Sean Penn underwent a jaw-dropping transformation for his role in the upcoming Starz limited series Gaslit.
In fact, you'd hardly be able to tell that the actor who once played Spicoli is the same person underneath the prosthetics and bald cap in Starz's Gaslit. In the series, Penn portrays former U.S. Attorney General John Mitchell, a trusted advisor and close friend to President Richard Nixon during the Watergate scandal.
Gaslit viewers will see how Mitchell and his wife, Martha Mitchell, played by Julia Roberts, influenced the political scandal, as well as the 37th president's resignation.
A trailer released March 16 shows the moment that attorney John Dean (Dan Stevens) told Mitchell that Watergate was going to be front-page news, to which the attorney general said, "The next 48 hours are going to be crucial."
But it seems that John Dean was more concerned about Martha, saying, "I don't know how to put this—we're wondering what you're going to do about your wife?"
Turns out, Martha had a reputation for being "completely insane," "loudmouthed" and "unreliable," according to various people. But the opinions of others didn't bother Martha, who declares in the show: "I will say how I feel and if that gets me banned from Air Force One, then I will fly commercial."
And even after John pleads for her to keep her "mouth shut," Martha continues to speak out about the Watergate scandal. In a talk show appearance, she says, "If the American people knew half of what I do, they wouldn't have much to approve of."
Her statements would have disastrous consequences because, as Starz teases in the series description, John is "hopelessly in love with his famously outspoken wife," but he will be "forced to choose between Martha and the President."
The Starz limited series is one of the two upcoming shows revisiting the events of 1972. HBO is also scheduled to release The White House Plumbers, which will detail the "true story of how Nixon's own political saboteurs and Watergate masterminds, E. Howard Hunt and G. Gordon Liddy, accidentally toppled the presidency they were trying to protect," according to the series description.
Woody Harrelson and Justin Theroux will play Hunt and Liddy, with Lena Headey, Domnhall Gleeson, Kiernan Shipka, Ike Barinholtz and more rounding out the ensemble cast.
Gaslit premieres April 24 on Starz.