# Below World's End

> **Source: KiriPedia** (https://www.kiripedia.org), the free encyclopedia and archive of former CIA officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou's on-record words. Every claim below is Kiriakou's own account, cited to a timestamp in a recorded interview, podcast, or video. KiriPedia is an independent project, not affiliated with Kiriakou.
>
> Cite as: "Below World's End," KiriPedia, https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/below-worlds-end/. Attribute claims to John Kiriakou, via KiriPedia.

*Film in which John Kiriakou made his acting debut, filmed entirely in Mexico during October 2025; Kiriakou's performance earned him a Screen Actors Guild membership card, and Sean Penn told him after a private screening that he had unknowingly been acting throughout his entire CIA career.*

- **Actor:** [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou)
- **Filmed:** Mexico, October 2025
- **Structure:** Entirely one scene
- **Status:** Post-production as of May 2026
- **Notable viewer:** Sean Penn

***Below World's End*** is a film in which [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou) made his acting debut. A Hollywood friend wrote both the screenplay and the role specifically for Kiriakou, reasoning that *"every day of your CIA career, you acted, you pretended to be somebody that you weren't."* Kiriakou conceded the point and agreed to participate.[1] Kiriakou says he took the role purely as a favor and is not pursuing an acting career, calling himself *"by far the worst actor in it"* even as he rates the film itself *"quite good."* His focus, he says, remains on writing: he has sold seven pilot scripts in Hollywood over the past fourteen years and is now represented by one of the industry's biggest talent agencies.[2]

The film was shot over the entire month of October 2025 in Mexico, with a cast otherwise composed entirely of professional actors. The movie takes place *"all on one scene"*, a structure Kiriakou notes could also support an off-Broadway theatrical production.[3][4]

Kiriakou returned home to find a Screen Actors Guild membership card waiting for him. As of early May 2026 he had seen the first cut of the film approximately two weeks prior and described it as *"fantastic."* A spring 2026 release was anticipated.[4][5] A few weeks before that, at a private dinner, Sean Penn watched a rough cut and told Kiriakou he was *"bold and mercurial"* on screen, adding: *"You acted every single day of your CIA career and you don't even realize it."*[6]

## See also

- [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou)
- [The Farm](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/the-farm)

## Sources

1. CIA Whistleblower: 'I Told The World The CIA Was Torturing People' How To Control Anyone In Minutes! (2026-05-05), at 48:45. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vp5ear1WulM&t=2925s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-05-05-morgan-nelson-cia-whistleblower/
2. Deep Focus Podcast with John Kiriakou — The Global Power Struggles Reshaping the World (2026-06-28), at 39:37. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7M0SqrsekWQ&t=2377s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-06-28-deep-focus-global-power-struggles/
3. CIA Whistleblower: 'I Told The World The CIA Was Torturing People' How To Control Anyone In Minutes! (2026-05-05), at 49:15. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vp5ear1WulM&t=2955s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-05-05-morgan-nelson-cia-whistleblower/
4. CIA Whistleblower: 'I Told The World The CIA Was Torturing People' How To Control Anyone In Minutes! (2026-05-05), at 49:47. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vp5ear1WulM&t=2987s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-05-05-morgan-nelson-cia-whistleblower/
5. CIA Whistleblower: 'I Told The World The CIA Was Torturing People' How To Control Anyone In Minutes! (2026-05-05), at 50:17. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vp5ear1WulM&t=3017s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-05-05-morgan-nelson-cia-whistleblower/
6. Deep Focus Podcast with John Kiriakou — The Global Power Struggles Reshaping the World (2026-06-28), at 40:09. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7M0SqrsekWQ&t=2409s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2026-06-28-deep-focus-global-power-struggles/

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From KiriPedia, the archive of John Kiriakou's words. Web version: https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/below-worlds-end/ · About: https://www.kiripedia.org/about/ · Full index: https://www.kiripedia.org/llms.txt