At a party recently, a friend and I were talking about Spielberg's Lincoln, and how perfect Daniel Day-Lewis was for the part. We started casting all the other President's we could think of, and throughout the day today I've been trying to do them all, starting from the beginning. I'll post the few that I came up with so far today, and update as I come up with more, but I was interested in what you all thought, and if you had any better suggestions.

The only "rule" I had was it had to be a current living actor, and they had to look as close to the official Presidential portrait as possible.

Oh, and hopefully it goes without saying, but no political discussion, please.

Here's my first suggestion....

George Washington, as played by Patrick Stewart

This one was difficult. Paul Giamatti played John Adams very well in the HBO miniseries, but he didn't really look like him too much. And I had a hard time finding someone with that pinched expression and beady eyes, but maybe you'll agree that this works...

John Adams, as played by Joe Pesci

This one took forever, but once I figured out who he looked like, it fits perfectly...at least IMO.

Thomas Jefferson, as played by Robert Redford

John Adams and Paul Giamatti?

[Edited to add]
Oops. Looks like he actually did play him.

Looking at what Wikipedia says is the official portrait, it 1. isn't the one you posted and 2. makes a good case for Giamatti IMO.

It gets harder as you get further from Jefferson, and closer to Lincoln....the Presidents in between that didn't get a dollar or a coin have a lot of known names but not well-known faces.

James Madison, as played by Jason Isaacs

He's gone now, but what do you think?

[rimg=180,277]http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120413063646/muppet/images/0/01/Mr_Hooper.jpg[/rimg]

This one probably didn't look much like the actor all around, but the specific pose in the portrait I think looks like...

James Monroe, as played by Sean Penn

Linda, if not Mr. Hooper, my next choice among the dearly departed would be John Houseman. "We drafted our Constitution the old fashioned way. We earrrrrrrned it."

Honestly, I just gave up on this one. The actor already played him in a movie, and the only better choice would be "Wonderful Life" era Lionel Barrymore.

John Quincy Adams, as played by Anthony Hopkins

In a weird way, if you used a lot of makeup, Hugh Grant could play this one (assuming John Kerry doesn't take up acting anytime soon). But I went with a different Hugh...

Andrew Jackson, as played by Hugh Laurie

This one was pretty obvious, at least to me...

Martin Van Buren, as played by Jim Broadbent

Can't Daniel Day-Lewis just play all of them?

Next, you'll have to assign directors to each movie, you know.



Andrew Johnson




Calvin Coolidge




Ulysses S Grant

I'm voting for Philip Seymour Hoffman as Taft. I don't even need to post a picture, you all know it would work.

William Henry Harrison, as played by James Cromwell.

[thumb300]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c5/William_Henry_Harrison_daguerreotype_edit.jpg/502px-William_Henry_Harrison_daguerreotype_edit.jpg[/thumb300][thumb300]http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120312013840/westwing/images/2/23/JamesCromwell.jpg[/thumb300]

John Tyler as played by Bernie Koppell:

That one is perfect. I couldn't think of anybody other than Peter Cushing or Adrien Brody with a LOT of help from the makeup department.

This one I had trouble with, and I'm not satisfied, but I can't think of anyone else...

James K. Polk as played by Terrence Stamp

Strangely, this one only works if I go with a photo instead of the portrait...

Zachary Taylor, as played by Mel Brooks

If this actor keeps putting on weight, he'd be a shoo-in.

Millard Fillmore, as played by Alec Baldwin

This one was another obvious one for me...

Franklin Pierce, as played by Michael Fassbender

Oh, and Robert Redford would also be a good Jimmy Carter, IMO.