Q: I was in the movie theater the other day. A trailer for the film "Trumbo" played. I thought I recognized the actor from a soap. Am I right? — Cora of Oak Brook, Ill.

A: If you thought it was Bryan Cranston, who played Doug on "Loving," you were right. The late, great Douglas Marland, who co-created the show with Agnes Nixon, modeled the crusading reporter character on his own life.

After two years on "Loving," Cranston left daytime and pursued prime-time and stage work. He was a winner at both. In "Malcolm in the Middle," he played the father who tried his best but was often perceived as a blithering idiot. For his work on that show he got three Emmy nominations but no wins.

Then came his career-making role: Walter White on "Breaking Bad." He portrayed a dying chemistry teacher who became a drug lord so his family would be financially secure after he died.

This time he garnered three prime-time Emmy nominations (and wins) for the category of best actor.

Cranston's work in "Trumbo" has everyone talking about an Oscar nod. He is already up for best actor for the Screen Actors Guild awards and the Golden Globes.

The real-life Dalton Trumbo went from Hollywood's A-list writer to someone who saw his career crumble when he would not name names of fellow Hollywood artists who had pledged loyalty to the Communist Party.

Even attending one meeting affiliated with the Communist Party made you suspect and an enemy of the country. Trumbo took the Fifth when he was asked to name names. John Wayne, Ronald Reagan and Walt Disney spewed information — even if it was incorrect information. Since Trumbo would not cooperate, the once go-to screenwriter could not sell a script if his name was on it.

Woody Allen's movie "The Front" is based on Trumbo's experiences and that of many other writers. Trumbo would finish one of his Hollywood masterpieces (and there were many, including "Roman Holiday" and "Johnny Got His Gun") and give it to another guy who would take it to the studio and pretend he was the writer. Many such sham screenwriters were given Oscars for "their" work during this era.

After nearly two decades of this process, Kirk Douglas put an end to it for Trumbo. "The blacklist. I even hated the name," Douglas writes in his memoir. "I've spent months thinking of some way to break it ... I realized at that moment what I needed to do. It was right there in front of me all along — why hadn't I seen it? ... I took a deep breath." Douglas goes on to say that he told Trumbo, "When (Spartacus) is in the can, not only am I going to tell them that you've written it, but we're putting your name on it ... your name, Dalton Trumbo, as the sole writer." He continues, "I could feel my heart pounding. Even as I was saying the words, I was still trying to convince myself that this was worth the risk ... The blacklist is broken."

Before he was off the list Trumbo said, "I am one day going to be working openly in the motion picture industry. When that day comes, I swear to you that I will never sign a term contract with any major studio." And he didn't.

To find out more about Lynda Hirsch and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.

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