Image Credit: Keadrick D. Washington/PR Photos
Steven Spielberg has cast Good Night, and Good Luck Oscar nominee David Strathairn in a major supporting role in his upcoming biopic Lincoln.
Strathairn will play Secretary of State William Seward, which perhaps sounds a little dry, except Seward was a historical badass.
Not only was Seward a fierce abolitionist and a close ally of the 16th president throughout the Civil War, but he also orchestrated purchase of the land that would become Alaska (known at the time as “Seward’s Folly”). He was at his most ninja when targeted by the same group of assassins led by John Wilkes Booth…
Seward was at home, recovering from injuries sustained in a carriage accident when the would-be assassin arrived to stab him to death on the same night Lincoln was shot. Despite being in poor health, he fought off the attacker and escaped with only slashes, surviving another four years. (For more on cool old guys like Seward, consult your local librarian!)
Daniel Day-Lewis will star as Abraham Lincoln in the movie, while Sally Field plays First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln, and Tommy Lee Jones, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and John Hawkes co-star in the movie, based on the Doris Kearns Goodwin book Team of Rivals. Angels in America playwright Tony Kushner adapted the script.
Filming is set to begin this fall in Virginia, with plans to debut the movie in late 2012.
Strathairn is one of those actors whose face many people know, if not his name. Apart from starring a crusading journalist Edward R. Murrow in Good Night, and Good Luck, he was also the villainous CIA director in 2007′s The Bourne Ultimatum, and the righteous sheriff in the 1987 union-busting drama Matewan, among many other roles. (For more on cool character actors like Strathairn, consult your local librarian!)
Read more:
Steven Spielberg’s ‘Lincoln’ adds team of rivals: Tommy Lee Jones, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, John Hawkes
Steven Spielberg’s ‘Lincoln’ gets its Mary Todd: Sally Field
Daniel Day-Lewis to play President Lincoln in Steven Spielberg biopic
omg. amazing. can’t wait. long live the union!
Shouldn’t we all admit Spielberg isn’t what he used to be?
Yeah. Daniel Day Lewis is a good reason to give it a shot. But I know Spielberg will bungle it.
I expect dramatic war scenes to dramatic music in slow motion; big massive turning points in a man’s life due to seemingly inconsequential events, of course some kind of early childhood explanation for honest abe. Some romantic, hollywood liberal depiction of race and honest abe saving the day
we all know how the movie will turn out. but hey, give him credit if he nukes the fridge
Okay, I’m sorry. Daniel Day-Lewis as Lincoln? What are they going to do, have him wear platform shoes to get him to the height required for him to loom over all of his compatriots like Lincoln did.
I am totally not liking the casting on this one so far (and not just the height thing for the historically accurate, like me).
And I totally agree that Spielberg will bungle it.
Lincoln was 6’4″, Day-Lewis is nearly 6’2″. As this is a movie, I think we can all suspend disbelief when it comes to a 2 inch difference in height. Especially when it’s an actor of the caliber of Daniel Day-Lewis. He has an Oscar for each inch he’s missing on Lincoln. Maybe they can just make his hat 2 inches in higher so you can actually enjoy the movie? The idea that Spielberg will bungle it is laughable. Jaded morons will think he blew it no matter how good it is, and even bigger morons will say he blew it months before he even starts filming it.
I thought he did a pretty good job with Amistad. I’ve always thought that was totally underrated. This sounds like it could be in a similar vein.
Yeah. Anyone else worried the movie is going to end with Lincoln being resurrected by happy glowing aliens?
I don’t expect this movie to meet my expectations but i’m hoping it does.
Cannot wait!
OMG, your story was so funny. My son is now 17, but he was the worst with shots. I know what you mean about being embarrassed.We would go to the helath department to get his shots. Sometimes there would be a long line of people waiting for flu shots.My son would cry and scream and carry on about shots while the line crawled on. Then he would start begging, then negotiating …In fact, he still does not like shots and will beg like a baby if the doctor wants to give him one.
Fantastic!!! I loved his performance in Temple Grandin on HBO last year!
