this is the guy who won the Cold War and did it in a peaceful way Ronald Reagan Margaret Thatcher like valenza and the pope but it was Ronald Reagan was the leader of all that welcome to stackle Beck tonight I'm Eric stackle Beck and as I look around at the chaos in our nation and our world today I often wonder what Ronald Reagan would do and among American an who lived through the 1980s and Reagan's iconic history making presidency I don't think I'm alone much like today when Reagan took office in 1981 America faced a gathering storm of enemies LED at the time by the Soviet Union we were coming out of the Carter years with inflation soaring gas prices an Iranian hostage crisis and a general feeling of low morale among the American people many said our nation was in decline then came Ronald Reagan and everything began turning around it's the kind of sea change we need in America once again today and as we Face the most important presidential election in American history this November with two very different visions of where our country should be headed we're going to take a deep dive tonight into the legacy of a man I believe was one of America's greatest commanders and chief Ronald rean there was a time not so long ago when the world teetered on the brink of nuclear war the cold war between the United States and the Soviet Union was a battle not just of political ideologies but of spiritual warfare a clash between freedom and tyranny light and darkness Ronald Reagan understood this he stood firm in his convictions grounded in his Christian faith believing that America had a divine purpose to stand as a Beacon of Hope and Liberty in a world menaced by the threat of Communism he knew that the battle wasn't just against flesh and blood but against the principalities and powers that sought to suppress freedom and Faith across the globe today we find ourselves yet again in a perilous time facing Global threats and radical forces within that challenge our values our freedom and our faith just as rean Drew strength from his belief in God's guiding hand on America we must look at our faith to navigate these uncertain times the lessons of the past are clear and urgently relevant for us today when we stand United under god with leaders who are Guided by faith and moral Clarity we can overcome every challenge tonight we're joined by two legendary Hollywood actors Dennis Quaid and Academy Award winner John Voit who bring Ronald Reagan's incredible story to life in the Blockbuster new movie rean it hits theaters Nationwide on August 30th and these two film icons will share insights into The Man Behind The Legend and how Ronald Reagan's Legacy continues to resonate today and it all starts now well if you're going to portray one of the greatest presidents in American history on screen you've got to have a leading man who can fill those very big shoes thankfully Dennis Quaid is more than up to the task from the right stuff to Great Balls of Fire the rookie Midway the list goes on he's taken on countless iconic roles and they don't get any more iconic than President Ronald Reagan Dennis plays The Gipper in the great new film Reagan and he joins us now Dennis first of all congrats on the film hey I know you admired President Reagan does that make you want to do his story just as even more as you're playing this role especially because so many in the media and Hollywood have mischaracterized Reagan over the years well uh it was a daunting role to take on just simply from the fact well he was my favorite President I will say that outright but uh you know I had a shiver of fear go up my spine because he's like Muhammad Ali everybody in the world knows what he looks like sounds like and they're going to have a an opinion about it so there was that judgment thing I think I was you know a little Afraid by and also just being able to get P I didn't want to do an impersonation of him like Saturday Night Live and you know I wanted to get past that public Persona to to find out what the you this real person uh who he was beyond all that and um so I didn't say yes but I didn't say no to it and I I took my time to really uh feel it out and think it over and uh I wound up going to the Reagan Ranch which is not open to the public and after Reagan died a group of friends bought that place uh that they called the Western White House back then and they left it exactly as it was Ron and ny's clothes are in the closet wow they like it feels like they just left and they're coming back and when I came through the gate um I could I could feel him I could feel his spirit I could feel who he was as a person he's in you know all that fencing that he did there you could feel him presence he dug that pond he did all the work there himself and um they had a king-sized bed but it was two uh uh twin beds that were zip tied together right and um you know a channel changer there Capron capr and you needed three different remotes to operate it and I know about how to do that it's you know you it was that those little those simple little things and uh the house is 1100 sque a uh square feet it's a tiny Place really but his also his bookcase was there and was every book that he had had since he was nine years old incredible that was very very special yeah he was a student of History so it's not surprising in that sense and he knew the enemy he knew what America was up against