Character Relationship Map: The Interview

Characters

• Dave Skylark (played by James Franco) — protagonist

  Dave Skylark is the host of Skylark Tonight and the story's central protagonist. He agrees to interview President Kim Jong-un, accepts the CIA's assassination mission, and initially befriends Kim befo...

• Aaron Rapaport (played by Seth Rogen) — protagonist

  Aaron Rapaport is the producer of Skylark Tonight and Dave Skylark's closest working partner. Frustrated by criticism of the program, he arranges the interview with President Kim Jong-un and joins the...

• Agent Lacey (played by Lizzy Caplan) — supporting

  Agent Lacey is a CIA agent who recruits Dave Skylark and Aaron Rapaport for a covert mission against President Kim Jong-un. She explains the nuclear threat and instructs them to deliver ricin through...

• Sook (played by Diana Bang) — supporting

  Sook is the North Korean chief propagandist who greets Dave Skylark and Aaron Rapaport when they arrive and guides them through the palace. Although she initially defends President Kim Jong-un's regim...

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Agent Lacey → Aaron Rapaport (Power Mission Asset) — Lacey treats Aaron as part of the operational team supporting the assassination.

  Lacey gives the assassination instructions to both Dave and Aaron, and later supplies additional ricin strips through a drone.

• Dave Skylark → Agent Lacey (Power Mission Asset) — Lacey assigns Dave a covert operation that transforms his interview into an intelligence mission.

  Agent Lacey visits Dave and Aaron and asks them to assassinate the North Korean leader with a transdermal ricin strip.

• Dave Skylark → Aaron Rapaport (Professional Partner) — They are the central host-producer team whose professional partnership drives the mission.

  Dave hosts Skylark Tonight while Aaron works as its producer. They jointly pursue the interview and travel to North Korea together.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Aaron Rapaport → Sook (Alliance Ally) — Aaron becomes Sook's operational partner during the uprising and escape.

  Aaron works with Sook and Dave on the plan to expose the regime, then escapes with her and Dave by tank and helicopter.

• Dave Skylark → Sook (Alliance Reluctant Ally) — Their alliance develops when Dave accepts Sook's strategy for revealing the country's condition.

  Dave asks Sook for help after discovering the regime's deception, and she proposes exposing the cult of personality instead of simply assassinating th...

Story Analysis

A celebrity host and his producer transform a covert assassination mission into a televised challenge to dictatorship and propaganda.

Plot Progression

1. A Show Seeking Substance — Dave hosts a celebrity talk show while Aaron becomes frustrated by criticism that it is not real journalism. Their opportunity to interview the North Korean leader changes the show's direction.
2. The Secret Assignment — Agent Lacey recruits Dave and Aaron to assassinate the leader with ricin. The pair travel to Pyongyang carrying the dangerous strip and enter an increasingly controlled environment.
3. Charm Behind the Regime — The leader wins Dave's trust through entertainment and personal attention. The poisoning of a security officer and Dave's rejection of a second attempt expose the mission's moral crisis.
4. The Manufactured Nation — Dave discovers that the regime's prosperity is staged, while Sook privately admits her opposition. The trio replaces assassination with a plan to destroy the leader's public image.
5. Broadcast and Escape — The televised interview becomes an open confrontation, and Aaron protects the broadcast from the guards. After the leader prepares a nuclear launch, the protagonists escape and stop the threat.