The 20 best presidential biopics

Oliver Stone continued his chronicling of the lives and personalities of presidents with W.,  which starred Josh Brolin as George W. Bush. Released the very year that Bush’s term ended, the film follows the 43rd President from his days in college up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Brolin gives a restrained performance, and the film aims to get beyond the caricature that continues to dominate popular understandings of Bush. Narratively, it is a bit paint-by-the-numbers, but it nevertheless deserves credit for trying to take Bush seriously as a president as a man rather than just as a running joke or impersonation on Saturday Night Live.

Natalie Portman gives one of her most stirring and emotionally resonant performances in Jackie, in which she plays First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy as she grapples with the reality of her husband’s assassination. Portman digs deep to give the viewer a haunting view of the First Lady’s grief. The film is haunting and moving, providing insight into what might have been going through this woman’s mind as she faced the future without her husband and had to do so while enduring the nation's scrutiny. It thoroughly humanizes a woman who became an icon and, as such, demonstrates the pressures under which many First Ladies have labored.

Even though Sarah Palin never became Vice President, she nevertheless became a true political force, and she is brought memorably to life by Julianne Moore in the HBO film Game Change. Unlike many other depictions of Palin, which tend to show her as nothing more than a punchline, Game Change offers a more human and sympathetic portrait. As a whole, the film is a sympathetic but also surprisingly balanced depiction of a troubled candidate and campaign, and it also features a piercing performance from Ed Harris as John McCain.

Though Amistad  is not technically a presidential biopic, it nevertheless features one of America’s most underrated presidents, John Quincy Adams. In the film, he is portrayed by screen legend Anthony Hopkins, and he takes on a key role in securing the freedom of the enslaved people on board the Amistad. Hopkins brings a weary grace and strength to this extraordinary man, the son of the second president. He is shown here to be a man of unshakeable conscience, and the film shines much-needed light on Adams’ post-presidential life.

Most people know of FDR’s instrumental role in the implementation of the New Deal, but his experience with polio left him reliant on a wheelchair. Warm Springs, which stars Kenneth Branagh as Roosevelt, focuses on his experiences at the Warm Springs resort. Branagh slides easily into the role of the president, and the film is notable for emphasizing an aspect of his life that tends to recede into the background. As such, it provides a much-needed look at the human behind the smiling, confident mask that Roosevelt often projected to the wider world. 

Oliver Stone has, in some ways, made it his life’s work to chronicle the lives of presidents in film form. In 1995, he released Nixon, which stars screen titan Anthony Hopkins in the title role. Eschewing a simplistic approach to his subject, Stone instead works to give audiences a textured and nuanced portrait of the man and the president, who emerges as someone who was often his own worst enemy. While Hopkins may not look very much like Nixon, he nevertheless delivers a remarkable, indelible performance from which it is impossible to look away.

Though he’d been in politics for several years, Bill Clinton burst onto the national scene in 1992 when he won the presidency, defeating George H.W. Bush. Primary Colors, based on the novel of the same name, focuses on Clinton’s campaign, though reflected in the quasi-fictional character of Governor Jack Stanton (played by John Travolta). In addition to providing insight into the man behind the public persona,  Primary Colors is also remarkably nuanced in its portrayal of the realities of political life in the early 1990s. 

Oliver Stone leaned into the conspiratorial mindset with the film JFK, which explores the possibility of a conspiracy to kill President Kennedy. There’s no question that the film takes some heavy swings with its story, and it remains as controversial today as it was when it was first released to theaters in 1991. Wherever one comes down on whether there was a conspiracy, the film is nevertheless a fascinating take on history and the various ways that it can be used and misused by filmmakers and politicians alike.

Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt's marriage was remarkably enduring and productive; for all that, they were very different people. The miniseries Eleanor and Franklin, starring Jane Alexander and Edward Herrmann in the title roles, gives remarkable insight into what made their marriage work. The series was remarkably accurate, and both Hermann and Alexander worked to capture something authentic about their characters. Given how well it brought Eleanor and Franklin to life, it’s unsurprising it was given a follow-up series, aptly titled Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years. 

Even though movies and TV have frequently dramatized the lives of presidents, they’ve only rarely turned to First Ladies. One notable exception to this is the Showtime series The First Lady,  which portrays the lives and experiences of Eleanor Roosevelt, Betty Ford, and Michelle Obama. The series boasts a dynamite cast that includes Gillian Anderson, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Viola Davis. It might sometimes be lacking a bit in terms of depth, but this series nevertheless deserves a great deal of credit for being willing to shine much-needed light.

