The Reagan Movie Cast | A Reagan Forum

[Music] like the office they commemorate presidential libraries are living institutions certainly it is my hope that the Reagan Library will become a dynamic intellectual Forum where Scholars interpret the past and policy makers debate the future welcome to a Reagan form hosted by the Ronald Reagan presidential foundation and Institute the center for public affairs offers lectures and forums presenting perspectives on important public policy issues of the day from politicians authors members of the media business and military leaders and more Ronald Reagan spent nearly 30 years acting and feature films and television as well as providing narration for numerous documentaries both short and featurelength as he left Hollywood and entered the world of politics and public service he used self-deprecating humor to connect with the new audience first with Californians during his time as governor and later with the American public during his time as president of the United States in fact when he was first elected governor of California in 1966 reporter lanan asked him what kind of Governor he thought he would make Ronald Reagan simply replied I don't know I've never played a governor today August 30th 2024 the movie Reagan was released in theaters Nationwide Reagan is a cinematic journey of overcoming the odds the movie is told through the voice of Victor petrovich a former KGB agent whose life becomes linked with Ronald Reagan's when Ronald Reagan first caught the Soviets attention as an actor in Hollywood it stars Dennis Quaid John Voit penel pan Miller Mina suari lesli Aden down David Henry and Kevin Dylan a month earlier on July 25th 2024 a handful of the Reagan movie cast joined us at the Reagan Library for an in-person moderated discussion about the film and their roles during the program cast members Dennis Quaid who plays Ronald Reagan Elia Basin who plays a Soviet Defector Amanda ratti who plays NE Reagan and Will Wallace who plays Ed me sat down conversation with Reagan Foundation Institute president and CEO David trulio to share their stories and more let's listen well I'm gonna I'm going to start with Dennis of course and Dennis you said publicly years ago that Ronald Reagan was your favorite President so how did you come to that assessment and what Drew you to the role of playing Ronald Reagan well uh I was aware of Ronald Reagan from uh when I was driving down to Galviston from Houston as a boy and uh uh my dad was listening to the speech on the on the radio when he was pounding the dash and said yeah Ronnie yeah yeah and you know that was as first politically I also remember him from selling Baro soap on Death Valley days and the you know GE theater and uh but uh when it came time to to vote I vote voted for Ronald Reagan uh I went home in Los Angeles my roommate uh said who' you vote for I said Reagan he said you are kicked out of the hippies so I turned in my hippie card which I never really had anyway and uh uh he was my favorite President well you mentioned in the speech the that's a reference I assume to the 1964 time for choosing speech that was this breakout speech that had him really burst out onto political scene so you were just randomly in the car with your dad listening to the radio yep wow that was it I mean that was kind of my introduction to the political world you know about you I could see how he inspired my dad and uh my my dad was just Reagan was his hero and I remember like even in uh talking with him I think it was in 72 and he was saying we need Ronald Reagan and uh he was right he was an early adopter right yes sounds like into was there all the way so is it maybe because of that and and this these formative experiences relatively early in your life that caused you to say a few years ago you you said publicly that a shiver of fear went up your spine at the prospect of playing Ronald Reagan you're a highly accomplished actor you'd actually played Bill Clinton in a movie prior to that so this is not new territory for you but why did you have a shiver of fear well because uh he was my favorite President and uh you know I there's a lot of things I felt unworthy I felt uh like uh why would anybody want me to play Reagan I don't really look like him sound like him and that and he's really what it is you know he's like Muhammad Ali he's known all over the world and so everybody's got an opinion of them so it's probably fear being judged too and all that which is still here by the way but uh but what usually that shiver of fear if it goes up my spine it's usually a sign that I should do that because it's out of my comfort zone and so it took me a while to say yes but uh I went to the Reagan Ranch and drove up that 5 miles of the worst Road in California and got up on top and soon as I came out on the clearing there I felt like yeah uh I could feel himh as a as a human being and what he was he you know I felt his uh he was a humble person wasn't a rich person and I could just feel him in all his work up there and so that's I said yes so so how did you approach the physical phical transformation or essentially you I had the privilege of seeing an advanced copy of the film you're you're playing Ronald Reagan from the time he's in his mid-30s until he's well into his 70s so how do you as an actor how do you approach that uh well I was lucky that I had a year that turned into two before we Shot the movie and uh because of Co or yes because of Co and you know uh just a number of things getting things together to to do it uh I mean Mark had Joseph was it 2009 you'd been trying to get it together for that so it was a long journey and uh I went to YouTube YouTube is so great isn't it for uh yeah when it comes like that you know everything is available to you as far as the exterior you know how he talks walks and and that and you know footage going back to his time in the movies and the C subcommittee and you know his voice of course is very you know High uh and like all of us when he was young so had to work on the voice over that