The Ultimate Foxcatcher Trivia Quiz


Julie Medina

4 Min Quiz

Image: TMDB

About This Quiz

This biographical sports crime drama is too twisted to be fiction! What do you recall from this wrestling movie, starring Channing Tatum, Mark Ruffalo, and Steve Carell?

Mark Schultz and Dave Schultz are both what?

Dave and his brother Mark Schultz, also a wrestler, were noted for both winning gold at the same Olympics (1984). The Schultz brothers won more NCAA, U.S. Open, World, and Olympic titles than any American brother combination in history. They are not from New York, they were born in Palo Alto, California.


Who portrays Dave, the older brother?

Mark Ruffalo portrays Dave, the older brother. Besides starring in 13 Going on 30, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Zodiac, What Doesn't Kill You, Shutter Island, and The Kids Are All Right, Ruffalo gained international attention portraying the Hulk in the Avengers movies. He has received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and numerous nominations throughout his career, including for his role in the drama, Spotlight.


Who portrays Mark, the younger brother?

Channing Tatum portrays Mike, who feels he is living in the shadow of his older brother, Dave. Channing Tatum is an actor and dancer who became noticed in Step Up, and then portrayed Duke in the G.I Joe action film and sequel. Tatum is also known for his leading role in Magic Mike and its sequel, which he produced. He also starred in 21 Jump Street and its sequel, Dear John, The Vow, She's the Man, The Dilemma, White House Down, The Hateful Eight, and Hail, Caesar!


What actor plays multimillionaire John E. du Pont?

Steve Carell portrays John E. du Pont, a multimillionaire philanthropist and wrestling enthusiast. Steve Carell is an actor, comedian, director, producer, and writer. After five-years on the Daily Show, Carell starred on The Office, on which he also worked as an occasional writer and director. He has also starred in lead roles in The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Evan Almighty, Get Smart, Crazy, Stupid, Love, The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, The Way, Way Back, Little Miss Sunshine, and The Big Short. He is also a voice actor in Over the Hedge, Horton Hears a Who!, Despicable Me, Despicable Me 2, and Minions.


What does du Pont want from Mark?

Mark is contacted by philanthropist and wrestling enthusiast John E. du Pont, an heir to the E.I. du Pont family fortune. Du Pont wants Mark to fly to his estate in Pennsylvania, where he has built a private wrestling training facility. Du Pont invites Mark to join his wrestling team, Team Foxcatcher. He tells Mark he will be paid to train for the World Championship. Mark accepts the offer, with du Pont urging him to enlist Dave as well.


According to the movie, where does Mark stay in Pennsylvania?

In the movie, Mark stayed in the guest house, known as The Chalet. The real Mark Schultz didn't actually move onto Foxcatcher Farm until after John du Pont fired him from his assistant coaching position at Villanova (the original job he had signed on for with the Foxcatcher team). Mark had thrown a party at his apartment where alcohol and underage wrestlers were present. Du Pont told Mark that he could remain a part of Foxcatcher if he moved onto the farm to train.


Why does Dave choose not to accept the offer from du Pont to coach and train?

Dave declines for the sake of his wife and two children, who are settled where they live, so Mark moves to Pennsylvania alone. Mark Ruffalo said the cast and crew were so afraid of Steve Carell as du Pont that they tried to avoid interacting with him. Ruffalo said, "Everyone sort of stayed away from him. John du Pont was repellent, so the way they designed Steve's look, it made him repellent and you didn't know what to say to him or how to act around him. You never felt comfortable."


When does Mark first use cocaine in the movie?

In the movie, John du Pont (Steve Carell) convinces Mark Schultz (Channing Tatum) to try cocaine while they are on a helicopter ride to a banquet where Schultz is to give a speech that praises du Pont. In real life, Mark Schultz claims that John du Pont initially had asked him where he could buy some cocaine. Schultz admits that they did do cocaine together on two or three occasions. Did you know that Steve Carell and Channing Tatum ad-libbed their dialogue in the helicopter scene?


What happens to Mark with du Pont’s financial support and the ability to train with his highly skilled teammates?

Through training with his new teammates and du Pont's financial support, Mark excels with Foxcatcher, winning a Gold Medal at the 1987 World Wrestling Championships. Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo would film all day, and then go to intense wrestling practice. By the end of the shoot, they were so exhausted that, according to Tatum, both he and Ruffalo cried after their final practice.


How does Jean du Pont (John’s mother) feel about wrestling?