during the Cold War in studying for this role obviously an historic leader a history changing leader what set him apart from that leadership perspective why was he so different as a leader he operated from principles rather rather than from party you know th and those principles they go beyond party uh or even uh what's popular today and um those are Eternal those principles yeah those are Christian principles those are principles uh from the Constitution those are principles that you that if you rely on those those those difficult decisions uh become clear H in the long run you may not be popular sometimes but that's what great leaders do they sometimes they make decisions that are unpopular but that are the best in the long run yeah Dennis well said and you mentioned it look Reagan kind of transcended party lines in many ways we had the Reagan democrats people actually left the Democrat Party to vote for Reagan what was it about him do you think that made him so appealing to the American people and why did people connect with him on that level well for one thing Reagan was a Democrat before was a republican almost as much time as he was a republican in fact he he switched parties in 60s because he said I didn't leave the Democratic party it left me but uh it was you know he was also like I said those principles half of the in the in the second election against Mondale half of registered Democrats voted for Ronald Reagan I me go figure there's never been a landslide like that 4 States yeah it was because of those principles he was also he appealed to everybody everybody felt like they knew him they could trust him in a sense of course there were those who you know called him a warmonger called him you know call him a washed up actor this is the guy who won the Cold War and did it in a peaceful way and you know even even the Russians loved it it really deep down and uh in a sense what I remember is especially for my generation the boomer generation he was everybody's dad and that could be for better or worse you know it could be you could be the son who admires your dad you could be the son who Rebels against your dad but at the same time your family and I think that's really still was part of his appeal one of the pivotal moments in Reagan's life and his presidency dentist was that attempted assassin ation in 1981 shortly after he took office how did that change and surviving that how did that change not only the trajectory of his presidency but the trajectory of his faith he talked about how that incident Drew him closer to God what did you find in playing the role the impact it had on him I think it was a it was a you know a deepening uh for him you know it survived that you the bullet was less than an inch from his heart and wow you know at first they weren't even they were going to go back to the White House he didn't know he'd been shot he thought the Secret Service man had jumped up on top of and he said gosh you hurt my ribs was so B then he started to cough out blood and so they went to Walter Reed hospital and that's what saved him it was very very close I don't even we didn't know at the time actually realize as a people so much later but it really changed him the fact you uh tip O'Neal was like the first outside of ncy to come visit him you know his sworn enemy the Speaker of the House Democratic Speaker of the House who said you know uh you'll do anything to get this tax cut won't you uh you know he uh he talked with the tip there and he said he felt like he had been this had happened that uh his life was no longer his it was for the man upstairs wow to do his will and it was a deepening for him yeah and by the way that is a very powerful scene in the film in the hospital bed we won't give any more away but with Reagan and tip O'Neal in the wake of the shooting hey what did you find Dennis in playing the role more about Reagan the man look came from humble beginnings that's why it's interesting that Western White House you described a moment ago 1100 square feet pretty humble but he came from Humble begin not a rich man no exactly he was not a rich man you know it was about public service yes he may have made a lot of other people Rich you know dur the economy that came along there but uh you know he was he really uh he believed a lot more than just making money you know he really believed in the American people and the American dream and our country yeah it was uh you know that was there you know little things too like he was an amazing athlete uh all throughout his life I you know was he was a lifeguard and uh I saw him actually I I never met him but during the 90s after his presidency I was playing in La Country Club golf and that he was on the next Fairway this guy's almost 90 years old he can still just really get the ball in a very athletic way yeah they said he was in great shape and that's one of the reasons he was able to survive the bullet actually he was always in great shape what about rean the husband the father father what did you learn about the man in terms of the personal life in playing this role as a as a husband he was an incredible husband he was he and Nancy uh their relationship it's really just a a great example of what a uh a a relationship that uh like that that also has God in the relationship what can do that how it brings out your best self you can bring out your best self and each