period of time and then map out the Transitions and then he had a crooked smile and uh so I said where do that come from and I work from the outside in but it was really about um feeling him uh I'm never going to get away I'm still Dennis Quaid playing Ronald Reagan and the like we never get away from ourselves but you have to I didn't want to connect in a way as as an idol uh I wanted as a human do what makes people tick that's that's the question well it must be someone of your acting stature must still H have had a real challenge trying to capture some of those iconic lines right so there's there's one clip I'd like to play probably the most famous line of Ronald Reagan would love to hear yeah and by the way we just changed it yesterday in our ADR session cuz I wanted to get it more like the way he said it okay great so we're going to show everybody's here is getting real inside information so so to the team in the back let's play clip number six and then it after that we'll invite Dennis's comment General Secretary gorbage if you seek peace if you seek liberalization and change come here to this gate Mr gbop open this gateone say Mr gerov tear down this wall [Applause] [Music] wow yeah one of the advantages was that I'd live through all of it and that's the way of those times those are great times you know inspiring times and uh what Reagan did really for all of us along with all of us he was like the voice of the American people I think wow I I want to bring in will here and and one of the and and to a very early part of the Reagan presidency and a in a very consequential moment and and invite some some commentary but uh to the team in the back let's go ahead and play clip number one Mr President the air traffic controllers are threatening a strike well can they do that no sir legally essential Public Service they have all signed a no strike contract a contract is a contract that's the way I learned it they forfeited their jobs so so this is a very significant moment in the Reagan presidency and it comes very early on so will I'll invite you to comment and then we'll we'll kick it around yeah I I such a a powerful moment and I believe we're is this August 3rd 19 81 81 yeah um and we uh I just think just to even be a part of that I was fortunate enough Mark Joseph was uh was able to uh set up a a some time for me to zoom during Co with Mr me so I got to meet him via zoom and and kind of seek his his insight and and um I think just to be uh I mean when Reagan I uh it's just I I I I gu well for those who may not know the full context President Reagan fired the air traffic controllers who had gone on strike yes and and Will's character Ed me who was um subsequently became attorney general but at the time was was a key long-standing advisor to President Reagan he's explaining to to the president the the the momentous nature of this decision yes and and so you get to deliver that so you're you're in touch with the actual EDM yes the first real test of his presidency I think you know about how tough he's going to be in fact it it affected the Soviets absolutely that they went well he just shut down all the airspace in the United States and uh what will he do to us if he does that to his own people and yeah further to your point he Ronald Reagan was not only a union member but a former Union President right so it sent this profound signal of how tough he was yeah really um amazing well contract's contract that's right well I I do want to I maybe we'll switch gears and so let's let's talk a little bit about the young Ronald Reagan and and his mother his mother Nelly Reagan and Amanda I'd invite you to to just what was it like preparing to be Ronald Reagan's mom what they're really big shoes to fill uh but there wasn't a lot about Nelly to in terms of like for I think for Dennis there was plenty on YouTube to search for Ronald Reagan and be able to embody a physical attribute and then work from the outside in and for Nelly there wasn't that kind of she died in 1962 she was not a public figure correct so most of my's search and most of the things that I found out about her were from Reagan's hand it was uh reading his autobiography um and some biographies that were written about Reagan and that his mother sort of found her way into the stories um God and Ronald Reagan actually was the the most poignant part of the research because that was the most most information about her and also really the impact that she had on his life and what she instilled in him as a young boy he really carried with him for his his life so so what were some of those things what so did you start out with a essentially a blank slate you were going to learn about Nelly Reagan what did you learn about her and what what was what came of that uh I learned that she was the youngest of seven children her mother passed when she was 17 um and her and her father had a sort of very aranged relation ship and she fell into the arms of Jack Reagan and he was a Catholic she was a Protestant which was a big no no back then and um but she sort of she stuck with her Protestant roots and raised her children um in the faith of God and uh really LED them with that strong hand and a very strong moral compass uh you know I think she dove into the church World um I don't know if it was a way to escapee the hardships of her own life but you know she survived influenza of 198 uh she almost died and um and her faith in God really grew strong and and that was something that she profoundly put upon her children and and raised her children with that Compass I I do want to come to the faith element which is very very significant in just a moment but before that let's play clip number three and what I'll invite you to tell us what that says about Nelly and what she's trying to instill on on a young Ronald Reagan Dutch Reagan so let's play clip number three please that the boy that's been threatening you every day he'll be there tomorrow too that's what bullies do until you stand up to them it's time for you to settle this Dutch go on so tell