Netflix Just Turned One Of America’s Most Infamous True-Crime Stories Into A Gripping New Drama… Jacob Tremblay steps into the role of a young Ted Kaczynski, tracing his transformation from a teenage mathematical prodigy at Harvard to the man behind a decades-long bombing campaign that killed three people and injured 23. With Russell Crowe as the controversial professor Henry Murray and Shailene Woodley as the FBI agent leading the hunt, UNABOMBER moves between Kaczynski’s troubled early years and the investigation that ultimately closed in on him. A notorious case. A side of the story few people know. And one chilling transformation.

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UNABOMBER: Jacob Tremblay Leads Netflix’s New Drama About Ted Kaczynski

Netflix is bringing one of America’s most notorious true-crime stories to the screen from a perspective that goes beyond the Unabomber’s crimes. UNABOMBER, directed by Janus Metz, follows Ted Kaczynski’s path from a teenage mathematical prodigy at Harvard to the man behind a decades-long mail-bombing campaign that killed three people and injured 23 others.

Jacob Tremblay plays the young Kaczynski, while Russell Crowe portrays Harvard psychology professor Henry Murray and Shailene Woodley plays FBI agent Joanne Miller, who leads the hunt for Kaczynski. The film also stars Annabelle Wallis, Alexander Ludwig, Steven Ogg and Marc Menchaca.

UNABOMBER arrived on Netflix on September 25, 2026, and runs for 1 hour and 40 minutes.

Unabomber' true story: What to know about Ted Kaczynski

A Story Told Across Two Timelines

Rather than focusing solely on the nationwide manhunt, Metz structures the film around two connected periods: the development of Kaczynski as a young man and the investigation that ultimately led to his capture.

The director describes the story as an exploration of a young man who becomes increasingly alienated from society before turning to violence as a form of revenge. That approach allows the film to move between Kaczynski’s formative years and the later FBI investigation.

At the center of the earlier timeline is Kaczynski’s time at Harvard. Netflix describes him as a 16-year-old math prodigy who later became the subject of controversial psychological experiments conducted by Professor Henry Murray. Decades afterward, those experiences become part of the story that resurfaces during the investigation into the Unabomber.

For Tremblay, that part of Kaczynski’s life was unfamiliar before he took on the role. He has said he did not know Kaczynski had attended Harvard until reading the script and was struck by the fact that he was already a mathematical genius at 16.

Young man in a collared shirt and tie sits in a dimly lit room, attached to a polygraph test device, with a microphone in the foreground, appearing tense or wary.

Russell Crowe Plays The Harvard Professor At The Center Of Kaczynski’s Early Years

Russell Crowe plays Henry Murray, the Harvard professor whose controversial psychological experiments become an important part of the film’s portrayal of Kaczynski’s early life.

The relationship between Murray and the young student forms one of the story’s key dramatic threads, while the later investigation introduces a very different kind of pressure as the FBI works to identify and capture the Unabomber.

Netflix’s official synopsis describes the film as following Kaczynski’s transformation from Harvard prodigy and test subject into the infamous Unabomber, with his troubled past resurfacing as the manhunt unfolds.

Metz has said that Kaczynski’s Harvard years were one of the aspects that particularly attracted him to the project. While the Unabomber case is widely known, the director was interested in exploring this earlier period and the darker chapter of American history surrounding it.

Shailene Woodley Plays The FBI Agent Hunting Kaczynski

Shailene Woodley takes on the role of Joanne Miller, the FBI agent tasked with tracking down Kaczynski during the bombing campaign. The character is fictional, but she provides the film with a central investigative perspective as the manhunt progresses.

Woodley sees an interesting parallel between Miller and Kaczynski: both characters are unwilling to ignore their instincts. Their motivations, however, lead them in completely different directions.

That contrast gives the film another layer as the two timelines gradually move toward the same point — Kaczynski’s eventual capture.

A man and woman in formal attire have a serious discussion in a dimly lit office, standing over a desk covered with papers and old-fashioned equipment, creating a tense atmosphere.

Jacob Tremblay Chose To Play Kaczynski As A Person, Not A Caricature

Metz considered Tremblay a natural fit for the younger version of Kaczynski, pointing to the actor’s combination of vulnerability, intelligence and sensitivity.

The director also believed Tremblay could carry the film’s dual narrative, particularly the scenes depicting Kaczynski as a young student before his transformation into the figure known around the world as the Unabomber.

Tremblay, meanwhile, approached the role by trying to portray Kaczynski as a real person rather than reducing him to a familiar image of a notorious criminal.

He drew partly on his own experience of working in environments where he was surrounded by people older than himself, using that feeling of not fitting in to help understand the character’s early sense of isolation.

The result is a performance designed to focus on the younger Kaczynski and the circumstances presented in the film rather than treating him simply as a one-dimensional villain.

Two men in formal attire are in a dimly lit interrogation room with a green table, microphones, and a film projector. One man stands by the projector while the other sits, suggesting a tense interview or investigation setting.

The Cast Behind UNABOMBER

Alongside Tremblay, Crowe and Woodley, the film features a supporting cast that includes:

  • Annabelle Wallis (Peaky Blinders, Malignant) as Christiana Morgan, Henry Murray’s academic partner and co-director of the Harvard Psychological Clinic
  • Alexander Ludwig (Earth Abides, The Hunger Games)
  • Steven Ogg (Snowpiercer, The Walking Dead)
  • Marc Menchaca (The Dead of Winter, Dexter: Resurrection)

The central cast brings together the three perspectives that drive the film: Kaczynski’s formative years, Murray’s role at Harvard and the FBI investigation that eventually closes in on him.

A person wearing a black cap and jacket holds a handgun and aims it in a dense, green forest, appearing alert and focused in a tense outdoor setting.

A Real-Life Case Revisited Through Its Origins

The Unabomber case remains one of the defining domestic terrorism investigations in modern American history. Rather than beginning with the finished portrait of Ted Kaczynski, UNABOMBER uses his earlier years to examine how the young Harvard student depicted in the film became the target of a massive FBI investigation.

The story moves between ambition, isolation, psychological experimentation and the eventual manhunt, creating a structure that connects Kaczynski’s early life with the consequences that followed decades later.

Netflix categorizes the film as a drama, thriller and movie based on real life, emphasizing that it is inspired by true events rather than presented as a documentary account.

Janus Metz Directs The Netflix Film

A woman in a suit leans on a conference table in an office, appearing serious and focused. The background features a large map, bulletin board with notes, a desk phone, and documents, suggesting an investigative or professional setting.

Metz directs UNABOMBER from a screenplay by Sam Chalsen and Nelson Greaves, known for their work on Sleepy Hollow. Sophie Cassidy produces for 2.0 Entertainment in association with MRC, while Donald J. Lee, Sam Chalsen and Nelson Greaves serve as executive producers.

Metz previously directed Borg vs McEnroe and All the Old Knives, bringing the project a film-focused approach to a story that combines crime investigation with psychological drama.

UNABOMBER Is Now Streaming On Netflix

UNABOMBER premiered on Netflix on September 25, 2026. The film is currently available to stream, with Jacob Tremblay, Russell Crowe and Shailene Woodley leading a story that connects Ted Kaczynski’s teenage years at Harvard with the FBI pursuit that eventually brought the Unabomber case to a close.