publisher of The New York Times Elya Baskin as Anatoly Dobrynin, Ambassador of the Soviet Union to the United States Larry Strauss as Treasury Secretary C. Douglas Dillon Alex Veadov as Radio Room Operator #3 Henry Strozier as Secretary of State Dean Rusk Walter Adrian as Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson Christopher Lawford as RF-8 Crusader pilot, Commander William Ecker, USN. Lawford, son of Peter Lawford and Patricia Kennedy Lawford, is nephew to President Kennedy and Robert Kennedy Kelly Connell as Press Secretary Pierre Salinger Peter White as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency John McCone Boris Lee Krutonog as Alexander Feklisov (a.k.a. Alexander Fomin), KGB spy Dakin Matthews as Arthur C. Lundahl James Karen as George Ball Dan Ziskie as General Commander of the Tactical Air Command Walter 'Cam' Sweeney (USAF) Caitlin Wachs as Kathy O'Donnell Jon Foster as Kenny O'Donnell, Jr. Marya Kazakova as Soviet Woman Production The film was co-produced by several studios, including New Line Cinema, Costner's Tig Productions and Armyan Bernstein's Beacon Pictures. The Department of Defense co-operated to some extent by allowing the producers to film on several bases. To keep the film "in period," filming took place on ships from the time of the crisis that still existed in the active fleet () and ships that are preserved as museums (). Aircraft (both a preserved F-8 Crusader and Lockheed U-2 spyplane were featured) that still exist from the period were refurbished to appear operational as well. The RF-8 Crusader (and an F-5) and the scenes of Cuba were shot in the Philippines. The air base scene was taken at Clark Air Base, Philippines, a former American facility, which substituted for NAS Key West, Florida, where the actual RF-8As of Light Photographic Squadron SIX TWO (VFP-62) launched from on their Cuban overflight missions. At the time of the shooting, the F-8 was still in the inventory of the Philippine Air Force but was no longer operational. The F-5 was retired in 2005. Reception Box office The film was given a limited theatrical release on Christmas Day 2000, and a wide release on January 12, 2001, with a staggered release to various countries throughout most of the year. The film grossed $66,579,890 worldwide against a production budget of $80 million. Critical response Rotten Tomatoes reports that 83% of 124 critics have given the film positive reviews, with an average rating of 7.2/10. The website's consensus