Few presidents are infamous as Nixon, who left office in disgrace and spent the rest of his life trying to recuperate his reputation. Frost/Nixon,  as its title implies, focuses on the famous series of interviews between journalist David Frost (played by Michael Sheen) and Richard Nixon (Frank Langella), which take place after the latter has left office. Langella gives an unsettlingly intense performance as Nixon, and sometimes, he truly seems to lose himself in the former president. As such, Nixon gives the viewer a more nuanced understanding of this disgraced leader.

The Cuban Missile Crisis is one of the pivotal events of 20th-century history and one of the moments when nuclear armageddon seemed not just possible but likely. Thirteen Days  focuses on this fascinating moment, and though much of the action revolves around Kevin Costner’s Kenneth P. O'Donnell, President John F. Kennedy also plays a key part in the action. It takes some notable liberties with established historical facts, but it shows how important Kennedy’s leadership was during the Crisis and how close the world came to disaster. 

Though Barack Obama's presidency is still relatively recent, his life has already provided fodder for filmmakers. Southside with You, with stars Parker Sawyers and Tika Sumpter, paints an evocative and touching portrait of the romance between the former President and First Lady, particularly their first date in 1989. Though it does sometimes lean into a more hagiographic approach to the 44th president, it’s also a remarkably touching movie, giving a more human look at a man who can be considered a 21st-century icon.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was, without a doubt, one of the most influential presidents ever to occupy the Oval Office. In the 2012 film Hyde Park on Hudson,  he is portrayed by comedy legend Bill Murray, and it focuses in particular on the close friendship between Roosevelt and his cousin, Daisy Suckley (played by the equally talented Laura Linney). There’s something refreshingly human and intimate about the portrayal of Roosevelt in this film . Hyde Park rescues FDR from his iconic status to give contemporary audiences a look at the man behind the persona.

Even though his legacy largely has been overshadowed and defined by the Vietnam War, Lyndon Baines Johnson was a remarkably complicated man, and the same was true of his presidency. He gets a remarkably balanced treatment in the film All the Way,  however, which features the electrifying presence of Bryan Cranston, who portrays Johnson and Anthony Mackie as Martin Luther King Jr. The film gives the viewer a more nuanced portrait of LBJ and highlights his central role in ensuring the passage of the Civil Rights Act and his subsequent re-election campaign. 

Paul Giamatti gives one of the best performances of his career in the HBO series John Adams, based on the biography by renowned historian David McCullough. He captures so much of what makes Adams such a fascinating figure in American history, for while he is undoubtedly intelligent and fiercely devoted to the cause of the Revolution, he’s also prickly and self-righteous. Though Giamatti shines in his role, he’s also surrounded by a remarkably talented supporting cast, particularly Laura Linney, who plays Abigail Adams, and Tom Wilkinson, who brings the right amount of irascibility to his portrayal of Benjamin Franklin.

Lincoln is the perfect meeting of talent and vision. Based on Doris Kearns Goodwin’s book Team of Rivals, it focuses on Abraham Lincoln and the months immediately preceding his assassination by John Wilkes Booth. Daniel Day-Lewis gives one a truly masterful performance as Lincoln, and Spielberg ably captures the rich emotion of the story without giving in to pure sentiment. It is, ultimately, a powerful film about one of the most extraordinary men to have ever held the position of President of the United States.

It’s no surprise that Abraham Lincoln has been an object of fascination for many different filmmakers. In 1939, famed western director John Ford turned his eye to the subject, and Henry Fonda portrayed the young Lincoln. Unlike many other Lincoln biopics, this one focuses largely on an important courtroom trial early in his career. Fonda is remarkable in the role, with a piercing intensity that would characterize so much of his subsequent work. Moreover, the film sheds important light on the venerable national figure Lincoln would later become. 

Even though Vice  technically focuses on a vice president rather than a president — Dıck Cheney, who served as George W. Bush’s number two for both of his terms — it’s still a fascinating look at two key figures in 21st-century American history. Christian Bale truly disappears into the role of the sinister Cheney, and the film has a biting and satirical quality that allows it to offer scathing commentary on the man himself. Sam Rockwell, however, often steals the show as W., earning him a Best Supporting Actor nomination at that year’s Oscars.

Though he is sometimes overshadowed by his predecessor (FDR) and his successor (Eisenhower), Harry S. Truman was nevertheless a key figure in presidential and American history. In 1995, he got the biopic treatment he deserved in the TV film Truman, adapted from David McCullough's biopic. Gary Sinise is perfectly cast as the man himself, and the film provides viewers with a thorough portrait of the president’s life and times. It may not take any risks with storytelling, but there’s something refreshing about its straightforward approach to its subject and material.