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60 free The Truman Show trivia questions with answers — entertainment quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
55 free The Truman Show trivia questions with answers. The Truman Show trivia for people who still say "good afternoon, good evening, and good night" when they leave a room. This quiz covers the whole film: what Truman notices going wrong in Seahaven, how he finally gets out, and who was pulling the strings in the control room. It also digs into how the movie got made — the darker New York-set script it started as, the directors who were considered before Peter Weir, the actor who was replaced as Christof two days into filming, and the Florida town that stood in for Seahaven. The back half turns to the awards, the box office and the strange afterlife of the film, from a psychiatric syndrome named after it to its influence on Barbie and Wicked. Questions run from easy to expert, and every answer was checked against the film's production history and primary reference sources before it went in.
30 of 60 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Who directed The Truman Show?
Peter Weir
The Australian director had previously made Witness and Dead Poets Society, and he waited a full year for his lead actor to become available rather than recast.
Q 02Who wrote the screenplay for The Truman Show?
Andrew Niccol
The New Zealand-born writer went on to write and direct Gattaca, and his original deal included a chance to make his directing debut on this film.
Q 03What is the name of Truman's hometown?
Seahaven Island
The whole town sits inside an enormous soundstage in Los Angeles, and every neighbour is an actor or crew member.
Q 04The majority of the film was shot in which real master-planned community?
Seaside, Florida
The pastel New Urbanist town in the Florida Panhandle was suggested by the director's wife after scouting in eastern Florida came up empty.
Q 05Who plays Christof, the creator of the show within the film?
Ed Harris
He stepped in after another actor departed early in production, and earned an Oscar nomination for the part.
Q 06Which actor started production as Christof but left soon after filming began?
Dennis Hopper
He later said he was fired after two days under a deal that let both the director and producer veto his performance.
Q 07The staged "death" of Truman's father was orchestrated to instill which fear in Truman?
Thalassophobia (the sea)
The cast reinforced it with constant messages about the dangers of travelling and the virtues of staying home.
Q 08How did Truman's father supposedly die when Truman was a child?
A boating accident
The scenario was engineered by the show to keep Truman from ever wanting to cross the water off the island.
Q 09Where does Truman dream of travelling to?
Fiji
He was told the woman he really loved had moved there, and he keeps a composite of her face pieced together from magazine clippings.
Q 10What is the name of the activist group campaigning for the show's star to be liberated?
Free Truman
The extra who tried to tell Truman the truth joins the group after she is fired and removed from the set.
Q 11What is the name of Truman's wife in the show?
Meryl
The producers intended for Truman to fall in love with and marry her, but the marriage is stilted and she breaks character when he holds her at knifepoint.
Q 12Laura Linney studied what to develop her character's poses?
1950s Sears catalogs
Her character is an actress named Hannah Gill, so every gesture had to look like a woman performing the role of a perfect wife.
Q 13Who plays Marlon, Truman's best friend?
Noah Emmerich
His real name in the film is Louis Coltrane, and he is the one sent to Truman's house to discover the empty basement.
Q 21Which producer bought the script in 1993 for slightly over $1M?
Scott Rudin
The deal originally called for the screenwriter to make his directing debut, and the studio paid him extra to step aside.
Q 22Which filmmaker was in negotiations to direct before leaving his talent agency in March 1994?
Brian De Palma
After he fell away, Tim Burton, Terry Gilliam, Barry Sonnenfeld and others were considered before the eventual director signed in early 1995.
Q 23The film's star was then commanding $20M per picture. What fee did he accept for this role?
$12M
He said it was the fastest he had ever accepted a role, wanting to be seen as more than a comedic actor.
Q 14Which actress plays Sylvia, the extra Truman falls for?
Natascha McElhone
Her character was originally just a background schoolmate named Lauren before Truman noticed her.
Q 15What role does Paul Giamatti play in the film?
A control room director
It was an early screen role for the actor, who was still six years away from Sideways.
Q 16Who plays Mike Michaelson, the TV talk show host who interviews Christof?
Harry Shearer
The Spinal Tap and Simpsons veteran hosts the in-universe special "TruTalk".
Q 17What was the film's production budget?
$60M
That was $20 million under the original estimate, which studio executives had thought too high for a first-time director.
Q 18Roughly how much did The Truman Show gross worldwide?
$264M
It spent its first two weeks at number one at the domestic box office and seven weeks in the top ten.
Q 19What was the title of the screenwriter's original one-page treatment from 1991?
The Malcolm Show
That first draft was a much darker science-fiction thriller, and the writer went through sixteen drafts before it was considered ready.
Q 20Where was the original draft of the script set?
New York City
The sunny small-town setting only arrived once the director pushed for a lighter, funnier tone.
Q 24Which actor was considered for the role of Truman before the part was cast?
Robin Williams
Gary Oldman also shot test footage for the role.
Q 25The director decided to cast his lead after seeing him in which film?
Ace Ventura
The pet-detective performance struck the director as reminiscent of a silent-film great rather than a modern comic.
Q 26The director said his star's performance reminded him of which screen legend?
Charlie Chaplin
The comparison came from watching a broad 1994 comedy, not from any dramatic work.
Q 27Which actor did test footage for the role of Truman?
Gary Oldman
The role ultimately went to a comedian looking to break out of comic typecasting.
Q 28The mirror scene where Truman declares 'this planet Trumania of the Burbank galaxy' was whose idea?
The star's
The star brought several of his own innovations to the role while trying to establish himself as a multifaceted actor.
Q 29Filming was delayed for about a year because the star was committed to Liar Liar and which other film?
The Cable Guy
The director felt he was perfect for the part and chose to wait rather than recast.
Q 30The actor who played Christof pitched an idea for the character that the director rejected. What was it?
Making him a hunchback
The character ended up defined instead by his beret and the giant control room built into the fake moon.