The presidential race of 2024 might be heating up between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, but there’s a race of a different kind going on in Hollywood when it comes to who will portray the best Ronald Reagan: Dennis Quaid or Jeff Daniels? Quaid is set to star in the upcoming biopic tracing the life of the 40th President of the United States, while Daniels has just signed on to portray the late president for a new movie that will detail the events surrounding Reagan’s 1986 meeting with the last leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev.
Per Deadline, Daniels will headline Reykjavík as Reagan alongside Jared Harris (Gorbachev), and J.K. Simmons, who will portray United States Secretary of State George Shultz. Michael Russell Gunn will make his feature film debut with the new movie, directing from a script he penned himself. His previous credits include showrunner for SK Global and Netflix’s limited series Thai Cave Rescue, as well as working as a writer and producer on Billions, Designated Survivor, and The Newsroom. Reykjavik promises to be an intense political drama that will detail that fateful weekend in October 1986 when the future of humanity hung in the balance. Check out the details below.
“Based on the incredible true story, Reykjavik takes place during the Cold War at its most dangerous point, when two political enemies, Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, must meet in Iceland over one long, tense weekend to decide if there will be peace or war in the world.”
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These actors brought prestige to the role of Leader of the Free World.
Filming for Reykjavik is expected to get underway in October, with shooting taking place at Höfði House, the actual site of the 1986 summit. While on the surface the meeting between the two leaders seemed to have produced little results at the time, the event has gone down in history as one of the most crucial moments in the Cold War, as it became clear to both Reagan and Gorbachev afterward that they couldn’t continue down the path of war. Concessions were eventually made by both sides, with the Cold War finally coming to an end in 1991 after the dissolution of the USSR.
Who Will Be the Better Regan? Jeff Daniels or Dennis Quaid?
Turning away from Reykjavik and Jeff Daniels, Dennis Quaid will put his own spin on the former president with the debut of Reagan on August 30. Directed by Sean McNamara (Soul Surfer, The Miracle Season), the film will be a sweeping look at the life of Reagan from his humble beginnings to his rise to the presidency. The film also stars Penelope Ann Miller as Nancy Reagan, Skip Schwink as Jimmy Carter, Aleksander Krupa as Mikhail Gorbachev, C. Thomas Howell as Caspar Weinberger, and Lesley-Anne Down as Margaret Thatcher.
While they’re obviously two very different films, with one being about a specific moment in time and the other a more in-depth look at the man who first coined the phrase “Make America Great Again,” it will be interesting to see how the two are juxtaposed against one another. Will it be Daniels or Quaid who portrays Reagan better, and does it really matter? In the end, we all come out as winners, and get to see these two amazing actors do what they do best.
Check out our interview with Dennis Quaid below where he discusses playing Ronald Reagan in his upcoming film.
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