I love Daniel Day-Lewis and David Strathairn, but I wish Spielberg were casting less well-known actors in this movie–I don’t want to be thinking about Tommy Lee Jones and Sally Field while I’m watching something ostensibly historical. I haven’t read DKG’s book yet, but I have been reading about President and Mrs. Lincoln in the last 2 or 3 weeks. I didn’t realize it until I read this piece, but when Seward was in the carriage accident, Lincoln was kind of stuck in the newly-liberated Richmond and then City Point. One of the first things Lincoln did when he got back to Washington was to visit his friend, who was so weak that Lincoln had to lay down on his bed to talk with him. This was just days before the assasination, so it’s remarkable that Seward (and his son) had the strength to fight off his attacker. It’s still shocking after all this time, the extent to which they intended to destroy the government.
Between JFK, The Fugitive, Men in Black, No Country For Old Men, In the Valley of Elah, and The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, Tommy Lee Jones has shown himself to be a monster of acting… and I’m sure Sally Field has done some good work too (something about two Oscars).
So far the film sounds like pitch-perfect casting.
TLJ was great in the Sunset Limited and The Company Men as well.
Tommy Lee Jones only has one Oscar.
th said Sally Field has 2 Oscars (which she does), not Tommy Lee Jones.
I sort of agree, especially since now when I see Sally Field all I can think of are those annoying “Boniva” comercials..
Seward didn’t actually fight off the attacker at all. It was mostly an army nurse George Robinson, and Seward’s oldest son, both of whom were also cut. Seward was cut on both sides of the face and then rolled out of the bed on the far side so Powell couldn’t get him anymore. Seward was indeed a historical badass but this article is not very accurate.
L.A. Confidential you left out where he played Pierce Patchett.
I LOVE L.A.Confidetial and he was great as Pierce Moorehouse Patchett!
Definitely.
Thanks for rectifying. One of his best.
LA Confidential was just about perfect. Don’t get me started on Titanic winning over this amazing film and Strathairn was perfectly cast.
I bet this won’t be the highest grossing film , but I have no doubt this will be a movie people talk about come Oscar time 2013.
great actor! Ashamed he hasn’t received an Academy Award yet.
I just hope they stay true to the actual history of the night. Seward survived because of a man named George F. Robinson, a civil war vet and night nurse to Seward.
What about ‘A League of Their Own’ or ‘The River Wild’? He’s amazing in everything he does. He’s nice to look at, too.
My history with Straithairn goes back to when he was a regular on NBC’s The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd as Molly’s boss/boyfriend, Moss. Great series! I’m anxious for this film I’ve been fascinated by The Lincolns since seeing The Last of Mrs. Lincoln stage production with Julie Harris. Imagine if we had a First Couple such as The Lincolns in a tabloid era??? Yikes!
Mine too! I always think of him as Moss.
I find history fciisnatang. All sorts of things come to light if you dig enough. I was familiar with the first quote, I didn’t know about the second. Not that it matters now, but from my reading, it looks like the Civil war had more to do with Ego’s than anything else. David
Wait…he’s not playing Lincoln? He’d make an amazing Lincoln!
No , Speilberg got the best actor alive for that role instead.
This article is hysterical!…words like ninja and badass to describe a historical figure…LOL
It’s true, though. Seward was a total badass. Though as we all know, the most badass president ever was Teddy Roosevelt. Someone needs to make a biopic of him, because he’s one of the coolest people to ever have walked the plaent. I’m not even joking. TR was amazing.
There WAS a really good biopic made – “Rough Riders.” Tom Berenger played TR. It’s available on DVD.
Strathairn is amazing…cannot wait for this movie.
I’m interested to see who they cast as John Wilkes Booth and Lewis Powell (aka the hottest would-be assassin in history….look him up).
Still think Sally Field as Mary Todd is kind of a weird fit.
agreed. isn’t sally field a lot older than DDL? I don’t know how old they are supposed to be or anything. maybe the Lincoln-beard will age him.
Yes, Sally is 64 and Daniel is 54. But I always think of Daniel as younger than that, and Sally as older than that.
Lincoln was 56 when he died, and Mary Todd was 47 at that time. Sally Field just doesn’t seem right.
Strathairn was great in Dolores Claiborne as well. For the little role he had in At Close Range he was quite good in that too. One Hell Of An Actor Period.