Jean du Pont, portrayed by Vanessa Redgrave, tells her son that she believes wrestling is a "low sport" and she does not like seeing him "being low". Vanessa Redgrave is an English actress of stage, screen and television, as well as a political activist. She is a 2003 American Theatre Hall of Fame inductee, and she received the 2010 BAFTA Fellowship.


Why is putting his brother in charge of the Foxcatcher team so hurtful to Mark?

Du Pont and Mark had gotten close, Du Pont understood that Mark had been living in Dave’s shadow and Mark had finally stood (and won) on his own with the Foxcatcher team. When Dave decides to move with his family to Pennsylvania so he can join Foxcatcher, Mark’s already low self-esteem dives lower due to the betrayal of his friend, Du Pont, and Dave now taking the spotlight away from him.


What does Mark do when he loses a match?

Mark Schultz would hit himself in the face after losing, to associate the bad wrestling match with pain and thus motivate himself not to make the same mistakes again. In the mirror-bashing scene Channing Tatum actually broke the mirror, which was not in the script. He got so into his role that it led him to act with such intensity. The cut to his forehead was genuine.


What happened in the 1988 Olympic Trials?

At the 1988 Olympic Trials in Pensacola, Florida, Mark loses his first match. Angered by his failure, Mark destroys his room and goes on an eating binge. Dave manages to break into his room and is alarmed at his condition. They work feverishly so Mark can make his weight class and win his second match. Did you know Mark Ruffalo gained 30lbs for his role in this film to look similar to the man he was portraying?


Who says this? “…what's he get out of all this?"

Although Mark seems so excited about the prospect of working with du Pont, Dave is less naïve than his brother and wants to know what du Pont gets out of this set-up. In real life, perhaps neither was as innocent and naïve as the film portrays. In the 1984 Olympics, Dave and Mark Schultz were accused of "excessive brutality" in their matches and a special official was assigned to monitor the rest of their bouts. Two of their opponents went straight to the hospital after their matches.


Who says this? “The big house is off limits.”

Du Pont’s assistant tells Mark this while showing him around the guest house. This shows Mark that he has his a lower place in the pecking order for du Pont’s attention. Did you know that Steve Carell accepted the role specifically so he could work with director Bennett Miller? Their collaboration helped make the film great.



John du Pont wanted to be idolized by all around him. Showing how unstable he was in real life, Mark Schultz said that after du Pont went to prison, du Pont sent a private eye over to Schultz's house. The private eye asked on behalf of du Pont that Schultz get him out of prison. Schultz filmed it, then promptly slammed the door and sent the footage over to prosecution.


Who says this? "A coach is the father. A coach is a mentor. A coach has great power over an athlete's life."

John du Pont says this, relishing the power a coach has over these young men on the Foxcatcher’s team. Did you know Steve Carell claimed that according to director Bennett Miller's wishes there was no joking between takes, and he did not socialize with the co-stars after work.


What action of Mark and his teammates sets John off?

Mark and his teammates in Foxcatcher take the morning off from training to watch mixed martial arts (MMA) on TV. This angers du Pont and he yells at Mark and tells him that he will get his brother to join Team Foxcatcher since he has failed do it.


Who is talking? “Mark, we as a nation have failed to honor you. I want to see this country soar again.”

Du Pont is trying to convince Mark of his plans for the training camp and for the Olympic team he is going to train. Steve Carell wore various prosthetic noses with camera and lighting tests. His makeup took two hours to put on, including hairstyling and makeup to change his skin tone.


Who portrays Dave’s wife, Nancy Schultz?

Nancy Schultz is portrayed by Sienna Miller, who is a British-American actress, model, and fashion designer. She was nominated for the BAFTA Rising Star Award for her role in The Girl. Her film roles include Layer Cake, Alfie, Factory Girl, The Edge of Love, G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra, and American Sniper.


Who says this? "You ungrateful ape!"

Du Pont notices that the team isn’t training and he confronts Mark, who had given the team the morning off to watch MMA (Mixed Martial Arts). He then yells at Mark and slaps his face, calling him an ungrateful ape. Before filming a particularly dark scene, Bennett Miller made Steve Carell write on a piece of paper the thing that he hates the most about himself and then put it in his pocket. Miller told Carell, "Just have it right there and know that it's in a place where, if I was a dick, I could just grab it." According to Miller, the result is the favorite thing that he has put on film.


Who says this? "I've spent my lifetime looking for a father and I have found one in John du Pont."

In a prepared speech written by du Pont, Mark says this to the audience. Both Mark and Dave are from a broken home. Mark and Dave Schultz' father and mother divorced when Mark was three and Dave was four, but raised the brothers through junior high and high school.


Who says this? "You can't buy Dave."

