A look back at portrayals of prominent political figures shows that it's mostly been a mixed bag. Not everybody can be Daniel Day-Lewis and seamlessly blend into his role in Steven Spielberg's Lincoln. Julianne Moore definitely looked the part of Sarah Palin in Game Change, although Ed Harris' John McCain was a bit shaky. Josh Brolin's George W. Bush was passable, but I wouldn't wish Thandie Newton's Condoleeza Rice even on the worst National Security Advisor in history. Lee Daniels' The Butler is going to have more portrayals of major historical figures than all of those movies combined, and thanks to a tweet from Oprah Winfrey herself, we're getting a look at the most intriguing of them all.
The photo shows Oprah and Daniels along with Alan Rickman and Jane Fonda as Ronald and Nancy Reagan. Fonda's hiring was pretty controversial considering her politics, although they've been dead silent about her playing a right-wing media mogul on The Newsroom. Here she actually looks quite a bit like a younger Nancy, while Rickman's Ronald isn't quite on the same level. Rickman's a great actor, so he'll probably nail the role regardless.
The Butler tells the true story of Eugene Allen, an African-American man who served as the White House butler for over 30 years under 8 Presidents, watching the evolution of the civil rights movement from a unique perspective. Forest Whitaker stars as Allen, along with Oprah Winfrey, David Oyelowo, John Cusack, Minka Kelly, James Marsden, Liev Schreiber, Robin Williams, Mariah Carey, Cuba Gooding Jr., Lenny Kravitz, Terrence Howard, Alex Pettyfer, Vanessa Redgrave, and Nelsan Ellis.
