Bryan Cranston learned an important life lesson playing Dalton Trumbo.
Bryan Cranston
Cranston stars as the American screenwriter and novelist - who spent 11 months in prison for refusing to assist the McCarthy witch hunts against Communism - in 'Trumbo', and Bryan thinks the movie carries an important message relating to "civil liberties".
He told the New York Daily News: "It allowed me to open up and learn, not only Hollywood history but this dark period in American history and realise that oppression in whatever form is an ugly thing, and even uglier if it's done by your government.
"It's the cautionary tale that civil liberties are not to be messed with. They're to be taken very seriously."
Meanwhile, Bryan's co-star Dame Helen Mirren said she was aware of Trumbo's story because of her father and his political views.
The Oscar-winning actress said: "My father was a left-wing Socialist the way Dalton Trumbo was, and I grew up with those kinds of attitudes in my household.
"We benefited because a lot of the very great artists came to live and work in Britain, where they were welcomed."
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