us about that scene Amanda what what's going on how did you approach it what what was what was embellishment or what was in the historical record so the Reagan moved a lot and Dutch got picked on a lot and he was bullied quite often and I think it got to a a point in his life that he was old enough to to grow a backbone and she really sort of helped kick him over that and and to get to that place where he needed to stand up to the bullies in his life that were coming up against against him and and given him a hard time um so I I don't know it's it's a tricky scene I it's a it's a it's a funny thing to walk you know it's it's it's in love but it's also a little bit ruthless um so I I think you know my Approach was she was a very loving uh mother and so I wanted it to still have it come from a place of love not from a place of do this or else um his historically I don't really know what it was where we just sort of filled in the spaces that we could based on what we knew well one part we know very well was the profound nature of her faith and I'd like to actually then in a moment um go to uh clip number two where um Ila's character uh it features prominently but it's it's both you Amanda and Ilia so let's let's go to clip number two and then I'll invite Ilia and Amanda to comment but I finally traced his disdain for communism it's hell on Earth people are frightened hungry divided back to when a dissident of our country visited his church State runs and controls everything to the smallest detail your speech your actions even your thoughts you know what they took away from us first thing God chish like this you will not find it in the Soviet Union they Clos down most of of them and the clergy many are dead or disappeared Americans should know more about the communism because it's coming here freedom is only one generation away from Extinction and just like that the seed was planted so Amanda tell us what is what is Nelly Reagan doing and then Ilia tell us uh who who who the the nature of the character you're you're portraying there I think Nelly is uh exposing Reagan to Soviet communism um I think ultimately that's the the Crux of it um and I think back then Soviet communism was the big bad right and and I think Reagan his a lot of his presidency was fighting Soviet communism and and the Darkness that came about with it um the character that is visiting the church at that time remind me well Ilia tell us about be kirchman and tell tell us who you're portraying there and why why it matters so much oh because uh it's it's actually uh happening right now in this country what's the the misinformation that goes around and when the real people speak out when people tell the truth universities and most of the left-wing organizations they just don't want to deal with those people they they don't listen to them and that's what my character in this movie was trying to explain to his audience in this church where young Ronald rean for the first time heard that Soviet Union was not the parent I that uh couple of famous people uh were uh telling Americans and not only Americans and westerners uh there was a group of writers uh that went to the Soviet Union By Invitation of Joseph Stalin uh that was Herbert Wells uh Roman Roland fak funger very very well-known writers and they were treated with like like they were Kings with royalty they were shown pomkin Villages I don't know if you know what it is it's it's a during the Zar time the the general ponin was inspecting how peasants lived and and they lived awful lives but uh to show the general that they lived they buil special village where everything was just marvelous and everybody could only dream about life like that and so that's where the pumin village comes so that's how Stalin went he invited those writs treated them and then when they came back they started saying writing that Soviet Union is a paradise that everybody working class is happy and every everybody has everything they need and and uh which a workers's paradise huh a workers's paradise workers's Paradise right so IL you you grew up in what was then the Soviet Union in or in laia which which is now a free country but at the time was was part of the Soviet Union Yes and when did you come to the United States and what was your perception of presidents generally and Ronald Reagan specifically uh it's a good question because I came here in 19776 by the end of the four that Administration and then uh the next president was uh Jimmy Carter and after about couple of years living under Jimmy Carter I uh started to wonder did I do a right thing [Laughter] [Applause] Le but then came Ronald Reagan and uh it was just I knew that that was a right thing well well I I want to I want to pose to all of you as as each of you prepared for for these your respective roles what what if anything surprised you or what did you learn Dennis I mean you you you were very familiar with Ronald Reagan you you grew up with him uh but but as you went really deep what what surprised you what did you learn that that that caught you off guard there so much I mean that I mean just that clip right there just brought up a lot uh you know that a whole thing freedom is just a a generation away from Extinction I always about kind of yeah yeah to that until recently and it's it's true how we have to really guard and hold precious all these gifts that we we've gotten from our our forefathers uh because we can lose them and uh that's very real the other thing uh Reagan was fighting communism very early on from his time you know he was an actor who became uh vice president then president of the Screen Actors guilds and he was fighting communist there in the Screen Actors Guild they were and the film very very compellingly conveys that yeah but they were trying to take over the gills and the unions at for everybody that thought that was a big wies tale after the Soviet Union fell they found all the files of course and it was exactly as they said and uh he was dedicated uh to that and at a time when our country you know were