Do me a favor and close your eyes for one full minute and try to picture your favorite fictional president from film or television. Now that you’ve opened your eyes, say out loud who you saw. This year, in honor of everyone’s favorite holiday (President’s Day) I’ve decided to put together a collection of the best fictional presidents in the history of entertainment, from Duke R. Lee to Fred Armisen.
I decided to narrow it down to ten choices, but this list could have gone on forever:
1.) Bill Pullman - Independence Day
Who could ever forget one of the most rousing speeches ever given by Bill Pullman as President Thomas J. Whitmore? This is what people talk about when they talk about actors as presidents. Even after all this time, this speech still inspires people to kill aliens.
2.) Michael Keaton – First Daughter
First Daughter is a movie that not too many people saw or liked but that didn’t stop Michael Keaton from hitting this presidential role out of the ball park. For some reason, I can’t find a decent clip of him as the president anywhere on the Internet but just trust me that Keaton was charming and delightful as president. It’s something that should be seen by all newly elected presidents for tips on how to connect with the people.
3.) Jack Nicholson – Mars Attacks
Mars Attacks isn’t talked about much today unless it’s in reference to Jack Nicholson’s excellent performance as the POTUS and there’s a reason for that. Jack Nicholson makes Michael Keaton in First Daughter look like Robert Culp in The Pelican Brief. He was the first “party” president to ever be portrayed in cinema, and the scene where he is killed by aliens still makes people cry in disbelief.
*available on Netflix Instant Watch
4.) Perry King – The Day After Tomorrow
They could have just filmed Perry King sitting at the Oval Office desk for two hours and it still would have made it onto my top 10 list. Perry King is unstoppable in this role.
5.) Stanley Anderson – The Rock, Armageddon, and Son of the Morning Star
Stanley Anderson must have been doing something right because almost every director in Hollywood wanted a piece of him as a president for their films. And the proof is in the pudding because every scene that Anderson is in crackles like a firework.
6.) Donald Moffat – Clear and Present Danger
Turn off your computer or tablet device right now and go rent this movie. You won’t be able to think about any other fictional presidents after you’ve seen this one.
7.) Dennis Haybert – 24
Someone once told me that they fast-forwarded through 24 until the scenes with Dennis Haybert in them. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but it certainly sounds like something that could happen.
8.) Tie: Dennis Quaid – American Dreamz / Randy Quaid - Mail to the Chief
This tie has nothing to do with the fact that these two actors are brothers. I honestly didn’t have enough room for all ten of my choices but knew I would be embarrassed if I didn’t include Dennis Quaid’s turn as President Staton in American Dreamz on this list. And having Randy as President Osgood II was a no-brainer.
9.) George Clooney – Spy Kids 3-D
What can be said about George Clooney in Spy Kids 3-D that hasn’t already been said a million times? He almost makes portraying a president look too easy, while still winking subconsciously at other actors letting them know that they couldn’t do it if they tried. It was an A+ game-changer casting Clooney in this role and it’s still talked about today in certain Hollywood circles.
10.) Tim Robbins – Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
Please tell Tim Robbins that this was a comedy film because I don’t think he got the memo when Mike Myers handed it to him. Tim Robbins is all business in this sequel to the popular Austin Powers franchise and from the looks of it, he took the job very seriously. Being the president isn’t very funny at times, and Tim Robbins had the decency to remember that.
Those are my ten picks for best presidential portrayals in film or television. If you have some others, please let us know in the comments and thanks for reading.
