How the 'Mindhunter' Cast Compares to the Real-Life People They're Based On
Many of the plot lines on Netflix's Mindhunter seem too wild to be true—but sadly, most of them are based in fact. Here, a run-down of all the real-life people that inspired the show's characters, from the crime-fighting good guys (think Dr. Wendy Carr) to the... not good ones.
Ford, played by Jonathan Groff, is based on John E. Douglas, the author of Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Serial Crime Unit. Like Ford, Douglas interviewed serial killers David Berkowitz, Ed Kemper, Charles Manson, and Richard Speck. The Netflix show is inspired by Douglas's book, but also takes plenty of creative license.
Ford's collaborator Bill Tench (Holt McCallany) is loosely inspired by Robert K. Ressler, Douglas's real-life colleague in the FBI's Behavioral Sciences Unit. Ressler is credited with coining the term "serial killer," per Vulture, and worked on the searches for Jeffrey Dahmer and Ted Bundy. Still, Tench shares much less with Ressler than Ford shares with Douglas.
Boston College's Dr. Ann Wolbert Burgess was the model for Mindhunter's Dr. Wendy Carr (Anna Torv). Burgess did work with Kessler and Douglas, eventually co-writing 1992's Crime Classification Manual: A Standard System for Investigating and Classifying Violent Crimes with them.
June Carryl plays Camille Bell, the mother of Yusuf Bell, a nine-year-old victim of the Atlanta Child Murders. Like in Mindhunter, Bell took it upon herself to take action during the ongoing tragedy, co-founding the Committee to Stop Children’s Murders alongside other victims' mothers.
Dennis Rader (portrayed by Sonny Valicenti in Mindhunter) killed 10 people between 1974 and 1991—but wasn't caught until 2004. And as in the show, he really did work for the security company ADT.
When Ed Kemper (Cameron Britton) told Holden Ford his life story in Mindhunter's first season, he hewed pretty close to the real serial killer's experiences. Kemper killed his grandparents at age 15, and would go on to murder his mother, his mother's friend, and five college students.
Manson, played by Damon Herriman (interestingly, also the actor behind Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood's Manson), proves to be perplexing for Mindhunter's main duo. Ultimately, they decide that when the cult leader orchestrated a series of murders, he was hoping to retain his power over his "family."
Berkowitz killed six people—and injured even more—in 1970s New York City. He was known for sending letters to the press signed "Son of Sam." As dramatized in Mindhunter, when he was first arrested, Berkowitz said he was taking direction from demons; later, he'd recant that explanation.
As in Mindhunter, the police closed dozens of cases related to the Atlanta Child Murders after arresting Wayne Williams for two killings. To this day, many aren't convinced that he's responsible for all of the deaths—and earlier this year, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced plans to revisit evidence.
How the 'Mindhunter' Cast Compares to the Real-Life People They're Based On
Many of the plot lines on Netflix's Mindhunter seem too wild to be true—but sadly, most of them are based in fact. Here, a run-down of all the real-life people that inspired the show's characters, from the crime-fighting good guys (think Dr. Wendy Carr) to the... not good ones.
The good guys, and the bad.
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