Best (actor-potrayed) President

that's got to be one of the funniest misidentifications ever on sj

 

If Mary Matalin was President Roslin, then I'd be rooting for the Cyclons.

 

jeff bridges was solid as jackson evans in the contender. don't think he's top 5 material, but top 10 at least. travolta should also get a nod here.

 

But does Travolta qualify? He was just playing a presidential candidate.

Going old school, I can't believe I didn't list Henry Fonda (Fail-Safe) or Peter Sellers (Dr. Strangelove). Two similarly themed movies, but played very differently and very, very well.

"Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the war room!"

 

REALITY DIVISION: As well as Giamatti in "John Adams," Stephen Dillane as Thomas Jefferson and David Morse as George Washington were very, very good.

Anthony Hopkins as John Quincy Adams in "Amistad."

Fonda played fictional presidents in "Fail-Safe" (1963), and "Meteor" (1977), in addition to Lincoln.

 

Anyone could make a great speech and look presidential when you get 27 takes.

 

Shepard would be at the top of my list, too, followed very closely by Bartlet.

Roslin is a great character on a great show, but I'd be a little scared if she was in charge. She's dying of cancer and she tried to fix an election. Not exactly inspiring confidence there.

 

Who was the guy who played JFK in "13 Days?" He was pretty good.

 

And another Kennedy portrayal: William S. Peterson in the HBO movie about Sinatra:

"Gentlemen: the bird has flown."

 

well, travolta is a maybe, I guess. but he did play a guy that wound up being a president, so ...

and actually meant to mention strangelove. good call there.

 

Can't believe i forgot about Giamatti. Another great catch.

 

Not of this Earth division: Mel Brooks as President Scroob in Spaceballs. (Hail Scroob!)

Sarcastic division: Ronald Reagan (oh wait, he really was a president?)