- Title: Stars Dennis Quaid and Jon Voight walk the red carpet for 'Reagan' biopic
- Date: 21st August 2024
- Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (AUGUST 2024) (REUTERS) ***WARNING: CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** VARIOUS OF DENNIS QUAID AND HIS "REAGAN" CO-STAR PENELOPE ANN MILLER POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS AT MOVIE PREMIERE VIEW OF JON VOIGHT AND QUAID ON RED CARPET BEING INTERVIEWED BY REPORTERS CLOSE-UP OF QUAID (SOUNDBITE) (English) DENNIS QUAID, SAYING: "This part was the big
- Embargoed: 4th September 2024 06:31
- Keywords: Dennis Quaid Jon Voight Reagan biopic premiere
- Location: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES/VARIOUS FILM LOCATIONS
- City: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES/VARIOUS FILM LOCATIONS
- Country: US
- Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment,Film,North America
- Reuters ID: LVA001817621082024RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Hollywood stars Dennis Quaid and Jon Voight turned out in Los Angeles on Tuesday (August 20) night for the premiere of "Reagan," their biopic of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan.
Quaid, who takes the lead as the the former president, said playing Reagan was challenging.
"This part was the biggest challenge in my life, actually, this character, you know, playing Ronald Reagan. He's like Muhammad Ali. Everybody in the world knows what he looks like, sounds like. And, so that was one of the reasons it took me a while to say yes to it," he said.
When asked how Reagan compares to Trump, Quaid said: "I think Trump represents his times, as Reagan represented his times that we went through. And, in a way, the president is a reflection of the American people... We get the one we deserve and he sort of reflects us and I think we, the country is reflected in him," he added.
Born on February 6, 1911 in Illinois, Reagan had an early career as a radio sports announcer in Des Moines, Iowa. Then he won a film contract with Warner Bros. and began an acting career that would continue until the mid-1960s.
Reagan was then elected Governor of California in 1966 and beat President Jimmy Carter to become president in 1980.
For two presidential terms, Reagan promoted policies to increase national defense programs and pursue a hard line policy against the Soviet Union.
In 1987, Reagan publicly urged the Soviet Union to tear down the Berlin Wall that had divided the German capital.
Oscar-winner Jon Voight, who plays retired KGB agent Viktor Petrovich in the new movie, said audiences would learn a lot from watching the movie.
"It takes him from childhood into the last days of his life. And I think they'll learn a lot of things, but they'll just be reminded because we paid great attention to Ronald Reagan. We went through a lot with him. So, it'll be a reminder of many things, but also we'll think about the presidency and the importance of it," said Voight.
"This is a great love story, and it's going to be a little bit of a, I think it'll be a reminder, but also an insight into the relationship of Nancy and Ronald. It was a beautiful relationship," he added.
The film, which also features Penelope Ann Miller as Nancy Reagan, hits theaters Friday, August 30.
(Production: Trenton Golden, Omar Younis) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2024. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None