Daniel Day-Lewis will be playing the role of President Abraham Lincoln

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Daniel Day-Lewis will be playing the role of President Abraham Lincoln in Spielberg's next project.

by Adam B. Vary
Categories: Biopics, Casting, Daniel Day-Lewis, Film, Lincoln, News, Steven Spielberg

Finally! Steven Spielberg’s long-gestating biopic of President Abraham Lincoln has got a start date — and its star. Two-time Oscar winner Daniel Day-Lewis will play the man on the five dollar bill in Lincoln, based on Pulitzer Prize-winning author Doris Kearns Goodwin’s best-selling biography of Lincoln’s presidency, Team of Rivals. Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner (Angels in America) has penned the screenplay, which in a release DreamWorks said will likely focus on “the political collision of Lincoln and the powerful men of his cabinet on the road to abolition [of slavery] and the end of the Civil War.” The film is scheduled to begin filming in the fall of 2011, with an anticipated release in the fall of 2012. In August, Liam Neeson announced he’d dropped out of playing the iconic president in the project, which briefly threw the film’s future in doubt.
Seems like the kind of role he was born for. I can see him as Honest Abe already. Best actor of our generation.



planet news's Avatar
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F YEA
This is excellent news.
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I thought Liam Neeson was cast for this.

Did you read?



Nope, I just reply without reading.

Ofcourse I read, that's why I replied.
Liam Neeson was offered this role a few years ago.. I thought they had already began shooting, hence my question.

When I used the word "cast" I meant finalised for the role.

Also, it helps to provide source/link of the news, not just names of reporters.

Anyway, DDL is perfect for this.. eager to see how he'd play the role.



I think he is perfect for this role.
I found out the news this morning, very excited
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will.15's Avatar
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Does anyone care about a movie about Abe Lincoln fighting with his cabinet? I'm a history buff, so I care a little bit, but the two TV mini series that covered this was deadly dull. Doesn't sound like an ideal project foe Spielberg who most likely will tell it dry like Amistad.. The conflict had a lot of humor and could be told basically as a comedy (hick Honest Abe outsmarting his city slickers cabinet) but Spielberg doesn't have the irony and wit to do something like that.



Amistad was dry? I didn't love it, but it was certainly more exciting, I thought, than an historical drama had much right to be. And I'm not sure why the mini-series being dull would matter; Spielberg didn't have anything to do with it, did he?

Anyway, yeah, I'm definitely excited about this.

The conflict had a lot of humor and could be told basically as a comedy (hick Honest Abe outsmarting his city slickers cabinet) but Spielberg doesn't have the irony and wit to do something like that.
Catch Me If You Can might imply otherwise. Fairly serious subject matter told in a slick, humorous way with irony and wit. The protagonist is even outsmarting the government.

I make it a point not to doubt that Steven Spielberg can make something entertaining.



I love Daniel Day-Lewis... and can totally see him as Lincoln... but am having a hard time picturing Neesom (who I also love) in that role... so maybe it's a good thing Liam backed out... I would love to see him do something else along the lines of Rob Roy though... maybe even something with Lewis...
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I would love to see him do something else along the lines of Rob Roy though... maybe even something with Lewis...

I always thought they would make great arch-enemies.



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Abraham Lincoln drinks your milkshake!

Ok, now I am excited to see this. I wasn't before, no. But I love Daniel Day-Lewis, I'd watch him read the phone book.
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Was there not a video about a gay bar and a bunch of Abes in it? No idea why I thought of this, but if I remember right I dont really want to go find it.



I love Daniel Day-Lewis... and can totally see him as Lincoln... but am having a hard time picturing Neesom (who I also love) in that role... so maybe it's a good thing Liam backed out... I would love to see him do something else along the lines of Rob Roy though... maybe even something with Lewis...
Maybe he could do the other Abe Linc movie, the one about his career as a Vampire Hunter.




Haunted Heart, Beautiful Dead Soul
i love that book and do wish it could be turned into a movie. quite simply, this book turns everything you grew up and knowing about Lincoln gets turned upside down and shaken.



will.15's Avatar
Semper Fooey
They put so much make-up on these guys to turn them into Lincoln, it is not inconceivable Neeson could have been effective in the role. Lewis does seem a more natural fit, but I can't off hand think of an actor wh has been bad in the part and they were all different types. I can think off hand of six different actors, all in starring roles, and I'm sure there has been more.



So many good movies, so little time.

I'm very excited about this. I think Daniel Day-Lewis is the perfect pick for this role.

Team of Rivals, on which the movie is based, is one of the best books I have ever read. It is an incredible story that shows the depth, character and intelligence of the most important person in American History.

I also thought Amistad, despite its flaws, was a great movie. Definitely one of the best movies ever made about an American historical event.
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