The distinction between these two men couldn’t be more apparent: O’Neill is thoroughly flawed, but ultimately well-intentioned in trying to do the “right” thing while also creating a stable life for himself.
When you look at a show like The Looming Tower, one of the first things that jumps out is the cast.
The always excellent Jeff Daniels and Peter Sarsgaard are the two heavy-hitters in this ensemble as FBI officer John O’Neill and the CIA’s Martin Schmidt, respectively, and much of The Looming Tower’s dramatic tension comes from the growing divide generated between these two men and their unyielding organizations.
Meanwhile, Schmidt is ceaseless in his commitment to his work (and his cult-like influence over his CIA underlings), which seems to stem more from his desire for control than any desires to make the right call in the war on terror.