idealistic we want to be friends with everybody and we think that you know just you make a promise and you keep it then we expect the whole the the whole world is like us but they didn't grow up like us they don't have the freedoms of us and we appeased and appeased and appeased the Soviet Union for every just about every presidency that I remember in my lifetime and uh Reagan was the first to come along and say no and true so many people were afraid oh well we don't want to make them mad and everything because you know they're they're going to attack us but it's it took it took a cold warrior like Ronald Reagan to win the Cold War because they respected him and at the same time your portrayal also conveys that he was a happy warrior right he wasn't a an an angry abrasive man he had a sunny disposition he liked people you know and uh they liked him and you know it doesn't take a genius to to figure out that that way of life that was that that people you know most of the world was living under really and um it uh thank God for him his his idea that he for formed even before his presidency was to bankrupt them that would be the way to bring down the Soviet Union and it turned out to be right yeah the Star Wars that's what made them bankrupt right yeah the Strategic Defense Initiative and there's a whole special exhibition here at the Reagan library right now about that so I encourage you to all visit during business hours um part of the the the the element you just raised about engaging with people I think also has um is reflective of the broader I think implication of the movie that there's tremendous resonance for today and I in a moment I want to go to clip number five uh but there are many parallels between the late 70s early 80s and today one of them is how divided we are as a country and how contentious it is but let's play clip number five that uh is where tip O'Neal and Ronald Reagan meet for the first time and then I'll invite Dennis to comment on that so Jens take it away Mr Speaker Mr President congratulations welcome to the bigs now you enjoy tonight because tomorrow we go to work well I've been well briefed on you tip I've been told I better get a pretty good Head Start that's very Irish have you yeah you plan on going 10 Rounds every day that's how we do things here all right just remember every day has a 600 p.m. what do you mean by that sir well after 600 we're not political enemies were just two Irish men having a beer deal all right so so tell us a little bit more about that what what went into the scene and what did your research tell you about that well that scene actually really happened and uh you know it became where uh tip O'Neal was over at the White House a lot more than he had to be because they were friends they would you know in advance you know try to figure out some kind of compromise and come closer to each other than then it's got to be my way or the highway compromise is what America was built on and Reagan had a great way of saying he would say just because uh he disagrees with me about 20% of this issue that doesn't make him a that's he's not a 20% enemy he's an 80% friend and they had a way of of coming together I mean it's emblematic of the way I wish we could be like and we still can be uh to get back uh working together as Americans and uh well said it's important to note that Ronald Reagan never had both houses of Congress and the Republican camp pass anything he had to bring Democrats on board and he and tip O'Neal would would duke it out uh but at the end of the day there were major legislative victories that that required Democrats coming along yeah tipod was uh also besides Nancy the first person to visit him in the hospital well let's let's go to that that that's our last clip clip number four and then we'll invite you to comment on that clip number four please boy he do anything to get that damn tax cut I left specific orders no Democrats within 100 yards you'll have to grin and bear it how you doing pal well I don't recommend getting shot no you know what je I think there's I think there is a reason for all this there's a big job left to be done and whatever time I have left it belongs to him ye though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I shall fear no evil for thou art with me surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever so again for those who may not have the context this is in the immediate aftermath of President Reagan being shot uh less than 80 days into his presidency so tell us a little bit about more about that scene and and all I mean there's so much in there like I said he was the you know first person to come visit him in the white house I mean in the hospital and uh you they prayed together there and uh Democrat and Republican Democrat and Protestant and Catholic yeah exactly and they they worked together you know when after Reagan got shot he really did believe that you know his life was no longer his own that it was it was God's purpose for him that was what he was going to work for that and uh that's what he did and they um you know tip O'Neal really raked him over the Kohl's over Iran Contra and other things they were really bitter political enemies but they kept an open mind about each other that little 10% 20% of of of an open mind that you could learn from the other one or maybe it's a little bit of a good idea you know there's a big saying that Reagan used to say you can get a lot done in Washington if you don't care who gets credit who who gets credit for it and uh I think they work that way as well we actually have a plaque in the gift shop that has that quote uh let's switch it up a little bit U maybe some light-hearted moments uh kind of just filming the the movie just anything to Amanda will Ilia I mean just what was your experience like doing a very serious historical uh film like this I feel like it was in a completely separate movie because all my stuff was in the the 20s and 30s so we had all the model T's and everything was uh the costumes and everything well I mean I guess