With Steven Spielberg's Abraham Lincoln biopic in post production, the first official photo of Daniel Day-Lewis as the sixteenth President of the United States has surfaced with Day-Lewis looking very regal.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Spielberg said that Day-Lewis perfectly captures the essence of the famous leader, as well as bearing a great likeness and said "Lincoln had a very, very complicated - and at the same time, extremely clear - inner life.
He thought things out. He talked things out. He argued both sides of every issue. And he was very careful in making any decision. As a matter of fact, his opponents and his enemies criticised him often for being impossibly slow to a decision."
Lincoln comes to UK cinemas on January 25 and is based on historian Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals whichh focuses on the last few months of Lincoln's presidency and life.
Explaining why, Spielberg added "Our movie is really about a working leader who must make tough decisions and get things done in the face of overwhelming opposition."
Dismissing reports that Day-Lewis used his method acting technique to immerse himself as the commander-in-chief, Spielberg conceded that crew members did refer to him as "Mr President" revealing "Daniel was always conscious of his contemporary surroundings. Daniel never went into a fugue state. He did not channel Lincoln. All that stuff is just more about gossip than it is about technique.
I was calling [all] the actors by their character names. That was something I felt was important to establish a little authenticity, maybe even more for me than for them."
Lincoln features an all star cast including Sally Field, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tommy Lee Jones, James Spader, Hal Holbrook, John Hawkes, David Strathairn, Bruce McGill, Tim Blake Nelson, Lee Pace and Jackie Earle Haley.
Daniel Day-Lewis Photos
LINCOLN IS OUT ON JANUARY 25
