But Bloom and Maguire had a notoriously fiery relationship, giving credence to what has become a popular theory that he is the primary figure behind the character. Maguire wasn’t alone in Bloom’s vast Rolodex of wealthy players, with Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and baseball player Alex Rodriguez among the men named in her memoir. Played by Michael Cera, the actor is dubbed “Player X”, and has been described by writer/director Aaron Sorkin as a composite figure, one used to embody several of the men Bloom encountered and then wrote about in her 2014 memoir, which charted her evolution from Olympic skier to the short-lived doyenne of Hollywood’s elite gambling scene.īut whilst Sorkin is adamant that Player X isn’t inspired by one particular man, the character has been repeatedly described (including in our own review of the film) as having been inspired by the Spider-Man actor Tobey Maguire, who did indeed cross paths with Bloom throughout her poker reign in Los Angeles at the turn of the decade. The poker thriller Molly’s Game features one of the boldest, most infuriating villains of the year – a baby-faced young movie star who belittles Jessica Chastain’s anti-hero Molly Bloom at every turn, takes pride in destroying lives and eventually puts an end to Bloom’s high-stakes poker enterprise, forcing her to up sticks and regroup on the other side of the country.

Molly's game cast in real life