We Cast Adam McKay's Upcoming HBO Series on the Race for the COVID-19 Vaccine, 'The First Shots'

'Succession' producer Adam McKay is turning the COVD-19 vaccine book 'The First Shots' into a series for HBO. We took a stab at dream casting the major players.

By 
Dec 28, 2021
Teyonah Parris Nicholas Braun First Shots Cast
Getty

Image via Getty

Teyonah Parris Nicholas Braun First Shots Cast
Getty

Image via Getty

HBO is teaming up with Succession’s executive producer Adam McKay to bring to life a limited series about the creation of the COVID-19 vaccine. The First Shots series will be based on the book The First Shots: The Epic Rivalries and Heroic Science Behind the Race to the Coronavirus Vaccine by Brendan Borrell. The award-winning journalist based the book on his coverage of the global race that took place in 2020 to deliver the lifesaving vaccine to billions of people. He focused his book on the key players who made the vaccine’s creation and distribution a reality including scientists, politicians, and billionaire CEOs.

It will explore the work that was put in to save people’s lives, the science that the vaccine is based on, and the challenges that played out around politics, access, and safety. The series will feature scientists and researchers Kizzmekia Corbett, Katalin Kariko, and Sarah Gilbert, as well as Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Donald Trump, Jared Kushner, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla and Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel. Aside from having McKay on board, casting the right actors to portray these influential people is key to making this limited series as impactful as it needs to be. Scroll down to see the dream cast we put together for The First Shots.

Jared Leto as President Donald Trump

Jared Leto Donald Trump First Shots
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Who is Trump?: The 45th president of the United States (2017-2021)

Leto’s latest hits: House of Gucci (2021), The Little Things (2021)

If there’s one thing Jared Leto is bound to do is undergo a full-on physical transformation for a movie. The actor, also known for his striking good looks, is not afraid to throw on some prosthetics and makeup for whatever role he’s taking on. Leto caught some heat for his extreme makeover to play Paolo Gucci in House of Gucci earlier this year. He was a convincing green-haired Joker in Zack Snyder’s Suicide Squad and also transformed into a pretty convincing serial killer in The Little Things. Alec Baldwin’s over-the-top impression of President Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live got him on the politician and his followers’ bad side. Trump constantly criticized the show and the actor for it, so whoever plays him next needs to have thick skin. Not only that, but the actor must be able to convey the president’s controversial response to the pandemic, and that alone is a lot to take on. Judging by his acting chops and chameleon-like ability to shapeshift into any character that’s thrown his way, Leto might be the one best suited for the job. —Karla Rodriguez

Martin Short as Anthony Fauci

First Shots Casting Martin Short
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WHo is Fauci>?: Director, National Institute of Allergy, and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)

Short’s latest hits: Only Murders in the Building (2021-present)

Fresh off of his Best Actor Golden Globe nomination for Only Murders in the Building, Martin Short would be the perfect man for the job of playing Dr. Anthony Fauci. At times, the immunologist was one of the few sources of knowledge and voices of reasons that the American public had throughout the pandemic. As the Chief Medical Advisor to the President of the United States, there is a level of seriousness about him that blends with a hint of comfort and playfulness that allows people to trust him. Both Brad Pitt and Kate McKinnon have portrayed the famed doctor on Saturday Night Live, but Short’s skills are the ones that are best suited for this role. —Karla Rodriguez

Teyonah Parris as Kizzmekia Corbett

First Shots Casting Teyonah Parris
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Who is Corbett?: Research fellow, Vaccine Research Center, NIAID, worked on Moderna vaccine

Parris’ latest hits: Candyman (2021), WandaVision (2021)

Viral immunologist KIzzmekia “Kizzy” Corbett rose to prominence at the onset of the COVID-19 vaccination conversation due to developing what became Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine. Corbett’s been the steadfast face of the relief effort, aiming her work at outreach and understanding. Parris, who’s starred in everything from 2021’s WandaVision to 2021’s Candyman, can literally do it all. Representing a strong Black woman who also developed the Moderna vaccine? Piece of cake! —khal

Nicholas Braun as Jared Kushner

Nicholas Braun on HBO's 'Succession'
Image via HBO

Who is Kushner?: Senior adviser to the president; Trump’s son-in-law

Braun’s latest hits: Succession (2018-present), Zola (2021)

Again, this feels like the easiest of jokes (outside of casting Braun as Don Jr.), but you can’t think of the incompetence of a Jared Kushner and not think of Cousin Greg from McKay’s Succession. Bumbling his way through the Roy family’s mess, Greg never really knows the right thing to say, nor has he even really been there before, and Braun plays the character expertly. Those concerned pauses, the materialization of thought that hits his brow, the overconfidence once he latches onto a notion? I know Succession is always compared to the Murdoch family, but Kushner may already be Cousin Greg! —khal

Ron Perlman as General Gustave Perna

First Shots Casting Ron Perlman
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Who is Perna?: Chief operating officer, Operation Warp Speed, Washington, DC 

Perlman’s latest hits: Don’t Look Up (2021), Nightmare Alley (2021)