When John du Pont decides he wants Dave as the coach of team Foxcatcher, Mark tells du Pont that he can’t buy Dave. Unfortunately for Mark’s ego, John du Pont is correct, he can buy Dave, offering him a home on the estate and a high salary. Did you know that David "Doc" Bennett, who shot documentaries for John du Pont, actually plays himself in the movie?


Who says this? “You are not alone in this. I am your brother and I love you.”

Dave says this to Mark when Mark goes on an eating binge and needs to drop weight immediately. Although this made it more interesting for the movie, the real Mark Schultz left Foxcatcher Farm in 1988 and his brother Dave didn't arrive until 1989. The movie overlaps their stays to condense the story into a period of time from 1984 to 1988.


Under what circumstances does Dave continue to live at du Pont’s estate?

After Mark loses his matches in Seoul, he leaves Team Foxcatcher, although Dave continues to live at du Pont's estate and coach the team. As a condition for Dave remaining with the team, he negotiates an arrangement with du Pont to continue to support Mark financially. Although the actors portraying Dave and Mark Schultz are over thirteen years apart in age, the real Dave and Mark Schultz were only 16 months and 20 days apart in age.


Who says this to Mark? “Mark, you have been living in your brother's shadow your entire life. It's time. It's your time now."

John du Pont said this to Mark when he was trying to urge him to start living his own life, away from his brother. Speaking of Mark’s brother, did you know Nancy Schultz, who is David Schultz's widow, gave Mark Ruffalo her husband's glasses? The glasses Ruffalo wears in the film are David's actual glasses.


What is the documentary about in the film?

A documentary funded by du Pont is about du Pont's exploits with Team Foxcatcher. During the video Dave is asked to praise him as coach and mentor, but Dave is visually uncomfortable doing so. Du Pont was an interesting character to cast. Director Bennett Miller noted that when he was casting the lead, he didn't want to hire an actor who you might presuppose was capable of murder. He continued "... one thing that was repeated among many, many people who were there, was that nobody believed du Pont was capable of doing what he did."


What does du Pont do after watching his video, which ends with Mark complimenting du Pont?

Towards the end of the movie we see du Pont sitting alone in his mansion's trophy room, watching the documentary about Team Foxcatcher with Mark complimenting du Pont at a ceremony depicted earlier. Du Pont calls his bodyguard and drives to Dave's home.


What does du Pont do when he sees Dave?

Dave is in the driveway, working on his car radio. As Schultz approaches du Pont's car to greet him, du Pont rolls down his window and says, "Do you have a problem with me?" and shoots him three times at close range, killing him. In real life, Du Pont’s former wife, Gale Wenk du Pont, filed a civil suit in 1985, claiming that he had threatened her with both a knife and a gun and tried to push her out of a moving car. Du Pont was more dangerous than most people realized.


What happened when Nancy ran out of the house to get Dave?

Nancy ran to the door and saw the third shot and David crawling toward the porch area of the house. Then du Pont leveled his handgun at Nancy before driving away. The 911 call that Miller places in the movie was taken verbatim from Nancy's real-life 911 call (music was later layered over the scene, which shows an inaudible Miller screaming into the phone). Nancy's children were also present during their father's murder.


Where did du Pont get arrested?

Although in the movie it wasn’t long after he shot Dave that he was arrested at his home, in reality, du Pont had a two-day standoff with the police. He hid out at his mansion (filled with many guns), as the police surrounded the building outside. After he was arrested, du Pont did not give any clear reason for committing the crime.


Which one of these are the end cards in the film?

All three of these are end cards to the movie. After John du Pont died in 2010, according to his will, he was buried wearing his Foxcatcher singlet in a coffin that contained his wrestling medals from the events like the ones depicted in the movie.


What did the critics think of the film?

The film received positive reviews from critics. On the review aggregator, Rotten Tomatoes, 89% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 222 reviews, and an average rating of 8.1/10, with the consensus: "A chilling true crime drama, Foxcatcher offers Steve Carell, Mark Ruffalo and Channing Tatum a chance to shine—and all three rise to the challenge."


What did the fans think of the film?

The audience was not as much in love with this film as were the critics. On a budget of $24 million it only earned a little more than half of that, at $13.6 million. According to Bennett Miller's comments at a screening, a rough cut of the film was more than four hours long.


How many Academy Award nominations did this film receive?

The movie received five nominations, including the prestigious Best Director, Best Actor (Steve Carnell), Best Supporting Actor (Mark Ruffalo), Best Original Screenplay, and Best Makeup and Hairstyling. Although the film did not win any awards from the Academy, it won in other Award Ceremonies.


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