ON DISPLAY NOW: Our newest temporary exhibit presents the leading role of the president in American society through the lens of television and film.
commanding the screen: The American Presidency in Film and Television
August 17, 2024 – March 23, 2025
Explore cinematic performances of fictional and real-life presidents, and examine how America’s spirit, values, and historical journey are reflected in these portrayals of the Commander in Chief. It features original costumes, authentic props, and other memorabilia from portrayals of the American presidency on screen.
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Featured Movies and TV Shows
White House Down
President James Sawyer
Actor: Jamie Foxx
Pixels
President Will Cooper
Actor: Kevin James
Independence Day: Resurgence
President Thomas Whitmore
Actor: Bill Pullman
2012
President Thomas Wilson
Actor: Danny Glover
Head of State
President Mays Gilliam
Actor: Chris Rock
American Horror Story: Double Feature
President Dwight Eisenhower
Actor: Neal McDonough
LBJ
President Lyndon B. Johnson
Actor: Woody Harrelson
Thirteen Days
President John F. Kennedy
Actor: Bruce Greenwood
Deep Impact
President Tom Beck
Actor: Morgan Freeman
Frost/Nixon
President Richard Nixon
Actor: Frank Langella
National Treasure: Book of Secrets
The President
Actor: Bruce Greenwood
W.
President George W. Bush
Actor: Josh Brolin
The Dramatic Life of Abraham Lincoln
President Abraham Lincoln
Actor: George A. Billings
Homeland
President Ralph Warner
Actor: Beau Bridges
Being There
President ‘Bobby’
Actor: Jack Warden
Dr. Strangelove
President Merkin Muffley
Actor: Peter Sellers
Love Actually
The U.S. President
Actor: Billy Bob Thornton
The Butler
President Dwight D. Eisenhower
Actor: Robin Williams
Scandal
President Fitzgerald Grant
Actor: Tony Goldwyn
Madam Secretary
President Elizabeth McCord
Actor: Téa Leoni
Lincoln
President Abraham Lincoln
Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
President Theodore Roosevelt
Actor: Robin Williams
Don’t Look Up
President Orlean
Actor: Meryl Streep
Wilson
President Woodrow Wilson
Actor: Alexander Knox
1776
President John Adams
Actor: William Daniels
Scandal
President Mellie Grant
Actor: Bellamy Young
PT-109
President John F. Kennedy
Actor: Cliff Robertson
Amistad
President John Quincy Adams
Actor: Anthony Hopkins
The American President
President Andrew Shepherd
Actor: Michael Douglas
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
President Abraham Lincoln
Actor: Benjamin Walker
Nixon
President Richard Nixon
Actor: Sir Anthony Hopkins
24: Live Another Day
President Heller
Actor: William Devane
Veep
President Selina Meyer
Actor: Julia Louis-Dreyfus
This exhibit was curated by the Clinton Presidential Library and Museum Staff.