Sam Rockwell to Play George W. Bush in Cheney Biopic

Sam Rockwell to play George W. Bush in Cheney biopic

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Sam Rockwell (Moon, Poltergeist, Iron Man 2) will take on the role of George W. Bush in Annapurna and Plan B’s Cheney biopic (previously titled “Backseat”). The younger Bush, son of the 41st President of the United States, Governor of Texas and eventual 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009, was previously played by Josh Brolin in Oliver Stone’s 2008 film W. and caricatured by Will Ferrell on Saturday Night Live.

The project reunites award-winning director and co-writer Adam McKay with The Big Short stars Christian Bale and Steve Carrell, as well as Talladega Nights‘ Amy Adams. Bale will be headlining as former Vice President Dick Cheney, with Adams as his wife Lynne Cheney and Carell as Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Bill Pullman also has a role.

Cheney is regarded as one of the most powerful and influential U.S. Vice Presidents in history, having served under (and, as many regard, OVER) George W. Bush from 2001 to 2009. The former Halliburton chairman/CEO — who also served in the Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush administrations — was a hawkish proponent of the War on Terror and the Iraq War, and eventually left office with a 13% approval rating. He was previously portrayed by Richard Dreyfuss in Oliver Stone’s 2008 film W.

“I’ve always found Cheney fascinating,” McKay previously told Deadline. “Questions of what drove him, what his beliefs were; but once we started digging I was astounded at how much he had shaped modern America’s place in the world and how shocking the methods were by which he gained his power.” 

Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner of Plan B will produce Cheney with McKay and his Gary Sanchez partners, Will Ferrell and Kevin Messick. McKay began development on the Cheney movie shortly after winning his Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for The Big Short last year year. McKay has reportedly spent “countless hours” researching the former VP for the Dick Cheney biopic.

What do you guys think of a Dick Cheney biopic? Are you interested in seeing Sam Rockwell play George W. Bush? We want to hear from you. Leave your comments below or tweet us @ComingSoonnet.

(Photo Credit: Getty Images)

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