Dennis Quaid, who will play Ronald Reagan in upcoming biopic about the president, has revealed that Penelope Ann Miller has been picked to play first lady, Nancy Reagan.
“I really felt that I had an obligation, being that she was quite the iconic figure and historical and I wanted to be true to her in every way,” the 56-year-old actress shared after Quaid announced her role in “Reagan” during the 3rd hour of the “TODAY” show Wednesday. (RELATED: Dennis Quaid Praises Trump For Coronavirus Response)
“What Nancy did was she saw his [Ronald’s] potential and she really fell in love with the man and his character and his moral fiber,” she added. “I think she really helped him become what she saw in him and she infused him with that confidence to help him get to where he was.” (RELATED: Dennis Quaid Postpones Wedding To Laura Savoie Due To Coronavirus)
WATCH:
Dennis Quaid joins us for a special announcement revealing who will co-star with him in the film “Reagan” and play Nancy Reagan! pic.twitter.com/EGbcSeHdcl
— 3rd Hour of TODAY (@3rdHourTODAY) October 14, 2020
“Nancy Reagan was one of the most important and influential first ladies of all time. Her devotion, fierce protection of Ronald Reagan, their love and partnership was paramount to none. Making sure we captured this correctly was of huge importance to our movie,” Miller continued.
According to the report:
“Reagan” traces the life of the former president from his upbringing in Illinois through his years in Hollywood to his two-term stay in the White House. The film is told from the point of view of an aging KGB agent named Viktor, a composite character based on real people, who tells Reagan’s story to a young Russian leader curious how the Soviet Union fell.
At one point, the 66-year-old actor talked about playing Reagan, calling the 40th president a “humble man.”
“He really lived the principles that he talked about for all of us,” Quaid shared. “Where is Ronald Reagan today? We could really use that kind of decorum and that kind of spirit. He taught us a lot as Americans and brought us back from a dark time.”
In 2019, Quaid talked about getting to play the role in the film and shared how much he was “looking forward to it” because Reagan was his “[favorite] president of the 20th century,” per The Guardian.