Reed Birney, the veteran character actor known for supporting roles in shows like House of Cards, The Blacklist and Gossip Girl, has drawn intense attention for his lead performance in Blue Film, a divisive low-budget debut feature from director Elliot Tuttle. At 71, Birney plays Hank Grant, a former teacher who served seven years in prison for attempting to sexually assault a student, in a role widely described as the most challenging and controversial of his career. The film's stark portrayal of a pedophile has sparked debate even before wide release, though many critics have praised Birney's fearless performance.

In the film, Hank hires a sex worker who turns out to be a former student he abused years earlier, using the encounter to confess feelings and seek some form of reckoning, leading to an unsettling exploration of their history together. Made on a budget of under $100,000 and shot in 2024, Blue Film faced repeated festival rejections during postproduction due to its provocative subject matter. Birney, who also served as an executive producer and co-wrote the script with Tuttle over several months, has said he was surprised by the backlash, insisting he never saw Hank as a monster or manipulator but rather as "a sad and broken man."