other but along with that time was also uh the opportunity to be become uh president of the Screen Actors Guild which is not a job that actors are gunning for by the way but that turned out to be his entry into politics and uh and fighting communism did he get the sense you mentioned uh the speeches he made at GE about communism The Screen Actors Guild it was all leading up to his main purpose in life winning the cold war did he get the sense that he was an historic figure that that he was put in this role for such a time as this as the Bible would say did rean have that sense as he's shoulder-to-shoulder with people like Margaret Thatcher Pope John Paul II did he know the importance of what he was doing and the historic magnitude of it you know I think he was so involved in the fight that he didn't think about that times I'm sure at the end he had to in a way uh feel that he had accomplished something but you know he didn't even talk to the Soviets didn't even talk to him for the first five years of his presidency he thought he had missed the moment in history and um you know they kept uh first you know they kept dying on him there was three went by in a year and uh you know and Mel gorber com coming along at the time that he did and also the times were right and it was Ronald Reagan Margaret Thatcher like valenza and the pope who yes really I think ended uh the Cold War but it was Ronald Reagan was the leader of all that yeah Dennis it is an awesome film congratulations on the film number one number two seems like at a blast playing this role and and this is a film for everyone right I think every American any political stripe can appreciate this yes and if you know if you were born before 1985 you'll get to see how great this country used to be and if you're born after 1985 you can see how great this country still can be amen well said Dennis Quaid the one and only congrats on the film August 30th Reagan Dennis God bless good luck with the film we'll see you again soon thank you God bless folks we have a very special guest joining us he's an academy award-winning actor with a legendary career spanning decades and now he's stepping into the shoes of a pivotal figure in the cold war in the great new film rean The One and Only John void is here John great to have you and hey rean may be set during the Cold War but we live in very challenging times right now John do you think this film will resonate with audiences today as they watch how Reagan boldly confronted the great evil of Soviet communism just as we Face great evils in these times yes well I I think there there are some parallels to be made but this film wasn't made in terms of that we didn't intend to have this film come out uh at this time we we we were thinking it would come out about a year ago uh and uh and now we're we're and it's opening now and it seems to be relevant now in many ways uh the the uh the situ ation in the United States was pretty rough very tough time after the Carter Administration and uh Reagan was uh came into it and and turned out to be the man of the hour and and a a wonderful energy for the United States at that time and uh and this is the story of that and right now we have some similar difficulties and actually the character I play is a fellow who uh who was a spy for the Soviet Union and uh um he he was uh trying to he early on in his career he was working along with the Soviet thought of taking down the United States through various means one of them being propaganda uh in into our schools into our into our media into our films and they they they were accomplishing a lot of that and um anyway we see the way Reagan approached it and and his career and how he eventually overcame the Soviet Union and they disbanded because of his leadership hey talk a bit about your research for this role a unique role obviously an ex KGB agent playing these kinds of historic roles I guess you have to dig deep a bit with the research I I have and I have just I have to say that everybody involved pelan and uh and Dennis certainly did their research and I did my research too there's a fellow by the name of Yuri uh basmanov who was uh a person who was a spy and left the Soviet Union and and came to live in the United States and gave us in lots of information about the the Soviet plan to take down America from the 50s on even earlier and it's very complex stuff they wanted to take over the universities take God out of the schools uh take over Hollywood and it was a long plan the first part of it would have been TW a 20-year plan uh and it seems like they have really accomplished that even though the Soviet Union is no more still that plan has has uh taken root in in the United States Ronald Reagan that kind of strong leadership seems so sorely needed in the world today right sure sure well he was a very positive figure gave hope to everybody and uh and and he believed so in in the United States and its founding principles and he brought it back to he brought those back to us during his time we need that now too more than ever stackle backck tonight my allnew nightly series on current events through a bold biblical lens make sure you hit the Subscribe button so you never miss an upload and tap the Bell icon so you're notified every time a new video is posted and don't forget to share your thoughts insights and comments below thanks for watching and God bless