Actor who played JD Vance in Hillbilly Elegy condemns stars who get political

<p>Gabriel Basso says actors should ‘shut the fuck up’ and that they have no authority to publicly bestow political views</p><p>The actor who portrayed JD Vance in the Oscar-nominated film <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/article/2024/jul/19/jd-vance-hillbilly-elegy">Hillbilly Elegy</a> before the latter man became the vice-president of the US has said his fellow thespians should “shut the fuck up” rather than express their political opinions.</p><p>Gabriel Basso – now starring in the hit Netflix series <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/mar/23/the-night-agent-review-this-twisty-political-thriller-is-slicker-than-slick">The Night Agent</a> – made those comments on a recent episode of the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@GreatCompanyPodcast">Great Company</a> podcast, cutting a stark contrast with his director on Hillbelly Elegy, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/ron-howard">Ron Howard</a>, who previously described himself as “surprised and concerned” from the campaign that ultimately left Vance a heartbeat away from the US presidency.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/17/jd-vance-gabriel-basso-hillbilly-elegy">Continue reading...</a>