you guys were all your costumes were period piece costumes too but I felt like the stuff that I got to do was really it was really cool to see all the the old cars that they brought in and all the old costumes and I really enjoyed that it was really fast and furious that I think my portions shot for maybe 10 days and where was that at of curiosity that was in uh Guri Oklahoma I don't know did you guys film all of it there no we came back here and shot a little bit uh in the uh well in Air Force One which was how cool is that I had to pinch myself so many times so again for context you actually were in the plane that President Reagan used as Air Force One which is maybe 100 or 200 yards from where we're sitting right now yeah doing a scene with Nancy penel be Anne Miller who was so fantastic in the movie and uh I'm wearing Reagan's actual jacket and uh you know it's uh it's very eerie what a feeling I mean I I hardly know how to describe that and then we shot at the Reagan Ranch and we're doing scenes that happened there actual events that happened there and we're standing in the exact place that they happened and doing those scenes that I don't think Ron and Nancy ever imagined that I'm really glad you mentioned Penelope Anne Miller because it's been said that you one cannot possibly understand Ronald Reagan and the Reagan presidency without understanding The crucial role that Mrs Nancy Reagan played so what how did you in Penelope work that out go deep on that there wouldn't have been a I don't think there would have been a president Ronald ringan without a without Nancy their love story is Central uh to the movie and it's uh Central to their their their their lives he the the support and the strength that they drew from their love story and it was a love story it truly truly was uh you know I I can't begin to to say enough about it and and he wrote her love notes every day and um I think he T you know their relationship taught me about like what Rel relationships uh when an example of one that's like Eternal that works that's a true love story you know you can't manufacture that I think she really the two of you had an amazing connection I have to say she was even I don't know if you Penelope was sending out Christmas cards you and her uh Merry Christmas from the Reagan and um she channeled Nancy I mean it was like Wow even in the lunch line she was channeling Nancy you know but but she was protecting you as well when when when Nancy was when she was on Edwin me I felt the the fear of God she was uh she was there it really made things it really made it so much easier and performance is incredible more from a Reagan form featuring the cast of the Reagan movie after this message the Ronald Reagan presidential Foundation is the nonprofit organization created by President Reagan himself and specifically charged by him with continuing his legacy and sharing his principles individual liberty Economic Opportunity Global democracy and national pride we must remain Vigilant and work together to share these conservative principles with younger Generations Your Role is critical to move our mission forward thank you for your continued support please visit reaganfoundation toor that's reaganfoundation [Music] dorg now back to a Reagan form featuring the cast of the Reagan movie well as as each of you reflects on the film is there do do any of you care to share a particularly favorite scene or something that was particularly fun to shoot or I'm you know what Ilia or or will I haven't seen the film okay you'll have to stick around after um how about you for me I just uh for some reason the Berkeley riots being back in the 60s that was just a really fun day and and uh very memorable and just trans being able to transport in time like that so again for context there when when Ronald Reagan was governor yes there were very significant campus protests there was unrest again more parallels between that era and this era um and and so tell us about this scene where Ronald r goes tell us tell us well and and I think and that was one of the questions when Mark set up the the zoom with with Mr me I was able to ask about I think he his answers to me seemed more as you remember on the zoom uh to be answers that were that had had had time to change over the decades and I asked him if he could to to reans the question his mindset behind the riots at Berkeley uh uh back in the L 60s and how it was then because hindsight's 2020 but he he was he was he was gracious in kind of readapting the answer to his question and um and and so I would try to internalize that mindset rather than his mindset today on it and whether or not he feels responsible for any the atrocities based on his decision that he made or not you know I would love that scene that was one of my favorite scenes yeah the Berkeley riots and it it was the California governor Reagan you know it was there was something about him then you know he would wear brown suits and he'd wear them so great yeah and you know his 50s he was like the sheriff in town Reagan you know and at the same time he has such great humor he would disarm people with his with humor that you know the the the scene where we walk through the the crowd of the the student protesters who were having a a silence in or whatever they got tape over their mouths or whatever and he stops at the door he turns around and goes to the it just cracked them all up made them laugh at themselves you know it it's really it was really disarming that way and uh not many people had that ability and the way he was telling jokes rean the way he was telling jokes yeah just I mean he was a great performer he always opened with a joke and I think that uh the the other seene was the second debate of I will not for political purposes take advantage of my opponent's Youth and inexperience which was you know it was set up and you could see it coming and he was such a great actor that and he I think he was channeling at he and Jack Benny stole jokes from each other because he did a Jack Benny what made the what