30 actors who played the president of the United States, and how they compare to the real thing

The series covered his life from age 11 to 51, just before he began his presidency, and is based on James Thomas Flexner’s mammoth biography.

The best image we have of Washington was painted in 1796, where Washington looks pretty different from Bostwick.

He played the American politician in the 2008 HBO miniseries “John Adams.”

The facial features don’t all match up, but Giamatti channels Adams’ demeanor.

The 1997 movie takes place during Martin van Buren’s presidency rather than Adams’, though.

In his later years, Adams basically had sideburns that went to his chin.

Kris Kristofferson is also known for playing the seventh president in the 2015 History Channel series “Texas Rising.”

Heston’s version of the president captures his long face, swept-back hair, and intensity.

He oversees the political implications of a slave ship that arrived on American shores.

However, Martin van Buren’s facial hair was a little more untamed in real life.

For Steven Spielberg’s 2012 movie “Lincoln,” Day-Lewis was praised for his fidelity to the role, adopting the real-life president’s thin, reedy voice.

This photo, taken in 1863, was taken around the same time the movie takes place.

Before Day-Lewis’ portrayal, the 1939 fictionalized movie about Lincoln’s early life by John Ford was considered the gold standard.

Lincoln had a more clean-shaven look earlier in his career, so the Ford depiction got that right.

The movie was accused of whitewashing Andrew Johnson’s racism, but Helfin’s career didn’t suffer — the same year, he won a supporting actor Oscar for “Johnny Eager.”

Johnson was the first US president to be impeached.

He also played Grant in “Geronimo” in 1939, “Colorado” in 1940, “The Adventures of Mark Twain” in 1944, “Silver River” in 1948, “Red Desert” in 1949, “San Antone” in 1953, and an episode of “Jane Wyman Presents” in 1958.

From Union general to US president, Grant kept his famous beard throughout his career.

The 1952 movie was a biopic of John Philip Sousa, the composer of the titular military march.

The actor has the same face shape and groomed facial hair as the former president.

It’s a fictionalized role in which the 25th president is involved in fighting bank robbers for some reason.

Come to think of it, he kind of looks like a police chief who’d clamp down on robberies.

In addition to the first, 2006 movie, he also played the role in the “Night at the Museum” sequels “Battle of the Smithsonian” and “Secret of the Tomb.” Williams also played President Dwight D. Eisenhower in the 2013 movie “The Butler.”

The 26th president is a towering figure in American history, and Williams captured his larger-than-life persona.

The movie won five out of 10 Oscar nominations but missed out on a best actor win for Knox.

The movie captures Wilson’s professorial air, and it gets details like his glasses and hair right.

He appeared in the episode “Hold Me in Paradise,” which took place during the 1920 Republican National Convention.

While “Boardwalk Empire” gets points for period costumes and set design, Cleary doesn’t precisely capture the corruption-plagued president.

Along with Lincoln and his distant cousin, Teddy Roosevelt, FDR is one of the most-portrayed presidents.

FDR did love putting around his Hyde Park estate in his car.

The movie was based on David McCullough’s Pulitzer Prize-winning biography of the 33rd president.

Sinise was cast perfectly and won a Golden Globe for the role.

“Thirteen Days” dramatized the Cuban Missile Crisis.

He portrayed Kennedy well as a political strategist.

The film chronicles the Cuban Missile Crisis and was inspired by Robert F. Kennedy’s posthumously published 1969 book, “Thirteen Days: A Memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis.”

Devane nailed the way Kennedy crinkled his forehead when he was listening. The wardrobe department also got his tortoiseshell frames right. 

Johnson has been depicted in several movies. Liev Schreiber played him as an arch-politician in 2013’s “The Butler,” Tom Wilkinson highlighted his racism in 2014’s “Selma,” John Caroll Lynch played him in 2016’s “Jackie,” and Woody Harrelson had a biopic of his own with 2017’s “LBJ.”

Cranston was nominated for numerous awards for the role. The biggest difference, physically, is that the real-life Johnson had slightly less hair and was more jowly than Cranston himself.

The 2008 movie dramatizes Nixon’s post-White House interviews with journalist David Frost.

Langella earned an Oscar nomination for his performance.

It was a brief role, but Rickman’s unique voice and on-screen energy made him stand out from everyone else.

Rickman’s slightly more rosy-cheeked than the real Reagan. But for a British actor, he made it work.

Directed by Sean McNamara, the film chronicles Reagan’s life story from his childhood to his ascent to the presidency.

In the debate, Reagan famously responded to attacks from Carter by saying, “There you go again.”

George H.W. Bush became the 41st president after the end of Reagan’s second term.

If you squint, the shapes of their mouths look kind of alike.

The movie has nothing to do with Clinton’s extramarital affair — it’s about his relationship with British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

He doesn’t otherwise resemble the 42nd president.

The FX true crime series chronicles the events surrounding Clinton’s affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky and his subsequent impeachment in the 1990s.

Owen told Vanity Fair in 2021 that he wore a prosthetic forehead and nose for the role.

“I didn’t want to be buried in prosthetics because I find that super distracting,” he said. “So we were able to find something that was sort of in the middle that was a gesture of him, and not be totally drowned and hidden behind a sort of false face.”

Oliver Stone’s critical biopic, released during Bush’s presidency, cast Josh Brolin as a third choice after Harrison Ford and Christian Bale dropped the project.

Brolin nails Bush’s facial expressions and does well with the accent, but he doesn’t quite have the same features.

The 2016 movie is about the first date between Barack and Michelle Obama while the two worked at the same law firm in Chicago.

Sawyers captured his self-assuredness and charisma.

Netflix’s 2016 movie explores the social and cultural events that influenced a young Barack Obama during his time at Columbia University in the 1980s.

Terrell got everything right from his hair to his facial expressions.

Bill Ray’s Showtime mini-series explores the relationship between former FBI director James Comey and Trump in the early months of his presidency. It’s based on Comey’s book, “A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership.”

Gleeson’s got Trump’s iconic head of hair right and mimics the former president’s facial expressions well.

The film follows the Senate hearings in 1991 corresponding with Clarence Thomas’ nomination to the Supreme Court. The film features Kinnear prominently as then-Senator Biden questioning Anita Hill about allegations that Thomas sexually harassed her. 

Kinnear without a doubt nailed the intensity with which Biden questioned Hill. But the real Biden’s face looks fuller and his hair is thinning more than his on-screen adaptation.