Help Movieline Cast Barack Obama, John Edwards and the Rest of Game Change
If your jaw is still on the floor following the news that Julianne Moore will play Sarah Palin in Game Change, do me a favor: Pick that sucker up and help Movieline cast the rest of this guaranteed must-watch HBO telefilm! Click ahead for some ML-approved suggestions, and then cast away in the comments section.
Potentially the toughest role to cast, if only because the president is so obviously iconic -- though, to be fair, you could have said the same thing about Sarah Palin, and producers Jay Roach and Danny Strong didn't waste much time in selecting Moore as her screen stand-in. The pick here seems to be Anthony Mackie, if only because this is one role Orlando Bloom can't get. Other options: Jay Pharoah (why not?), Michael Ealy and Will Smith. But, come on; Big Wilie Style isn't making a TV movie.
It's the role Kevin Tighe was born to play! Not only does John Locke's bad dad look like John McCain, his star wattage is significantly lower than Julianne Moore, something which plays right into the hands of the Palin/McCain relationship. Richard Dreyfuss could be a good alternate, but he gets disqualified for having already played Dick Cheney in W.
Kudos to Jason Sudeikis for a pretty spot-on impersonation of the vice president, but if anyone should play Joe Biden, it's the silver fox himself, John Slattery. Yes, he's infinitely more charming and composed than Biden, but he's also John Slattery. (Figure that Biden's signature hair plugs can be given to Slattery in make-up.)
At this point, isn't Hope Davis contractually obligated to star as Hillary Clinton in any and all HBO movies about politics? Thought so. An interesting alternate choice for Hillary could be Annette Bening. The Kids Are All Right reunion!
Line up your favorite Southern "gentleman" -- Matthew McConaughey, Josh Lucas, Patrick Wilson, James Wolk (not actually a Southern gentleman, but he played one so well on Lone Star). Any one of them can go sleazy, but only Wilson possesses the skills to also manifest that John Edwards gravitas. Of course, this is assuming that Tom Cruise is saving himself for the Aaron Sorkin film about John Edwards. Since, duh.






Comments
Harry Lennix as Obama.
Hope Davis:Hillary::Michael Sheen:Tony Blair
Robert Duvall as John McCain. Crazy? Maybe not so much. . .
I second the Harry Lennix for POTUS. Mackie could play Reggie Love. Michael Hogan (Battlestar Galactica) for Senator McCain, Kevin Tighe as VPOTUS Biden, Hope Davis as Secretary Clinton, Michael Sheen for Jon Edwards.
Wow. That's really perfect. Not crazy at all.
Don Cheadle as Barack Obama. Go on, you know it makes sense.
Jon Voight is the perfect choice to play John McCain...if they can lipo off several of his many chins. The two are equally crazy and share the same political delusions.Second choices would be Ed Asner or Karl Malden.
I've always seen Michael Hogan (Col. Tigh from BSG) as McCain.
I love Hope Davis, but Hillary of late is much more soft jowled, and she has a round nose, too. You need a Kathy Bates type. Or someone like Stockard Channing or Dianne Wiest. Even Joan Allen, tho she is thin as a rail. Laurie Metcalf maybe. Or Toni Colette.
You all should look up a guy named Iman Crosson. He has the best Barack Obama impression anywhere hands down. He's not a famous hollywood actor yet but he has ten's of millions of hits on his impression videos online. must see. besides the other suggested actors look nothing like Barack.
Harry Lennix should definitely play Obama. He's in his mid 40s, tall like Obama and looks and sounds like him. A no brainer. Did I mention he's from Chicago?
HARRY LENNIX as OBAMA. PERIOD!