In 1969, Ted Kennedy drove his car off of a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island in Massachusetts, plummeting into a tidal channel below. He managed to escape the wreck alive, but his passenger—Mary Jo Kopechne, a political strategist—was trapped inside the car, and ultimately died. The accident rocked the nation, and sent Kennedy’s political career into chaos as he struggled to weather an exhaustive investigation.
The recently-released film Chappaquiddick, from director John Curran, takes an in-depth look at the crash, along with Kennedy’s scramble to respond to the tragedy. On this episode of VICE Talks Film, we sat down with Jason Clarke—who plays Kennedy—to hear what it was like to take on the role, and what his work on the film taught him about the Chappaquiddick incident.
Videos by VICE
Sign up for our newsletter to get the best of VICE delivered to your inbox daily.
