tom Papa

Ray Arnett

Dan Aykroyd

Seymour Heller

James Kulick

Assistant Stage Manager

Bruce Ramsay

Carlucci

Paul Witten

Make-Up Artist

Deborah Lacey

Gladys

Rob Lowe

Dr. Jack Startz

David Koechner

Adoption Attorney

Susan Caroll Todd

Sue (as Susan Todd)

Nicky Katt

Mr. Y

Austin Stowell

Backstage Flirt

Francisco San Martin

Backstage Flirt

Boyd Holbrook

Cary James

Anthony Crivello

Stagehand

Mike O'Malley

Tracy Schnelker

Kiff VandenHeuvel

Scott's Half Brother, Wayne (as Kiff Vanden Heuvel)

Nikea Gamby-Turner

Dorothy

Charlotte Crossley

June

Josh Meyers

Liberace's Attorney

Harvey J. Alperin

Joel Strote (as Harvey Jacob Alperin)

Paul Reiser

Scott's Attorney

Jerry Clarke

Dr. Ronald Daniels

Lisa Frantz

Anchorwoman

Shaun T. Benjamin

Health Department Spokesman (as Shaunt Benjamin)

John Philip Kavcak

Priest at Funeral

Kelly Allen

Young American Dancer (uncredited)

Gregg Atwill

Funeral Mourner

Natacha Bachour

Showgirl (uncredited)

Greg Baine

Patron (uncredited)

Cassandra M. Bellantoni

Hospital Visitor (uncredited)

Brian Blu

Guy Outside Casino (uncredited)

Paul Borst

Party Guest (uncredited)

Lita S. Bowman

Mourner

Baby Boy

Liberace's Blind Poodle (uncredited)

Barbara Brownell

Angie Liberace (uncredited)

Cici Leah Campbell

Fan Outside Dressing Room (uncredited)

Johnny Carson

Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)

Patty Chong

Concert Patron (uncredited)

Lee Christian

Sex Club Patron (uncredited)

Nathan Collins

Print Reporter (uncredited)

Kass Connors

Kazarian (uncredited)

Russ Cugno

Mourner

Jacquelyn Dowsett

Showgirl (uncredited)

Timothy Skyler Dunigan

Concert Fan

Fielding Edlow

Deposition Reporter (uncredited)

Krystal Ellsworth

Impossible Dream Dancer (uncredited)

Kelli Erdmann

Young American Dancer (uncredited)

Amber Lee Ettinger

Hair Stylist (uncredited)

Derek Ferguson

Young American (uncredited)

Joe Filippone

Adult Bookstore Patron (uncredited)

Jack Fitz

Midwestern Husband (uncredited)

Gladis Giada

Boogie Woogie Concert Fan

Aussie Guevara

Sex Club Worker (uncredited)

Dustin Hennick

Print Reporter (uncredited)

Kara Hess

Young American Dancer (uncredited)

Doug Hunter

Print Reporter (uncredited)

Lenny Jacobson

Stage Manager (uncredited)

Richard Allan Jones

Mourner

Adam J. Kassel

Valet (uncredited)

Dominique Kelley

Impossible Dream Dancer (uncredited)

David Dustin Kenyon

Cameraman (uncredited)

Peggy King

Herself (archive footage) (uncredited)

Kirk Krogstad

Theatre Stage Hand (uncredited)

Kristin Lindquist

Billy (uncredited)

Rachael Markarian

Showgirl (uncredited)

Hugo Pierre Martin

Club Patron (uncredited)

Paul McDade

Sex Club Worker (uncredited)

Kc Monnie

Young American Dancer (uncredited)

Max Napolitano

Bar Patron (uncredited)

Cassidy Noblett

Show Boy (uncredited)

Ryan Novak

Dancer (uncredited)

Meredith Ostrowsky

Young American (uncredited)

Lance Patrick

Sex Couple #1 (uncredited)

Brittany Perry-Russell

Liberace Showgirl (uncredited)

Ferly Prado

Dancer (uncredited)

Mike Jerome Putnam

On-Air News Reporter (uncredited)

Birgit Reichel

Sex Couple #1 (uncredited)

Thure Riefenstein

Maitre d' (uncredited)

Joan Riegert

Concert Fan

Ryan Roth II

Stagehand

Stephanie Maura Sanchez

Second Anchorwoman (uncredited)

Jimmy Scanlon

News Reporter (uncredited)

Roby Schinasi

French Guy #1 (uncredited)

Nellie Sciutto

Reporter (uncredited)

Franklin J. Sterns

Bookstore Patron (uncredited)

Caroline Jaden Stussi

Startz Surgeon (uncredited)

Becca Sweitzer

Showgirl (uncredited)

Trace Taylor

Stagehand

Tony Vivio

Concert Fan

Anna Wendt

Stagehand

Eric Womack

Bartender (uncredited)

Ryken Zane

Print Reporter (uncredited)

Did you know?

Trivia

In a May 2013 interview with Entertainment Weekly magazine, Rob Lowe described the makeup regimen used to transform him into the heavily plastic-surgeried Dr. Jack Startz: "It's tape and pulled behind my head. It's literally what they used to do in the early days of cinema before there were facelifts for actresses. You know, Joan Crawford, her whole career was this. You tape, you pull around the back of the head, but you have to have a wig because it covers the elastic. We did that, and I'm also wearing a dental piece and then I'm doing a couple of things, a couple of tricks with my own face, the way I'm holding it. Then of course the makeup is literally like Earl Scheib autobody paint sprayed on my face....It was actually really painful, because being pulled that long and that hard for a 12-hour day - it gave me migraines. We shot during the summer. It was unbelievably hot. The wig, being pulled, it was definitely not the most comfortable experience physically for sure."

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Peggy King is seen singing the song "When Liberace Winks at Me" to the real Liberace from a 1955 TV appearance, in a scene where Michael Douglas is showing an old VHS tape to Matt Damon's character.

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In reality Liberace was forty years older than Scott Thorson.

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Goofs

Liberace's mother is playing a slot machine at the beginning of a scene set in 1981. She died in 1980.

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Towards the end of the film, there is an exterior shot of Palm Springs city hall which shows a modern dome CCTV camera.

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In the movie both Liberace and his mother claim that his first name was "Walter". In fact Liberace was born "Wladziu Valentino", but used only his last name as his stage name for most of his career.

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Quotes

Liberace: What a story. It's got everything but a fire at the orphanage.

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Liberace: I have an eye for new and refreshing talent.

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Liberace: All of a sudden we're sounding like a gay Lucy and Ricky. "Oh, Ricky, you wouldn't fuck me up the ass if you loved me!"

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Faq

Q

What substance is being inhaled by Liberace during his love scene with Scott at the 39-minute mark?

A

During the love scene with Liberace (Michael Douglas) and Scott (Matt Damon) at the 39-minute mark of the film, Liberace reaches for an object on his bedside table and proceeds to inhale from the object into his nose. He is inhaling what is known in the drug world as a "popper". ''Poppers'' is a slang term given to the chemical class called alkyl nitrites that are inhaled for recreational purposes, especially as an aphrodisiac. Time magazine and the Wall Street Journal have reported that the popper fad began in the 1960s among homosexual men as a way to enhance sexual pleasure. Inhaling nitrites relaxes smooth muscles throughout the body, and are often used as a club drug or to enhance a sexual experience.

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