Master Spy: The Robert Hanssen Story

Based on a real case, the film follows a painstaking hunt inside the FBI as investigators try to expose a mole within their own ranks, a highly trusted agent secretly passing secrets to the Soviet Union. The story shows how analysts chase misleading tips, trace coded communications, and reconstruct the case from fragments of evidence. The tension rests on the contrast between Hanssen's polished, professional demeanor and his hidden allegiance. As investigators close in, ordinary routines, family life, and the machinery of surveillance collide, revealing how a trusted insider can magnify risk for the nation. The focus stays on careful counterintelligence work rather than explosive action, building suspense through deduction and secrecy. It examines how security and due process collide.

Released in 2002 as a television drama directed by Lawrence Schiller, Master Spy stars William Hurt as Robert Hanssen, with Mary-Louise Parker and David Strathairn; Norman Mailer is credited as creator and the project draws on real events and records.

Box office data does not apply to this TV movie since it aired on television rather than in theaters, so no worldwide gross is reported. It circulated primarily through broadcast and home viewing rather than box office success or syndication.

No major awards or nominations are widely listed for this TV film, which aired on television rather than in theaters. The show is primarily noted for Hurt's portrayal and for bringing the Hanssen case to a television audience. Its overall footprint in awards lists is minimal. No major nominations exist.

Reception is mixed in some circles, but the film is understood as a tense look at trust and betrayal inside a respected institution. It probes loyalty, secrecy, and the personal toll of undercover work, with the cast delivering restrained performances that emphasize moral stakes for global viewers and international audiences.