Honestly, the drama behind the scenes of the 2011 miniseries was almost as intense as the Cuban Missile Crisis itself. It was the show that the History Channel famously dumped just weeks before it was supposed to air. They claimed it wasn't "historically accurate" enough, which is basically code for "the Kennedy family and their friends aren't happy."
But when it finally landed on ReelzChannel, people weren't just watching for the scandal. They were watching for the cast of The Kennedys.
It’s one thing to put on a pillbox hat or a skinny tie; it’s another thing entirely to embody the most scrutinized family in American history without looking like a Saturday Night Live caricature. Some of the actors nailed it. Others? Well, let’s just say the Boston accents were a bit of a rollercoaster.
Greg Kinnear as the "Reluctant" JFK
When you think of John F. Kennedy, you think of that effortless, tan, Harvard-educated charisma. Greg Kinnear wasn't the obvious choice. At the time, he was mostly known for being the "nice guy" in rom-coms or the snarky host of Talk Soup.
Kinnear’s Jack Kennedy wasn’t just a statue of a President. He played him as a man constantly battling physical pain—that chronic back issue that haunted the real JFK—and the crushing weight of his father's expectations. It wasn't a perfect imitation, but it was human. He captured the exhaustion. You could see the fatigue in his eyes during the Bay of Pigs scenes. He ended up getting an Emmy nod for it, so clearly, the risk paid off.
Katie Holmes and the Jackie "Shock"
There was a lot of skepticism about Katie Holmes. People still saw her as Joey Potter from Dawson’s Creek or were distracted by her real-life tabloid headlines at the time. Playing Jacqueline Kennedy is basically a suicide mission for an actress because Jackie’s image is so iconic.
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Holmes actually did something surprising. She didn’t just do the "breathless" voice. She leaned into Jackie’s steeliness. Everyone remembers the fashion—the pink Chanel suit, the oversized glasses—but Holmes focused on the isolation of being a political wife who knew exactly what was going on behind closed doors. She actually liked the role so much she came back to play her again years later in The Kennedys: After Camelot.
The Powerhouse: Barry Pepper as Bobby
If there’s one person in the cast of The Kennedys who stole every single scene, it was Barry Pepper.
He played Robert F. Kennedy as the family's "enforcer." While Kinnear’s JFK was the face of the operation, Pepper’s RFK was the engine. He had this wiry, nervous energy that felt incredibly authentic to the real Bobby. Most critics agreed he was the best part of the whole eight-hour saga. He actually won the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor, beating out his co-star Kinnear.
Pepper didn't just play a politician; he played a brother who was terrified of losing his sibling and a son who was desperate to prove himself to a demanding father.
The Patriarch: Tom Wilkinson as Joe Sr.
You can't have a Kennedy story without the man who started it all. Tom Wilkinson played Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. as a Shakespearean villain who happens to love his kids.
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Wilkinson is a British acting legend, and he brought a certain "gravitas" that the younger cast members needed to bounce off of. His Joe Sr. was ruthless. He was the guy fixing elections in backrooms and grooming his sons for power like they were thoroughbred horses.
The dynamic between Wilkinson and Kinnear was the heart of the show. It was a study in how generational trauma gets passed down under the guise of "public service."
The Supporting Players Who Kept It Together
A lot of the magic in the cast of The Kennedys came from the actors in the periphery. They had to fill in the gaps of a family that felt more like a corporation.
- Diana Hardcastle as Rose Kennedy: She played the matriarch with a quiet, devastating piety. Hardcastle is actually Tom Wilkinson’s wife in real life, which made their onscreen chemistry as a long-married (and long-suffering) couple feel very lived-in.
- Kristin Booth as Ethel Kennedy: She brought a much-needed lightness to the heavy atmosphere. Ethel was the one who actually seemed to be having fun, at least until the tragedies started piling up.
- Gabriel Hogan as Joe Jr.: He didn't get much screen time, but he had to establish why the family was so broken by his death in WWII. He looked the part—the "golden boy" who never got to be President.
The Accent Problem (Let’s Be Real)
We have to talk about the "Kennedy Voice."
It is notoriously hard to do. It’s that weird mix of Boston Brahmin, Irish roots, and high-society prep. In this show, the accents were... inconsistent. Sometimes Kinnear sounded like he was from the Midwest, and sometimes the supporting cast sounded like they were auditioning for The Departed.
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But honestly? After the first hour, you kind of stop caring. The performances were strong enough that the "pahk the cah" vowels didn't ruin the immersion.
Why This Cast Still Matters Today
Since this miniseries aired, there have been a dozen other Kennedy projects. We’ve seen Natalie Portman’s Jackie, and we're even seeing Michael Fassbender take on Joe Sr. in a new Netflix series.
But the 2011 cast of The Kennedys was the first to really try and de-mythologize the family on a massive scale. They didn't play them as saints. They played them as people who were often messy, sometimes cruel, and frequently terrified.
Actionable Takeaways for History Buffs
If you're looking to dive deeper into this specific era of the Kennedy dynasty after watching the show, here is how to separate the Hollywood drama from the real history:
- Watch the "Primary" Documentary: Before re-watching the miniseries, check out the 1960 documentary Primary. It shows the real JFK and Jackie on the campaign trail. You’ll see exactly where Kinnear and Holmes got their physical cues.
- Read "The Patriarch" by David Nasaw: If Tom Wilkinson's performance as Joe Sr. fascinated you, this is the definitive biography. It explains the "fixing" of the 1960 election in way more detail than the show ever could.
- Compare to "After Camelot": If you want to see how the cast evolved, watch the sequel miniseries. Seeing Katie Holmes play an older, more cynical Jackie Onassis alongside Matthew Perry (who played a struggling Ted Kennedy) offers a completely different vibe.
- Listen to the JFK Library Tapes: The show dramatizes many private conversations. You can actually listen to the real recordings of JFK in the Oval Office on the JFK Library website to see just how close the script got to the truth.
The 2011 series might have been born in controversy, but the cast transformed it from a tabloid-style script into a genuine human drama. It remains one of the most accessible ways to understand the "Camelot" era, provided you remember that behind every great performance is a bit of Hollywood polish.