it made it so funny is that everybody laughed including mandale you know he's laughing and he knows also that well this election's [Laughter] over but Reagan said it and it took a little bit and he then he took the water and sipped the waters just to elongate the moment a little bit you know little Cy thing to do there that was definitely Jack Benny wow any other thoughts I yeah I also would say that Sean you had so much to do our director here you were just always on top of it I was amazed you were flying around uh pulling off Miracle every day or two and uh kudos to you on that yes and really it it is such a timely thing to to have this movie now when the country is so divided yeah while we were making it it was like well we don't want this to be a political movie you know that's what we thought and how can you know I definitely did not want it to come out during an election year you know it's going to get lost or it's this or that that and you know it's just going to and now it came out and it turns out what do I know because it's the perfect time to bring it out I think absolutely it really is it really is and and and again the you you could never have predicted this but the parallels are just so striking right everything from campus protest to a presidential candidate or I'm sorry a president or former president getting shot or getting shot at I I mean it's just it's it's really striking so in a moment we're going to go to audience questions and a reminder to the audience that questions end in a question mark uh and and uh but I what I would like to do is maybe a quick lightning round uh for for any of the cast members who'd care to comment U short short short short statement uh given that we are at the point demographically in this country where about half the population roughly has no memory whatsoever r with Reagan because they were simply born at a time where they it would have been impossible for them to have a a memory of Ronald Reagan what do people need to know about Ronald Reagan and what would you like them to to to come away with from seeing the film well those born after 1980 they will have a chance to really see what this country was like and what it can still be and those of us that were born before 1980 we're can have a reminder and I want it to entertain and inspire people that's what it's for we go to the movies not to see things but to feel things and I hope it's a uniting thing IIA and I think he made America great again and just to to underscore or put some context around that that actually was a Ronald Reagan campaign slogan in 1980 make America great again and you and uh it was yeah yeah uh I think you summed it up earlier just when you were talking about the scene with with with tip O'Neal and president rean and just Democrat Republican I think there's there's just an amazing amount of hostility uh between the two parties right now and it's I would love if anything for people to remember how it it was in those days and to learn from that and and to work together issue by issue and not uh be so hung up on just which part of you are and what you know and personality yeah what that means I I think it's a human story with politics as a backdrop and what I really appreciate about the film is you see Reagan as a human being um it really touches on The Love Story between he and Nancy and I I just I think it there's a human element to it that we don't really see in politics and it avails us the opportunity to see what it was like for him and Amanda to to underscore your point as as somebody who watched the film There's real struggle in his life you mentioned how they moved around a lot he came from Dad struggled with alcoholism Big Time Ronald Reagan the actor had some great times and some not so great times and the movie really really exposes the audience to that I think so yeah he also I think he had a lot of failures in his life and it's the story of being able to get back up on the horse and you know ride with that that white flag of Hope and I think Reagan really offered that right so let's go to questions we have folks with microphones and we have some hands raised and we're going to go to the fabulous philis scorby first who's sitting in the front row to our mic Runners and then we'll go to Dave Cella next thank you so much for being here I really enjoyed the presentation um as you all are very well aware Hollywood the media and and the political parties have really um I think added to the division in this I'm wondering if you're expecting or have you've gotten any blowback from Hollywood anything that you feel uh might uh occur once the movie comes out uh well I that I was there were attempts two attempts to cancel me when I was doing the movie in fact you know I don't know if I would say that was you know because of Reagan at the time but uh I and Reagan was Reagan was like everybody's dad back then at least for my boomer generation he was our dad and that was For Better or For Worse if you were for him or you know the the or didn't want to hear his disciplined or whatever wherever you were in the life you know back then he was he was kind of like the dad of the nation and so people had very strong feelings just like they do about their dad and I find that people they're people out there that still carry those strong feelings with them there's just overwhelmingly more great feelings than their uh than the there are you know bad memories about about him I think with people in fact you know a lot of those student protesters and people that were you know uh you know drop out uh the society and you know drop in and all that they uh in SDS they wound up on Wall Street and made a whole bunch of money you know the greatest thing of of the world and uh rean had a like a slow acting effect on people he was uh he grew on him as well let's go to the back to the front row with Dave cell okay well Mike's coming right here well first off congratulations on a just a wonderful movie wonderful film so uh as you were studying for your roles what did you learn about the