Former double agent Naveed Jamali rates 12 spy scenes in movies and TV, such as “Casino Royale,” for realism.
Jamali breaks down espionage tactics such as the realism of disguises in “Atomic Blonde,” starring Charlize Theron; “Mission: Impossible — Fallout,” with Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, and Simon Pegg; as well as the concept of developing a character as a double agent in “Casino Royale,” starring Daniel Craig; and “Iron Man 2,” with Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Jon Favreau, and Gwyneth Paltrow. He explains both Russian and American intelligence tactics, and connects them to his real-life experience with the FBI and the GRU, in “Salt,” starring Angelina Jolie; “Red Sparrow,” starring Jennifer Lawrence, and “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” with Gary Oldman, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Tom Hardy. He also looks at more field operation scenes and comments on the state of counterintelligence from the Cold War to the present in “The Sympathizer” E2 and E7 (2023), with Robert Downey Jr.; “Spy Game,” starring Brad Pitt and Robert Redford; “Breach,” and “24” S2E9 (2003).
Jamali was a double agent, operating as an FBI asset posing as a recruit for the Russian GRU, from 2005 to 2009. The operation concluded with the FBI “arresting” Jamali in front of his GRU case officer, Oleg Kulikov, effectively exposing Kulikov’s cover as a diplomat in the United States. After the operation, Jamali was appointed as an Intelligence Officer in the United States Navy Reserve. He is an editor at large at Newsweek and executive producer and host of its show “Unconventional.” He also cowrote a book detailing his double agent operation, “How to Catch a Russian Spy: The True Story of an American Civilian Turned Double Agent.”
You can find “How to Catch a Russian Spy: The True Story of an American Civilian Turned Double Agent” here.
You can watch “Unconventional” on YouTube.
