The film’s deep cast is a virtue, also sporting the likes of Lenny Clarke, Chris Messina, Michael Rispoli, and David Arias. And Kevin Pollak said in an interview a few years ago that he was eager to appear on Billions in part because he’s a poker guy and he knew the two writers had credibility with the game. Both even featured Malkovich as a Russian guy. This is set in a world of New York City money and testosterone that’s a little bit different than their future show, although both Rounders and Billions feature witty dialogue and a deep bench of talented character actors.
John Dahl directed the film, which was written by David Koppelman and David Levien, the future co-creators of Billions.
