34 actors who have portrayed U.S. presidents
Playing the President of the United States is a tall order, but a huge number of actors have taken on the task over the years. Some of the more consequential presidents (such as Richard Nixon) have many different interpretations, while others (like Nixon's successor, Gerald Ford) only have a handful of depictions by comparison. Film and TV offer compelling stories of presidents facing their toughest challenges and acting in the interest of themselves, the American public, or somewhere in between.
Here are some of the famous faces who have portrayed U.S. presidents — from George Washington to Donald Trump — in film and on TV.
Jeff Daniels plays George Washington as he crosses the Delaware River leading into the Battle of Trenton in 1776 in this A&E TV movie.
Lin-Manuel Miranda's blockbuster musical used colorblind casting in its reimagining of the life of Alexander Hamilton, allowing nonwhite actors to portray historical figures such as Christopher Jackson's George Washington.
Paul Giamatti won an Emmy for his portrayal of the second POTUS in this seven-part HBO miniseries event. The series tracks his experiences during the Revolutionary War to his turn as president to his retirement years.
Stephen Dillane played Adams' vice president, Thomas Jefferson, who eventually ran against him in the election of 1800 and won. Like many others in the John Adams cast, Dillane received an Emmy nomination for his performance.
Anthony Hopkins, in an Oscar-nominated performance, portrayed John Quincy Adams years after serving as the sixth president of the United States. While a member of the House of Representatives, Adams is recruited to help a lawyer looking to defend a group of enslaved people who led an uprising on the titular boat that was bringing them from Cuba to America.
Gregory Peck's first TV role was playing Abraham Lincoln in this three-part miniseries about the American Civil War.
Daniel Day-Lewis swept awards season with his eerily accurate performance as Abraham Lincoln. This Steven Spielberg-directed biopic centers on Lincoln's painstaking efforts to pass the 13th Amendment, abolishing slavery in the U.S.
Kevin Kline played a dual role as a U.S. Marshal and President Ulysses S. Grant in this poorly received Western comedy. Needless to say, this depiction of Grant — which includes him being kidnapped by a man operating a mechanical spider — is not exactly rooted in historical fact.
Robin Williams played a Teddy Roosevelt exhibit come to life in this fantasy comedy. In this universe, Roosevelt is infatuated with a fellow exhibit, Sacagawea (Mizuo Peck).
Jon Voight underwent a major physical transformation to play Franklin D. Roosevelt in the aftermath of the attacks on Pearl Harbor.
Bill Murray became Franklin D. Roosevelt in this drama, which chronicles his relationship with his distant cousin Margaret "Daisy" Suckley (Laura Linney) and a visit by the King and Queen of England to Roosevelt's Hyde Park estate.
Showtime's miniseries about famous first ladies of history included Gillian Anderson as Eleanor Roosevelt, with Kiefer Sutherland as her presidential counterpart.
This filmed version of James Whitmore's one-man show as Harry S. Truman earned him an Oscar nomination.
This decades-spanning film follows the life of butler Cecil Gaines (Forest Whitaker) who served multiple presidents, starting with Dwight D. Eisenhower, as played by Robin Williams.
This Emmy-winning miniseries tracks the Kennedy family and their rise to political power, with Greg Kinnear portraying John F. Kennedy.
Based on the book by Bill O'Reilly, the TV movie Killing Kennedy follows the lives of John F. Kennedy, played by Rob Lowe, and his assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald (Will Rothhaar).
Liev Schreiber portrays Lyndon B. Johnson as he inherits the presidency from John F. Kennedy. He is spurred to pass the Voting Rights Act of 1965 upon seeing Cecil's son marching from Selma as part of the civil rights movement.
Selma dramatizes the events of Martin Luther King Jr.'s (David Oyelowo) efforts to eliminate voting restrictions for Black voters, with Tom Wilkinson portraying President Lyndon B. Johnson's evolution to finally approving the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Bryan Cranston won a Tony for his turn as Lyndon B. Johnson in the 2012 play All the Way and reprised the role four years later in this HBO TV movie.
Oliver Stone's biopic about Richard Nixon — played by Anthony Hopkins — tries to get into the psychology of the man, speculating on his feelings over the Watergate scandal and the JFK assassination.
Dick plays fast and loose with the facts of the Watergate scandal. Dan Hedaya plays Richard Nixon, who finds himself outwitted by two teenage girls whom the film implies to be the legendary whistleblower Deep Throat.
Oscar nominee Frank Langella portrays Richard Nixon three years after his resignation as he is interviewed by British journalist David Frost (Michael Sheen).
Continuing The Butler's parade of famous faces as presidents, John Cusack played Richard Nixon during his highly contentious presidency.
Kevin Spacey plays Richard Nixon in this dramatization of his meeting with Elvis Presley (Michael Shannon) in 1970.
Aaron Eckhart played the rarely portrayed Gerald Ford, Michelle Pfeiffer's frequent scene partner as Betty Ford.
Alan Rickman took on the role of Ronald Reagan, the final president Cecil serves, with whom he has a complicated relationship leading to Cecil's resignation.
Dennis Quaid stars as Ronald Reagan in this biopic told from the perspective of a KGB agent.
W. is primarily a biopic of George W. Bush, though James Cromwell certainly looms large as his presidential father, George H.W. Bush.
The Special Relationship depicts the friendship between President Bill Clinton, portrayed here by Dennis Quaid, and British Prime Minister Tony Blair (Michael Sheen).
Clive Owen transformed into Bill Clinton for the third season of American Crime Story, which depicts the president's scandalous affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky (Beanie Feldstein).
Josh Brolin portrayed George W. Bush in this Oliver Stone comedy, released in the final months of the real-life W.'s presidency.
Sam Rockwell played up the more buffoonish aspects of George W. Bush in Adam McKay's Dick Cheney biopic Vice, earning an Oscar nomination for his performance.
O-T Fagbenle stepped into the shoes of Barack Obama, sharing the screen with Viola Davis as Michelle Obama.
Two-part miniseries The Comey Rule centers on the pivotal lead-up to the 2016 election and its aftermath. Jeff Daniels stars as FBI Director James Comey alongside Brendan Gleeson as Donald Trump.