29 actors who have portrayed U.S. presidents

By Cristina Everett
and
Mary Sollosi
Mary Sollosi
Mary Sollosi is the former assistant features editor at Entertainment Weekly. She left EW in 2022.
EW's editorial guidelines
Updated on September 28, 2022 09:20AM EDT
01 of 30

Playing the POTUS

Playing the POTUS
Kent Eanes/HBO; David James/Disney; Doane Gregory/20th Century Fox; Steve Dietl/Amazon Studios & Bleecker Street; Anne Marie Fox/The Weinstein Company

Hollywood has long been fascinated by stories of the Commander in Chief. From dramatic tales of the history-makers to silly satires, check out the famous faces who have taken on the task of portraying the President of the United States.

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Jeff Daniels as George Washington in The Crossing (2000)

Jeff Daniels as George Washington (The Crossing)
Courtesy Everett Collection; GraphicaArtis/Getty Images
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Paul Giamatti as John Adams in John Adams (2008)

Paul Giamatti as John Adams (John Adams mini-series)
Kent Eanes/HBO; Stock Montage/Getty Images
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Stephen Dillane as Thomas Jefferson in John Adams (2008)

Stephen Dillane as Thomas Jefferson (John Adams mini-series)
Kent Eames/HBO; GraphicaArtis/Getty Images
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Anthony Hopkins as John Quincy Adams in Amistad (1997)

Anthony Hopkins as John Quincy Adams (Amistad)
Andrew Cooper/Dreamworks; Stock Montage/Getty Images
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Gregory Peck as Abraham Lincoln in The Blue and the Gray (1982)

Gregory Peck as Abraham Lincoln (The Blue and the Gray)
Columbia Tristar/Courtesy Everett Collection; National Archives/Newsmakers
07 of 30

Daniel Day-Lewis as Abraham Lincoln in Lincoln (2012)

Daniel Day-Lewis as Abraham Lincoln (Lincoln)
David James/Disney; Brady/Getty Images
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Kevin Kline as Ulysses S. Grant in Wild Wild West (1999)

Kevin Kline as Ulysses S. Grant (Wild Wild West)
Hulton Archive/Getty Images
09 of 30

Robin Williams as Teddy Roosevelt in Night at the Museum (2006)

Robin Williams as Teddy Roosevelt (Night at the Museum)
20th Century Fox Film Corp./Everett Collection; Hulton Archive/Getty Images
10 of 30

Jon Voight as Franklin D. Roosevelt in Pearl Harbor (2001)

Jon Voight as Franklin D. Roosevelt (Pearl Harbor)
Touchstone Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection; Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
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Bill Murray as Franklin D. Roosevelt in Hyde Park on Hudson (2012)

Bill Murray as Franklin D. Roosevelt (Hyde Park on Hudson)
Nicola Dove/Focus Features; Underwood Archives/Getty Images
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Kiefer Sutherland as Franklin D. Roosevelt in The First Lady (2022)

Kiefer Sutherland as Franklin D. Roosevelt in THE FIRST LADY, “That White House”. Photo credit: Boris Martin/SHOWTIME.; US president Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882 - 1945) salutes the flag during a parade, circa 1938. (Photo by FPG/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Boris Martin/SHOWTIME; FPG/Hulton Archive/Getty
13 of 30

Robin Williams as Dwight D. Eisenhower in Lee Daniels' The Butler (2013)

Robin Williams as Dwight D. Eisenhower (The Butler)
Anne Marie Fox/The Weinstein Company; Underwood Archives/Getty Images
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Greg Kinnear as John F. Kennedy in The Kennedys (2011)

Greg Kinnear as John F. Kennedy (The Kennedys)
Zak Cassar/Kennedys Productions; Bachrach via Getty Images
15 of 30

Rob Lowe as John F. Kennedy in Killing Kennedy (2013)

Rob Lowe as John F. Kennedy (Killing Kennedy TV Series)
National Geographic Channels; CBS Photo Archive via Getty Images
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Liev Schreiber as Lyndon B. Johnson in Lee Daniels' The Butler (2013)

