LANGLEY, Va.\u00a0\u2014\u00a0At CIA headquarters, beyond the handsome granite seal on its lobby floor and a wall of stars carved in honor of the agency\u2019s fallen, experts are at work in the complex tasks of spycraft: weapons-trained officers, computer engineers, virologists, nuclear scientists.<\/p>\n
But there are also storytellers, makeup artists, theater majors and ballerinas \u2014 Americans who probably never thought their skills would match the needs of a spy agency. Yet the CIA thought otherwise.<\/p>\n
Though it rarely gets the spotlight, there\u2019s a revolving door of talent between the country\u2019s premiere intelligence agency and its entertainment industry, with inspiration and influence often working both ways. <\/p>\n
The agency is targeting professionals at the intersection of arts and technology for recruitment, CIA officers told The Times, and continues to cooperate with entertainment giants to inspire the next generation of creative spies.<\/p>\n
This month, the agency is assisting a New York Times bestselling author on a young adult book examining the foundations of the CIA laid during World War II. Scenes from a major upcoming film production were just shot at its headquarters, a logistical feat at an intelligence campus tucked away in the Virginia suburbs behind rings of security perimeters, where officers roam cracking down on Bluetooth signals. Another popular streaming TV series will be back at Langley to film this fall.<\/p>\n
But their collaboration goes far deeper than that, officers said. Creative minds in Hollywood and the entertainment industry have long had a role at the Central Intelligence Agency, devising clever solutions to its most vexing problems, such as perfecting the art of disguise and harnessing a magician\u2019s ability to cast spellbinding illusions. Indeed, in the 1950s, a magician from New York named John Mulholland was secretly contracted with the agency to write a manual for Cold War spies on trickery and deception.<\/p>\n
These days, the officers said, creative skills are more valuable than ever in such a technologically complex world.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re only limited by your own imagination \u2014 don\u2019t self-censor your ideas,\u201d said Janelle, a CIA public affairs officer, granted the ability to speak under her first name at the request of the agency. \u201cWe\u2019re always looking for partners.\u201d<\/p>\n
An elusive history<\/p>\n
David McCloskey, a former CIA analyst and author of \u201cDamascus Station\u201d and other spy thrillers, offered several theories on why the agency might be interested in fostering a robust relationship with Hollywood, calling it \u201ca two-way street.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere definitely have been operational applications for espionage,\u201d McCloskey said. \u201cIt\u2019s probably the exception to the rule, but when it happens, it\u2019s compelling.\u201d <\/p>\n
It\u2019s easy to see why CIA leaders would be interested in Hollywood, he said, in part to shape impressions of the agency. \u201cBut their bread and butter business is receiving people to give secrets,\u201d he continued, \u201cand part of that is getting close to people in power.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe closer you are to Hollywood,\u201d McCloskey added, \u201cthat\u2019s a really interesting \u2018in\u2019 to having a lot of interesting conversations.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The CIA\u2019s mission to rescue six American diplomats out of Tehran during the Iran hostage crisis, the subject of the film \u201cArgo,\u201d featured a detailed ruse centered around a fabricated movie project.<\/p>\n
(CIA Museum)<\/p>\n
Some of the CIA\u2019s most iconic missions \u2014 at least the declassified ones \u2014 document the agency\u2019s rich history with Hollywood, including Canadian Caper, when CIA operatives disguised themselves as a film crew to rescue six American diplomats in Tehran during the Iran hostage crisis, an operation moviegoers will recognize as the plot of \u201cArgo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2018Argo\u2019 was almost too far-fetched to even believe,\u201d said Brent, an in-house historian at CIA headquarters. \u201cIt\u2019s almost more Hollywood than Hollywood.\u201d<\/p>\n
Canadian Caper was both inspired by Hollywood and relied on Hollywood talent. Agent Tony Mendez had been a graphic artist before joining the agency and helping craft the mission.<\/p>\n