Sure, Nick Cannon and Elijah Wood were born in the early 1980s -- long after Sen. Robert F. Kennedy's death -- but that doesn't mean the actors didn't know who the iconic political figure was and what he stood for.

And working on the new drama "Bobby" only brought those understandings to a higher level.

"He was a great hope for people and a true unifier, and I don't know if the country has ever really fully recovered from that," Wood told me in a recent @ The Movies interview. "This film is about that collective heartbreak of America when Bobby Kennedy was killed."

"Bobby" is a unique amalgam of fact, fictional characters and real footage of Kennedy himself interspersed throughout. Written and directed by Emilio Estevez, the film examines the lives of 22 fictional characters in the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles on the day leading up to the fateful eve of Kennedy's assassination on June 6, 1968.

In addition to Cannon and Wood, the film's diverse ensemble cast includes the likes of Anthony Hopkins, Helen Hunt, Martin Sheen, Demi Moore, Sharon Stone, William H. Macy, Lindsay Lohan, Laurence Fishburne, Freddy Rodriguez, Joshua Jackson and Christian Slater.

"Bobby" opens Thanksgiving Day in theaters nationwide.

Cannon plays Dwayne in the film, an enthusiastic campaign volunteer energized by the change Kennedy promises to bring to the presidency -- and the hope that he gave to the people. Ultimately, Cannon wants that message to resonate with viewers.

"We are in such of a cynical time right now," Cannon told me in a separate @ The Movies interview. "In the 1960s we were facing some of the same things as we are today, but we had hope. I hope this film can give some of that hope back. That's what Kennedy stood for."

Wood plays William, a military draftee who marries Diane (Lohan) in a rushed ceremony to qualify for a technicality that will divert him from being stationed in Vietnam.

The actor praised Estevez for bringing the various characters' stories together to represent "the fabric of life in America" at the time.

"It's a massive tapestry of various kinds of people that represent different social structures, social differences, different political opinions and the political climate at the time," Wood said. "He weaves these stories together, which leads to Bobby Kennedy's speech at the ballroom at the Ambassador and ultimately, his assassination."

Much to the benefit of the younger cast members in the cast, Estevez cast veteran actor/activists like Harry Belafonte. Hanging out with Belafonte on the set when he could, Cannon said he learned everything about the late 1960s that he could from the legendary humanitarian.

"He told me, 'This was a time where we stood for something,'" Cannon recalled. "'If we had a problem, we stood up and we dealt with it. To this day, there are so many ways that we can be active.'"

"And that's what I plan to do from now on," Cannon added. "I won't go into politics, but I will be involved in social issues. I definitely want to be a humanitarian and a philanthropist."