# Who would you cast in a movie about Lincoln? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 16, 2010, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-in-a-movie-about-lincoln/557339 "2010-10-16T14:32:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2010, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-in-a-movie-about-lincoln/557339/21 "2010-10-16T23:42:51Z")
Karl Urban. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-in-a-movie-about-lincoln/557339/22 "2010-10-17T03:25:27Z")
I’d do him as all-CGI, and focus on finding a good voice actor. Sam Waterston comes to mind. Or maybe Tristan MacAvery. ---
**Author:** ![Nicest\_of\_the\_Damned](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8baadc/32.png) [@Nicest\_of\_the\_Damned](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nicest_of_the_Damned)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-in-a-movie-about-lincoln/557339/23 "2010-10-17T05:12:54Z")
Well, if it’s a Hollywood movie they will want a handsome man who is a good box office draw so how about…[Hugh Jackman](http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200706/r152252_544273.jpg)? Yeah, I know he’s Australian. ---
**Author:** ![Nicest\_of\_the\_Damned](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8baadc/32.png) [@Nicest\_of\_the\_Damned](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nicest_of_the_Damned)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-in-a-movie-about-lincoln/557339/24 "2010-10-17T05:20:03Z")
…and how about [Mare Winningham](http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMTY0ODU1NjgxMV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMDM2MTA4MQ@@._V1._SX296_SY400_.jpg) as the Mrs.? ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-in-a-movie-about-lincoln/557339/25 "2010-10-17T05:20:25Z")
Some years back, I heard a rumor that singer James Taylor was being strongly considered to play Abe Lincoln in a TV movie (it never happened), and I have to say… that intrigued me. I don’t know if he can act at all, but he has a perfect look and an almost ideal voice. ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-in-a-movie-about-lincoln/557339/26 "2010-10-17T05:59:48Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > With some padding and aging [Christina Ricci](http://takesunset.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/christina-ricci.jpg)would be a good [Mary Todd](http://www.old-picture.com/daguerreotypes/pictures/Lincoln-Todd-Mary.jpg) (shown here at approximately the same age as Ricci). If we’re going to go with a look-a-like, then [Tina Marjorino](http://thetvchick.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/tina-majorino.jpg) (Deb from Napolean Dynamite) is a dead ringer for that picture of Mary Todd. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-in-a-movie-about-lincoln/557339/27 "2010-10-17T06:22:15Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > Garret Dillahunt. > > He’s tall, gaunt, and craggy-faced. He also has the right voice - high pitched and awkward sounding. Genius. He gets my vote. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-in-a-movie-about-lincoln/557339/28 "2010-10-17T19:51:24Z")
Okey dokey- Garret Dillahunt and Tina Marjorino are the winners. Something I like about Dillahunt is that he’s 46 but could convincingly play younger in flashbacks. A pity Robert Lincoln isn’t a more major player (he and his father didn’t have the closest of relationships) and that he was only 24 when his father died, because Leonardo DiCaprio could add some star power. ([Robert Todd Lincoln](http://thinkorthwim.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/lincoln-robert-003.jpg).) [Jonathan Groff](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d2/JGroff_Central_Park_2009_Aug_19.JPG)(Broadway star: _Spring Awakening_; TV star: _Glee_) plays the role of a Surratt family friend & boarder in the movie _[The Conspirator](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0968264/)_ but wouldn’t be bad for Booth himself. ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-in-a-movie-about-lincoln/557339/29 "2010-10-18T00:18:47Z")
Levon Helm would be good as the older Abe. You might remember him as the gun expert in _Shooter_ and as the blind recluse in _The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada_ > **[Levon Helm | Music Artist, Actor, Music Department](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0375629/)** > > Known for: Shooter, The Right Stuff, The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-in-a-movie-about-lincoln/557339/30 "2010-10-18T01:07:54Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > Garret Dillahunt. > > He’s tall, gaunt, and craggy-faced. He also has the right voice - high pitched and awkward sounding. > > Besides having the right physical attributes for the role, he also has a lot of experience with period pieces (_Deadwood_, _The Assassination of Jesse James_) and Southern/Western accents.) > > I can’t possibly think of a better fit for the role than him. > > [Garret Dillahunt.](http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&q=garret%20dillahunt&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&biw=1337&bih=819) You win. Only problem is that he makes Liam Neeson look like box office gold by comparison. They’d have to sell it purely on director. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-in-a-movie-about-lincoln/557339/31 "2010-10-18T01:25:15Z")
Sam Waterston really did a good AL in the TV movie of Gore Vidal’s novel; I suppose he’s a bit long in the tooth to be playing him now, but maybe not. If plumped up a bit or put in a fat suit, I think Holly Hunter could do very well as Mary Todd Lincoln (although it’s not a perfect resemblance, it’s far better than Mary Tyler Moore): > **[UGO](http://www.ugo.com)** > > UGO is a pop culture comedy site. We celebrate our obsessions by cracking jokes and making awesome videos. We kid because we love. [http://americancivilwar.com/women/mary\_todd\_lincoln.jpg](http://americancivilwar.com/women/mary_todd_lincoln.jpg) > [@Sampiro](#): > > …A pity Robert Lincoln isn’t a more major player (he and his father didn’t have the closest of relationships) and that he was only 24 when his father died, because Leonardo DiCaprio could add some star power. ([Robert Todd Lincoln](http://thinkorthwim.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/lincoln-robert-003.jpg).)… I was at the Lincoln Library and Museum in Springfield, Ill. a few years ago and saw a picture of Robert Todd Lincoln at the time of the Civil War. His resemblance to Leonardo DiCaprio really struck me. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-in-a-movie-about-lincoln/557339/32 "2010-10-18T01:35:50Z")
[![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdy3orO6tQA) ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-in-a-movie-about-lincoln/557339/33 "2010-10-18T01:37:36Z")
Rex Hamilton ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-in-a-movie-about-lincoln/557339/34 "2010-10-18T01:37:47Z")
David Bowie. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-in-a-movie-about-lincoln/557339/35 "2010-10-18T02:27:53Z")
Howard Stern? Tall enough and thin enough. Hey Mary, here’s a kielbasa. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-in-a-movie-about-lincoln/557339/36 "2010-10-18T15:45:02Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Rex Hamilton Do you mean Rex Harrison? If only he hadn’t died in 1990! ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-in-a-movie-about-lincoln/557339/37 "2010-10-18T15:49:47Z")
Lincoln: Jack Nicholson John Wilkes Booth: Samuel L. Jackson Who would NOT pay to see that? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-in-a-movie-about-lincoln/557339/38 "2010-10-18T15:55:29Z")
“Four score and twenty goddamn years ago…” “Sick Semper Tyrannis, motherfucker.” ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-in-a-movie-about-lincoln/557339/39 "2010-10-18T15:56:38Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > For Mary, why not Kathy Bates? 15 years ago I thought she should play Mary and Sam Shepard should play Abe. They’ve both aged out of the roles by now, unless we’re talking dinner theater. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2010, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-in-a-movie-about-lincoln/557339/40 "2010-10-18T16:00:57Z")
If anybody saw the recent PBS series _God in America,_ Chris Sarandon did tolerably well as Lincoln in short, filmed soliloquies. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-in-a-movie-about-lincoln/557339.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-cast-in-a-movie-about-lincoln/557339.md?page=3)