character you're playing that surprised you the most about them what surprised me the most was the great communicator uh so many people that knew him always remarked that uh there was a private place in Reagan that you could not penetrate and that was the challenge for me and playing him actually is to get to the to the human you know uh that was there and you know I think because he was a the great communicator of or whatever I think he had to have there was a private place in him that I think had a lot to do with the relationship he had with his mother and uh and God and but who he was listening to and it really formed I think that was it formed the core of who he was there in that silence I think any other surprises before I was most surprised at the humble beginnings um and how economically uh like how how the hardships of the Reagan family and his father being an alcoholic those were all aspects of him that I didn't I never knew about until the film was presented to me um so I I actually learned a lot about Reagan through the process of learning about Nelly there's some remarkable firsts right I mean he was the first president who had been divorced right he uh he you know there's certainly many folks with very privileged privileged backgrounds who become president but he was you he grew up with money was very tight dad Str struggled with alcoholism it was it's it's and I think the alcoholism also affected their their ability to live I mean that's they were moving constantly because of the economical hardships on the family and that was really you know I think Jack's contribution to the the Reagan family you know um But Nelly really tried to protect the children from that demon uh that Jack would have to find at the bottom of a bottle um and I think that made them stronger in some ways but it also taught the kids really valuable lessons let's go all the way in the back I see Trisha with a microphone so please handle it thank you um born and raised in Soviet Union I was a student when cold war was over in this movie what did you learn about relationship between Reagan and Gorbachev they you know what what happened really in that that first meeting starting with that first meeting with them had never really happened at before in a Summit where I was I was really surprised to learn cuz I didn't know this before about how managed presidents were scripted even scripted and managed you know uh as far as communicating with another leader you know it's like you had to be chaperoned or something and Reagan for the first time invited gorb gorbachov into into the next room and sitting there by the fire and really just getting to know each other on a very basic level you know talking about their mothers how they'd grown up and you know they saw I think they began to see each other as humans and the human cost of what a nuclear exchange would be and empathy uh for each side as part of the equation and um yeah that that that really surprised me about how personal that it was and uh I think it took that and in Iceland uh I have to admit in Iceland when they got together in Iceland uh we all thought it was there were going to be no more nuclear weapons uh and there was something was going to happen there and I myself when Reagan walked out I thought oh what he turned into an old coger or whatever he got right up to it and he missed his opportunity so this was the Rik AIC Summit 1986 and Ronald Reagan walks out because he is not willing to give up the Strategic Defense Initiative which gorbage have desperately wanted even offered to share it with them right re techn yeah offered to share the technology that didn't exist by the way at the time that's true but uh uh was willing to play play that game at not a game it wasn't a game but he was he said no to them and that was where he said no and walked out and the Soviets always figured we would cave that we'd appease and he didn't and I think that didn't know it then but that was the moment that the cold war was won you you certainly have company in that assessment that that was an absolutely critical pivotal moment in the Cold War I think we have a question somewhere over here so there we go right there yeah hello this has been delightful as an actress who has also been in a political thriller playing Mary meline in Vice I'm having so much fun listening to you all and I wanted to ask you um I'm actually a UFO person and Reagan saw UFOs by the way and I'm married to a professional astrologer so I'm very curious as someone who doesn't fit everyone's box um did you bring up any of the more metaphysical or those kinds of things in the film as far as his UFO sighting or his interest in astrology we did bring up the the the uh the the preacher who met with Reagan while he was still governor and uh started they held hands to pray in a in a circle and uh he had a vision he started to speak in I guess you would call it tongu that uh he said that you will reside at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and going into kind of a transite state and um so we did deal with that and but it was it's I think they were mixed on how they make a big deal about what what that was but I think they were mixed about how they responded to that uh so that was in there there was other things that you know that were in there that it's not a complete Love Letter to to Reagan I you know his response to AIDS at the time that it that it uh Came Upon Us was not what it could have been but then it was you know the it was about the times that we were in as well his response to that and I think he did come around as well with that and uh there were it's so it's not a complete Love Letter H you know he was a human being and uh but I do think he was the greatest president of the 20th century we have time for one or two more questions right over here in the front oh let's just wait for the microphone to come there it is sorry I just wanted to know how you picked a composer I worked in the film business for 30 years and there aren't very many Republicans around oh I think