Keeping it a buck, this is primarily because of Perlman’s size. Perna, the COO over at Washington DC’s Operation Warp Speed, being described as “an imposing man with a superhero-size torso that seemed like it was about to burst out of his camouflage fatigues” made me immediately think of Perlman, known best for his work in the Hellboy franchise, for this role, especially when you realize that Perna’s no scientist. He knows how to make tough decisions, though, and with Perlman already getting to experience this in McKay’s 2021 film Don’t Look Up, it feels like they should just get the band back together this go ‘round. —khal

Sarah Paulson as Katalin Karikó

First Shots Casting Sarah Paulson
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Who is Karikó?: Senior vice president for therapeutics, BioNTech; messenger RNA pioneer

Paulson’s latest hits: American Horror Story (2011–present), American Crime Story (2016–present)

If you watched Ryan Murphy’s work in the past 10 years, you already know Sarah Paulson is the truth. The actress has starred in multiple shows alongside the director, and she has killed every role she has taken on. There’s nothing Paulson can’t do in my eyes. The actress has a knack for dramatics so enlisting her to tell the story of one of the most chaotic and stressful times in the world’s history as biochemist Katalin Karikó makes perfect sense. 


Karikó developed the revolutionary mRNA technology inside COVID vaccines and her work and research, which has spanned decades, became a crucial component in getting more than a billion people vaccinated. Paulson was recently criticized for portraying White House whistleblower Linda Tripp in Impeachment: American Crime Story mostly because she wore a fat suit and gained 30 pounds for the role. The actress disagreed with the criticism, so playing Karikó will give her another opportunity to redeem herself while playing the role of another woman who changed the world. —Karla Rodriguez

Eugene Levy as Albert Bourla

First Shots Casting Eugene Levy
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Who is Bourla?: CEO, Pfizer ​​​​​​​

Levy’s latest hits: Schitt’s Creek (2015-present)

I’ve been watching Eugene Levy in everything from Armed and Dangerous to American Pie. He’s been able to play the straight guy as well as play the ultra hilarious. I could totally see him straddling that line of determination Bourla had in jumping into Pfizer developing a COVID-19 vaccine. That shook look of wonderment as he’s seeing the stats rise pushing him in an almost (but not quite) Christopher Lloyd in Back to the Future-style constant-insanity, but focused on this vaccine? Let Levy do that. —khal

David Thewlis as Barney Graham

First Shots Casting David Thewlis
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Who is Graham?: Deputy director, Vaccine research Center, NIAID, worked on Moderna vaccine

Thewlis’ latest hits: Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021), Big Mouth (2018-2021)

Thewlis, who is probably best known for his portrayal as Remus Lupin in the Harry Potter films and Ares in the DCEU, we first approached this based on a similar look. With Thewlis and Graham being the same height, all you really need to do is give Thewlis some facial hair, make all his hair salt-and-pepper, and give him some glasses. Portraying the deputy director at NIAID means he’d need to command some authority, as well as having to pull off being someone who worked on the Moderna vaccine. Thewlis has got this in the bag, and could likely use the authoritative tones that Ares would employ to help get this role perfect. —khal

Julianne Moore as Sarah Gilbert

First Shots Casting Julianne Moore
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Who is Gilbert?: Leader of the Oxford vaccine project, which developed the AstraZeneca vaccine

Moore’s latest hits: Dear Evan Hansen (2021), Still Alice (2015)

University of Oxford professor Sarah Gilbert is described as an intense and intensely private woman in her late fifties with shoulder-length red hair and an inability to engage in small talk. Gilbert has worked at the University of Oxford’s Jenner Institute, making and testing vaccines designed to induce T cell responses for over ten years. She created the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID vaccine. There doesn’t seem to be an actress better suited to play the British vaccinologist than Julianne Moore. 


The Academy Award winner has been on our TV and movie screens since the 80s, and if there’s anyone we could trust to play Gilbert, it’s her. Moore played a complex and accomplished woman struggling with Early-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease in 2015’s Still Alice. She won the Best Actress Oscar for the role, so there’s no doubt that she’s got the ability and the talent to also excel at playing this influential role. —Karla Rodriguez

Stanley Tucci as Stéphane Bancel

First Shots Casting Stanley Tucci
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Who is Bancel?: Moderna Therapeutics CEO

Tucci’s latest hits: Central Park (2020-present), The Hunger Games trilogy

Stéphane Bancel is the CEO of the Massachusetts-based biotech firm Moderna, known for being one of the leading COVID-19 vaccines in the country. He became Moderna’s CEO in 2011 and was at the helm of the company when the Food and Drug Administration approved the vaccine for emergency use in December 2020. Stanley Tucci would best portray the billionaire engineer. The actor has lowkey been a part of some of my favorite films over the years. The Hunger Games trilogy, The Devil Wears Prada, Maid in Manhattan, and The Terminal are not even half of the work he has done in his long and lustrous career. Seeing him as Moderna’s CEO in this film would be a treat for his fans and everyone who has yet to be charmed by his appeal. All he needs to do is nail Bancel’s French accent and get his hands on a perfect wig. —Karla Rodriguez

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