Charlie Wilson's War
A hedonistic congressman teams up with a savvy socialite to covertly fund and arm Afghan rebels, sparking a high‑stakes covert war that threatens to expose his wild lifestyle and reshape global power.
“A stiff drink. A little mascara. A lot of nerve. Who said they couldn't bring down the Soviet empire.”
Synopsis
A Texas congressman collaborates with a CIA operative, initiating actions that support Afghan mujahideen rebels in their conflict against Soviet forces.
Credits
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How many hands made this film
The scale of the collaboration
A crew of 116+ credited
Why a floor?
This is a minimum, not a total. We only count the credits we’ve captured so far, and coverage is uneven — a blockbuster might show a few hundred names while another of the same size shows a couple dozen. The real crews all ran into the thousands. The number here only grows as full credits are enriched — so we frame it as a floor, never a headcount.
Craft leads on file
Edited by John BloomShot by Stephen GoldblattScored by James Newton HowardDesigned by Victor Kempster
Box Office
2007 · Box office
⚖️ Fell short of break-even — grossed 1.6× its budget
Why 2.5×?
Cinemas keep roughly half of every ticket sold, and a wide release’s marketing often costs about as much again as the film — so a movie needs to gross around 2.5× its production budget just to break even theatrically. It’s a rule of thumb, not the studio’s ledger (home video and streaming come later).
Worldwide gross
$119.5M
US & Canada: $66.7M — 56% of worldwide · International: $52.8M (44%)
Opening weekend: $9.7M — 14% of its US run. It had legs — it kept earning long after opening weekend.
Opening week (7-day): $22.7M — 34% of its US & Canada run.
Peak 2,575 theaters
Full synopsis
Also known as
- Der Krieg des Charlie Wilsonde
- La Guerre selon Charlie Wilsonfr
- La guerra di Charlie Wilsonit
Community tags
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Cast & Crew
116 unique people credited
Top billed cast
Tom Hanks
as Charlie Wilson
Julia Roberts
as Joanne Herring
Philip Seymour Hoffman
as Gust Avrakotos
Amy Adams
as Bonnie Bach
Terry Bozeman
as CIA Award Presenter
Amy Adams Nm0010736
as Bonnie Bach
Emily Blunt
as Jane Liddle
Brian Markinson
as Paul Brown
Om Puri
as President Zia
Jud Tylor
as Crystal Lee
Shiri Appleby
as Jailbait - Charlie's Angels
Hilary Angelo
as Kelly
Supporting cast
93Rachel Nichols
as Suzanne - Charlie's Angels
Cyia Batten
as Stacey
Wynn Everett
as Receptionist - Charlie's Angel
Kirby Mitchell
as Stoned Guy
John Slattery
as Cravely
Denis O Hare
as Harold Holt
Ned Beatty
as Doc Long
Ken Stott
as Zvi
Daniel Eric Gold
as Donnelly
Harry S Murphy
as Congressional Committee
Enayat Delawary
as Doc Long's Translator
Peter Gerety
as Larry Liddle
Navid Negahban
as Refugee Camp Translator
P J Byrne
as Jim Van Wagenen
Mozhan Navabi
as Refugee Camp Translator #2
Michael Spellman
as Agent Patrick
Russell Edge
as Agent Wells
Christopher Denham
as Mike Vickers
Ron Fassler
as Mario
Nazanin Boniadi
as Afghan Refugee Woman (uncredited)
Rizwan Manji
as Colonel Mahmood
Tracy Phillips
as Belly dancer
Ali Olomi
as Injured Mujahadeen Soldier (uncredited)
Mary Bonner Baker
as Marla - Charlie's Angels
Ed Regine
as Limo Driver
Thomas Crawford
as Maintenance Man
Joe Roland
as McGaffin
Patrika Darbo
as Auctioneer
Carly Reeves
as Slave Girl
Salaheddine Ben Chegra
as Pakistani Steward
Faran Tahir
as Brigadier Rashid
Maurice Sherbanee
as Refugee In Wheelchair
Salam Sangi
as Refugee Building Wall
Michael Saba
as Afghan Boy
Nadia Miller
as Afghan Girl
Michelle Arthur
as Refugee Camp Nurse
Shila Ommi
as Refugee Mother
Edward Hunt
as Embassy Marine
Michael Haley
as Embassy Official
Joseph Sikora
as Chess Player
Gabriel Tigerman
as Chess Player
Patrick Bentley
as Chess Player
Marc Pelina
as Chess Player
Aharon Ipale
as Egyptian Defense Minister
Mary Bailey
as Doc Long's Secretary
Trish Gallaher Glenn
as Joanne's Assistant
Nancy Linehan Charles
as Mrs. Long
Daston Kalili
as Mujahideen Translator
Pasha D Lychnikoff
as Russian Helicopter Pilot
Ilia Volok
as Russian Helicopter Pilot
Alex Lvovsky
as Russian Helicopter Pilot
Sammy Sheik
as Stinger Mujahideen
Moneer Yaqubi
as Stinger Mujahideen
Gabriel Justice
as Stinger Mujahideen
Siyal Mohammad
as Stinger Presenter
Quill Roberts
as Stinger Presenter
Jim Jansen
as Congressional Committee
Spencer Garrett
as Congressional Committee
Kevin Cooney
as Congressional Committee
Erick Avari
as Ari Goldman (uncredited)
Yousuf Azami
as Work Relief Guy (uncredited)
Anthony Azizi
as Orderly (uncredited)
Stephanie D Abruzzo
as Las Vegas Showgirl / Charlie's Party Guest (uncredited)
Darren Dowler
as Congressman (uncredited)
Francois Duhamel
as French Photographer (uncredited)
David M Edelstien
as Hotel Manager (uncredited)
Matthew Herington
as Afghan Refugee (uncredited)
Mueen Jahan Ahmad
as Bodyguard (uncredited)
Jody Jaress
as VIP Party Guest (uncredited)
Alexander Kanellakos
as Texas Millionaire (uncredited)
Igor Korosec
as USSR Gunner 2 (uncredited)
Richard Lawrence
as Senators Aide (uncredited)
Daniel Lench
as Party Goer #1 (uncredited)
Tucker Maloney
as CIA Operative (uncredited)
J Patrick Mccormack
as Senator (uncredited)
Ambria Miscia
as Vegas Showgirl (uncredited)
Kazu Nagahama
as Japanese Tourist (uncredited)
Mara New
as Extra (uncredited)
Tom Ohmer
as Party Guest (uncredited)
Ron Ostrow
as Congressional Committee #5 (uncredited)
J Woodward Palmer
as Bartender (uncredited)
Mary Linda Phillips
as Party Guest (uncredited)
Dan Rather
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Gubbi Sigurdsson
as Doc Long's Aide (uncredited)
Cynthia Silver
as Charlie's Party Guest (uncredited)
Cassidy Smith
as Afghan Girl (uncredited)
Nicole Smolen
as Afghan Girl (uncredited)
Leo Solomon
as Freedom Fighter (uncredited)
Rachel Style
as Blodgett - CIA Cafeteria Cashier (uncredited)
Jackie Swanson
as Texas Socialite (uncredited)
Shaun Toub
as Hassan (uncredited)
Kyle Vogt
as Male Party Guest #4 (uncredited)
Kurt Yaeger
as Afghani Refugee (uncredited)
Directors
2Writers
2Producers
2Other crew
8Parents Guide
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