you'd be surprised [Laughter] [Applause] asked and answered who's next uh right over there on the aisle thank you very much um I'm a native California 70 years um I remember Pat Brown and driving around with my father and uh Ronald Reagan if you were alive today would he be the kind of person he was back then championing conservative causes and uh trying to get California back on the map as a as a common sense State well he was all about common sense wasn't he I think he invented common sense if you ask me that's what he was all about when he when he came to office because you know that are you better off than you were four years ago it's a very simple simple question you know it's it's it's about like don't look behind the curtain over there you know people can feel it and that that's what he tapped into he tapped into everyday people and he just appealed to Common Sense and if yeah I mean Common Sense the solutions are not as difficult for a lot of things that we choose to put our focus on we have a question also near the aisle right over there hi have you heard from the Reagan family and if so what did they think about the film um Michael uh very supportive uh I haven't seen him since actually we we we shot out the film and um but uh I you know I understand from like way back like with Mark really sought out the family uh and sought out the library too you know to to make sure we got Reagan right that he had a voice and and to uh you know because it's is very important about the way that he is betrayed he wanted to get things historically right emotionally right and um because the truth is a lot mightier it really is and it's wanted it to be authentic more than anything else because Reagan was so authentic Dennis in a moment I'm going to ask you to tell the audience when and how they can see the film but as we close why should somebody who maybe doesn't know much or anything about Ronald Reagan maybe that person lives in a blue City or in a blue State why should they see this film well there were a lot of Reagan democrats too you know and it's you know it's kind of funny how in a way after 40 years really even like with uh Roosevelt who I consider to be the the second greatest president of the 20th century really up there you don't really remember the politics you remember the deeds and you know what we did all did As Americans and how we came together and you know Democrats and Republicans were at each other's throat back then you know behind each other's backs you know doing things and whatever but you the politics fade and it's amazing how we make peace with the ghosts of the past and what we remember are is the man and remember the story of us and you know thank God for Ronald Reagan that he came along I I heard it said one time that I heard it said one time that America deserves the president that they get it reflects what's the president reflects what's going on in our society in a way not the other way around you know it's we the people and uh so that's why uh this is such an important election everybody really needs to really take a side in this election and not be afraid to talk and not be able uh to speak up because if we don't speak up you know Freedom it can't be gone in a generation that's for sure and we need to teach by speaking up we teach our young ones how to speak up not be afraid and how to converse and how to argue and how to work it out and um so Republican or Democrat pick a side and vote and then let's get on with it right whether as individuals or as groups how do people see the film well they could see the film starting August the 30th right Mark it's open in a whole bunch of theaters and I'm hoping that this is going to be the biggest baby boomer movie at the [Applause] theaters since [Laughter] [Applause] 1987 go see in the theaters really with an audience and have the experience you know and you can always watch it on streaming like later on you or the ABC movie of the week well show business is a business and and and if the business does as well there will be more movies like this right well that's the that's the idea anyway but yes but uh really it's I go see it and tell your friends about it and don't take my word for it you know tell your friends about it because you yourself have an opinion of it if you if you liked it or not and I I think you will I'm very proud of it I think we all are and um it's it's uh it's been the honor of my life and it's become my favorite movie I've ever made actually the right stuff was my favorite movie before this but just the honor of of of being able to to spend my time just thinking about Reagan every day has been really the honor of my life I can't tell you so thank you people thank you so much I I can't I can't think of a better note to end on so Dennis Amanda will Ilia thank you so much for spending your time here with at the time of this recording the Reagan movie had just been released Nationwide in theaters contact your local theater for screening dates and times to find a listing of all upcoming events please visit Reagan foundation.org events thank you for listening for more information on the Ronald Reagan presidential foundation and Institute including information on how to become a member information on upcoming exhibits at the Reagan library and more information on the legacy of President Reagan please visit Reagan foundation.org and don't forget to like and follow the Reagan foundation on all social media platforms until next week thanks for listening God bless you don't forget to subscribe to aagan Forum podcast in your iTunes or Google Play stores and on other podcast platforms as they become available new episodes of aagan forum come out every Thursday like what you hear check out our words to liveby podcast featuring radio addresses and speeches Ronald Reagan delivered from the 1960s through the 1980s new episodes drop every Tuesday and don't forget to follow @ Ronald Reagan on Facebook @ Ronald Reagan on Twitter and Reagan foundation on YouTube also search for us on Soundcloud and Stitcher [Music]