Narcissist's Playbook is a feature-length documentary exploring one of the most pervasive and often misunderstood mental pathologies in our culture: narcissism.
Shot in seven countries and viewed through the lens of self-confessed, self-aware narcissists who openly share the secrets of how they operate, the film follows their disturbing stories, set against the growing body of wisdom from victims, survivors, scientists and mental health professionals.
By exposing these patterns of behavior directly from the mouths of the narcissists themselves, the film sets out to help its audience recognize manipulation, and by understanding the moves, protect themselves from the lies and abuse.
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Licensed clinical psychologist and Professor Emeritus at Cal State LA, one of the world's leading experts on narcissism and narcissistic abuse. Host of the podcast "Navigating Narcissism" and author of "It's Not You."
Narcissistic abuse recovery expert and CPTSD coach, author of "A Cult of One." Draws on NLP, cognitive behavioral therapy and psychodynamics to help survivors rebuild after abuse.
Neuroscientist and clinical psychologist, Associate Clinical Professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Host of PBS Nova's "Your Brain," exploring the neural basis of narcissistic behavior.
Social psychologist and professor at the University of Georgia. Author of "The Narcissism Epidemic" and "The New Science of Narcissism," with over 120 peer-reviewed papers on the subject.
Clinical psychotherapist with over 35 years in trauma recovery, founder of narcissisticbehavior.net. Author of "The Three Faces of Evil" and creator of therapist training programs for narcissistic abuse recovery.
Forensic and social psychiatrist, formerly of Yale School of Medicine and Yale Law, now with the Harvard Program in Psychiatry and the Law. President of the World Mental Health Coalition, focused on dangerous leadership and public mental health.
Self-aware, diagnosed narcissist who speaks publicly about NPD, known online as "Mental Healness," reaching audiences of millions. In the film, he discloses strategies that validate what survivors report experiencing.
Author and blogger who openly identifies as a narcissist, outlining the mechanics of manipulation across his books, blog and channel. In the film, he details the repeatable "toolkit" used to control and devalue targets.
Author of "Malignant Self Love: Narcissism Revisited," one of the earliest voices to write extensively about narcissistic personality disorder from the inside. Has studied over 1,500 narcissists across more than two decades and openly identifies as having NPD himself.
Self-described narcissist offering a rare female perspective. She articulates tactics such as gaslighting, projection and calculated withdrawal, underscoring how narcissistic abuse transcends gender and context.
Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated actor, musician and activist (Westworld, Thirteen). A leading public voice for survivors of intimate partner violence and coercive control, she co-founded the Phoenix Act to extend statutes of limitations for domestic violence in California. In the film, she illuminates the tactics of grooming and psychological manipulation, and the power of speaking out.
Director of Men in Black, The Addams Family and Get Shorty, and former cinematographer on early Coen brothers films. In his memoir "Call Your Mother," he details a childhood shaped by neglect and narcissistic parenting. In the film, he reflects on how unprotected childhood trauma echoes into adulthood, and how storytelling can reclaim agency.
Award-winning investigative journalist and broadcaster (ITV, Channel 5, Global News), creator and host of "The Storyteller: Naked Villainy." In addition to her reporting on crime and the psychology of abuse, Isla shares her own experience of stalking and narcissistic abuse, bridging investigative rigor with lived insight.
Author of "Goodbye Tammy" and "Third Time Was Not a Charm: Surviving Narcissistic Abuse." A father and advocate who speaks openly about love bombing, gaslighting and trauma bonding during his 12-year marriage, urging more men to break the silence: abuse has no gender.
In 2017, I discovered that the leader of an organization I had been part of for some 12 years was likely a malignant narcissist, and was doing truly evil things to many of my friends. This came as an enormous shock. I had considered the leader, Keith Raniere, a mentor in ethics, scientific thinking and humanitarian endeavors. I realized I had been in a cult for over a decade, and Raniere was a wolf in sheep's clothing.
The organization, NXIVM, was being used by Raniere as a front for deeply immoral and illegal activities. During the next few years, as my friends and I did everything in our power to bring him and his co-conspirators to justice, I began to ask many questions. How did I fall for it? How did I not see it? How was he able to infiltrate my deepest yearnings and have me believe he and I were aligned in our mission?
Raniere was sentenced to 120 years in prison for racketeering and sex trafficking. Bit by bit, my friends and I began to get our lives back and heal our hearts and minds from years of coercive control and manipulation. In my journey of healing, it became my passion to understand the pathologies of leaders like this. It led me to the study of narcissism and narcissistic abuse. I began to realize that the same patterns present in abusive relationships are mirrored identically in certain families, groups, religions, corporations and political parties.
Narcissist's Playbook exposes the epidemic of narcissism fast becoming the accepted default in our world. It is my belief that all the symptoms we are trying to address cannot be truly solved until we understand who is causing them. Many of our world's issues can be traced back to individuals without conscience or empathy. We must take off our rose-colored glasses and recognize that these people exist, and many of them are running the show.
I have the great fortune of working with talented producers and crew members who have intimate experience of narcissistic abuse at the hands of individuals like this. This film is the step-by-step playbook many of us wish we had received years ago, before the profound betrayal, pain and confusion. It is a message to help people see the pattern. Because once you see it, you cannot unsee it, and so much of what has been going on in your life and the world at large begins to make sense. Then, we can become so much more effective in our individual missions.
