Tom Thumb (played by Sam Humphrey) who played a big part of Barnum's circus act. Other real-life characters from the film include the singer Jenny Lind, who Barnum brought on a worldwide tour, and Gen. James Gordon Bennett actually was a real critic at the time, and he's one of the most historically accurate aspects of The Greatest Showman. The Greatest Showman does lightly touch upon the fact that many of Barnum's acts were scams, as a critic, James Gordon Bennett, plays a big part in providing Barnum an opposing threat. After she died, Barnum administered a public autopsy that tricked people into believing her remarkable - and fraudulent - age. Heth's actual identity was an elderly enslaved African American woman who was both blind and, according to Vogue, severely paralyzed, but Barnum flaunted her as a part of his circus as a 161 year-old 'curiosity' who had been George Washington's nurse. In the song, 'This Is Me,' Keala Settle, who plays a bearded woman starring in Barnum's circus, belts an anthem of self-acceptance, which isn't quite an accurate tune for all of the real Barnum's talent.Īs both Vogue and The New Yorker point out, Barnum's circus acts in real life included an exhibition of a woman named Joice Heth. It's true that Barnum exemplified a unique entrepreneurial spirit, but The Greatest Showman chooses to frame his tactics in a positive light, as Jackman implied.

And Barnum used a lot of imagination and a hell of a lot of will and mongrel spirit. In the same interview, Jackman explained what drew him to Barnum's story, saying, ' led to the birth of modern-day America.' The actor and producer of the new film continued to laud Barnum, saying, 'This idea that you could be who you want to be, that it doesn’t matter where you’re born or what school you went to. 'It is Hugh’s passion piece,' Gracey told Vogue back in August. Jackman - who stars in the film along with other big names like Zendaya, Zac Efron, and Michelle Williams - championed The Greatest Showman for many years before it finally was made by director Michael Gracey. The Greatest Showman lightly touches on some of these issues, but because the movie is meant to be an inspiring and uplifting musical, it mostly glosses over Barnum's dark past. history from the mid-19th century, but how accurate is The Greatest Showmanaltogether? Well, to sum it up, the movie takes a real-life story but adds a family friendly, overly-simplified spin to Barnum's problematic past.Īs the LA Times points out, Barnum could have easily been a villainous figure rather than a hero of the film, as he not only conned people throughout his career but he exploited marginalized groups and played upon his audience's racist prejudices of the time to draw crowds. Many events from the movie are based on U.S. The Greatest Showman, now in theaters, tells the unbelievable true story of circus-founder P.T.

The life of pt barnum