Liev Schreiber as Lyndon B. Johnson (The Butler)
Anne Marie Fox/The Weinstein Company; Central Press/Getty Images)
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Anthony Hopkins as Richard Nixon in Nixon (1995)

Anthony Hopkins as Richard Nixon (Nixon)
Sidney Baldwin; Universal History Archive/Getty Images
18 of 30

Dan Hedaya as Richard Nixon in Dick (1999)

Dan Hedaya as Richard Nixon (Dick)
Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection; David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images
19 of 30

Frank Langella as Richard Nixon in Frost/Nixon (2008)

Frank Langella as Richard Nixon in (Frost/Nixon)
Ralph Nelson/Universal Studios
20 of 30

John Cusack as Richard Nixon in Lee Daniels' The Butler (2013)

John Cusack as Richard Nixon (The Butler)
Anne Marie Fox/The Weinstein Company; Don Carl Steffen/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
21 of 30

Kevin Spacey as Richard Nixon in Elvis & Nixon (2016)

Kevin Spacey as Richard Nixon (Elvis & Nixon)
Steve Dietl / Amazon Studios & Bleecker Street; Bachrach/Getty Images
22 of 30

Aaron Eckhart as Gerald Ford in The First Lady (2022)

Aaron Eckhart as Gerald Ford in THE FIRST LADY, “Punch Perfect”. Photo credit: Murray Close/SHOWTIME.; Unspecified - 1970: Representative Gerald R. Ford on Walt Disney Television via Getty Images's 'Issues and Answers' program. (Photo by Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
Murray Close/SHOWTIME; Disney General Entertainment Content/Getty
23 of 30

Alan Rickman as Ronald Reagan in Lee Daniels' The Butler (2013)

Alan Rickman as Ronald Reagan (The Butler)
Anne Marie Fox/The Weinstein Company; Harry Langdon/Getty Images
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James Cromwell as George H.W. Bush in W. (2008)

James Cromwell as George H.W. Bush (W.)
Lionsgate/Courtesy Everett Collection; Hulton Archive/Getty Images
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Dennis Quaid as Bill Clinton in The Special Relationship (2010)

clinton
Nicola Dove/HBO; GEORGE BRIDGES/AFP/Getty Images
26 of 30

Clive Owen as Bill Clinton in Impeachment: American Crime Story (2021)

Impeachment: American Crime Story -- Pictured: Clive Owen as Bill Clinton. CR. Kurt Iswarienko/FX; Pres. Bill Clinton appearing at airport US Air Terminal during trip for support of his admin.'s stimulus package for city. (Photo by Diana Walker/Getty Images)
Kurt Iswarienko/FX; Diana Walker/Getty
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Josh Brolin as George W. Bush in W. (2008)

Josh Brolin as George W. Bush (W.)
Lionsgate/Courtesy Everett Collection; Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AFP/Getty Images
28 of 30

Sam Rockwell as George W. Bush in Vice (2018)

bush
Matt Kennedy/Annapurna Pictures; SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images
29 of 30

O-T Fagbenle as Barack Obama in The First Lady (2022)

vO-T Fagbenle as Barack Obama in THE FIRST LADY, “Victory Dance”. Photo credit: Jackson Lee Davis/SHOWTIME.; WASHINGTON, DC- NOVEMBER 24: President Barack Obama speaks during the 2015 Presidential Medal Of Freedom Ceremony at the White House on November 24, 2015 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kris Connor/WireImage)
Jackson Lee Davis/SHOWTIME; Kris Connor/WireImage
30 of 30

Brendan Gleeson as Donald Trump in The Comey Rule (2020)

The Comey Rule "Night Two" Brendan Gleeson as President Donal Trump; WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 23: U.S. President Donald Trump (C) hosts a reception for House and Senate Republican and Democratic leaders in the State Dining Room of the White House January 23, 2017 in Washington, DC. Attending were Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) (L) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
Ben Mark Holzberg/CBS Television Studios/SHOWTIME; Getty