Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln (2012) The British actor won an Oscar—his third—for playing our 16th president in this Steven Spielberg drama that centered on the Civil War. Sam Rockwell, Vice (2018) He wore a prosthetic nose and mouthpiece to portray President George W. Bush opposite Christian Bale as Dick Cheney. Robin Williams, Night at the Museum (2006) The comedian was so memorable and spot-on as “rough rider” Teddy Roosevelt in this Ben Stiller comedy romp, he reprised the role in two sequels. Bryan Cranston, All the Way (2016) Cranston, who won a Tony for his portrayal of Lyndon B. Johnson on Broadway, brought the role to this TV movie alongside Bradley Whitford as Hubert Humphrey, Stephen Root as J. Edgar Hoover and Anthony Mackie as Martin Luther King Jr. Charlton Heston, The President’s Lady (1953) and The Buccaneer (1958) He was perhaps best known for playing Moses, but Heston proved himself presidential in these two films, playing Andrew Jackson in both. Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon (2008) Ron Howard directed the movie recreation of the classic sit-down interviews between the former president (Langella) and British talk-show host David Frost (Michael Sheen). Cliff Robertson, PT 109 (1963) and The American Revolution (1994) Robertson, whose acting career included more than 100 TV and movie roles, played two presidents, John F. Kennedy in the earlier film and George Washington in the 1990s documentary miniseries. Greg Kinnear, The Kennedys (2011) He received nominations for an Emmy and a Screen Actors Guild Award for his portrayal of JFK in this 2011 miniseries about America’s most popular first family of the 1960s. James Brolin, The Reagans (2003) The Republican party threatened a network boycott over this depiction of our 40th president (Brolin), which was also disavowed by many of Reagan’s family and associates. Gregory Peck, The Blue and the Gray (1982) An artist/correspondent (Stacy Keach) sees America simmering just before the Civil War erupts in this miniseries, and one of the people he meets is Abraham Lincoln (Peck). Next, 40+ Years of Saturday Night Live Presidential Parodies
