Here at the Film Guys Online/ Chas film Productions Research Department, we have combed through the vast information available to us to present to you:
THE TOP 5 ACTORS TO PLAY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
Note: the following 5 actors are based on the amount of times that they have played the “character” of the President of the United States, not necessarily on acting ability, likeability, or popularity.
#5 Ronny Cox – I remember when he played Andrew Bogomil in “Beverly Hills Cop 1 & 2,” as well as the a-hole head of CP in “RoboCop.” Oh yeah, and he was in “Total Recall.” Mr. Cox starts off the list by playing the Prez twice: he was President Tom Kimball in “Captain America” (1990) and President Jack Neil in “Murder at 1600” (1997).
#4 Gene Hackman – Gene is in my Top 20 Actors of All Time. Although I have not officially made that list, he’s a serious contender. Known for roles such as “Popeye” Doyle in “The French Connection,” and Capt. Ramsey in “Crimson Tide,” Hackman was the kinda guy that was unpredictable, which made watching him great. He’s another two President-er: he played ex-President Monroe Cole in “Welcome to Mooseport” (2004) and President Allen Richmond in “Absolute Power” (1997).
#3 Hal Holbrook – “Magnum Force,” “Capricorn One,” “The Fog,” “Creepshow,” and “The Firm,” are but a few of the titles under Holbrook’s belt. Currently, he played Walter Perkins in the indie film, “Into the Wild,” based on the book by Jon Krakaeur. Mr. Holbrook played President Adam Scott in “The Kidnapping of the President” (1980) and President Maxwell Monroe in “Under Siege” (TV movie, but I needed to round-out the list) (1986)
#2 Leslie Nielsen – Growing up with the humor of Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker it’s hard to imagine Leslie Nielsen as a serious actor. His most notable appearance was in “Forbidden Planet.” It was because of his foray into slapstick comedy that he played President Baxter Harris in “Scary Movie 3” (2003) and “Scary Movie 4” (2006). My favorite quote of his is still: “Nice beaver.” Gotta love the “Naked Gun” movies.
#1 Roy Scheider – Has there ever been a greater actor than Roy Scheider? Maybe, but I shall and will debate you until my last dying breath. Or until the pizza gets here. Either way, Scheider is, was, and has been my favorite actor of all time. It takes a lot to convince throngs of audiences that a mechanical killer shark is REAL, and he was just the person to pull it off. Roy is the King of Actors Playing the Prez, holding Three Occurrences: he was President Carlson in “Executive Target” (1997), President Robert Baker in “The Peacekeeper” (1997), and President Jack Cahill in “Chain of Command” (2000).
Did anyone notice that Scheider his “French Connection” co-star Hackman played El Presidente in the same year? 1997. And Scheider played the character twice. There ya go.
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