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Rami Malek as Heller and Caitriona Balfe as Inquiline in 20th Century Studios' The Amateur Photograph: John Wilson

Decode this: could you make it as a double agent?

Rami Malek as Heller and Caitriona Balfe as Inquiline in 20th Century Studios' The Amateur Photograph: John Wilson

Would your enemies underestimate your spycraft? Would your friends? Take our quiz, inspired by the 20th Century Studios espionage thriller The Amateur, to find out.

When Charlie Heller (Rami Malek) learns his wife has been murdered in a terrorist incident, he demands revenge. And when his superiors refuse to take action, he shakes off his life as a brilliant intelligence analyst to track down those responsible.

Does he have what it takes to become a field agent? Can his smarts put him ahead of those who underestimate his capabilities? The Amateur, also starring Laurence Fishburne as Henderson and Jon Bernthal as a field veteran, is coming to cinemas on 10 April, and we want to know if you have the intellect to join Charlie on his mission of revenge.

Take our entrance exam to see if you are operating at Charlie’s level, or if you bring a different set of skills to the task.

  1. 1.The ancient Scytale cipher was used by which army to share secret messages?
  2. 2.Rami Malek stars in The Amateur as an introverted analyst forced to take drastic action. Which of the following secret codes can be turned back into his name using the ROT13 cipher?Rami Malek is pictured, starring as Heller in 20th Century Studios' THE AMATEUR. He leans against a building corner, looking mysterious.
  3. 3.Kryptos is a sculpture by the artist Jim Sanborn on the grounds of the CIA headquarters, in Langley, Virginia. Since it was unveiled in 1990, how many of its five encrypted messages have been decoded?
  4. 4.The famed Bletchley Park in England was home to the code-breaking machine that decoded messages from the German Enigma machine during the second world war. What was the code-breaking machine called?
  5. 5.A double agent needs to be comfortable switching between multiple codes. In the Nato phonetic alphabet, CIA is Charlie India Alpha. What is it in the APCO system used widely among US law enforcement?
  6. 6.Spies sometimes leave packages at secret locations so they can pass on information without meeting a contact in person. These locations are known as what?
  7. 7.Undercover spies who will be on their own if they are discovered are sometimes referred to as NOCs. What does NOC stand for?Rami Malek stars as Heller in 20th Century Studios' THE AMATEUR. He's pictured here wearing dark sunglasses and a backpack, looking mysterious.
  8. 8.A covert listening device known as The Thing was given to the US ambassador to the Soviet Union in 1945, hidden within a gift. Designed by the Russian inventor Leon Theremin, most famous for his eerie musical instrument, the microphone was inside a carved wooden Great Seal of the United States. How long did it take to be discovered?
  9. 9.The Amateur is based on a novel of the same name by Robert Littell. In which year was it published?
  10. 10.Just one clue: 10-April. Can you decode these secret messages to find the final answer?Laurence Fishburne stars as Henderson in 20th Century Studios' THE AMATEUR. Here he is pictured sitting on a couch on the phone in a darkened room, looking suspicious.

20th Century Studios The Amateur is only in cinemas 10 April 2025

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