Sir Winston Churchill

Churchill returns to Downing Street in old age, already a legend, already fading. He is vain about his image, jealous of his authority, and quietly aware that time and health are against him. As a young, untested Queen takes the throne, he positions himself as her tutor in monarchy — and as its gatekeeper.

Lithgow plays Churchill from the inside of the myth rather than the outside of the impression — the growls and cigars are there, but so is the vanity, the fear of irrelevance, the flashes of real tenderness toward the young Queen he half-controls. It's a performance about the gap between a man and his own statue.