Synopsis

A withdrawn college professor returns to his New York apartment and finds an immigrant couple living there after being deceived by a rental scam. Their unexpected friendship draws him into the city's immigrant community and awakens emotions long kept dormant. When the young man's legal troubles escalate, the professor must confront the human cost of immigration policy and decide how far he is willing to help.

Factoids & Trivia

• The story began with the characters of Walter and Tarek. The immigration theme developed later, after writer Tom McCarthy returned from a state-sponsored visit to the Middle East.

• Richard Jenkins was in McCarthy's mind for the central role from the beginning. McCarthy spent more than two years writing before working with Jenkins to finalize the character.

• The film was shot on location in New York City, including scenes filmed at Wagner College on Staten Island. The production faced competition from the much larger New York shoot of I Am Legend.

• Haaz Sleiman had never played drums before taking the role of Tarek. He practiced for about three hours a day for a month and a half.

• Sleiman suggested that Tarek rehearse in his underwear after watching a documentary about Nigerian musician Fela Kuti. Kuti's music also appears on the soundtrack.

• The film premiered at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival before receiving a limited U.S. release in April 2008.

• The Visitor earned Richard Jenkins an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor and won Tom McCarthy the Independent Spirit Award for Best Director.

• Made for approximately $4 million, the film grossed more than $18 million worldwide.

• A musical adaptation premiered at The Public Theater in New York in 2021.