Bill Murray As FDR In 'Hyde Park On Hudson' (PHOTOS)

It raised a few eyebrows when the casting was first announced, but these first photos of Bill Murray playing President Franklin D. Roosevelt make clear that the "Ghostbusters" star was the perfect choice for the job.

Murray chomps cigars and charms in the batch of stills from "Hyde Park On Hudson," an upcoming film from Focus Features that recounts the story of the British King and Queen's visit to Roosevelt's vacation home in 1939. The picture will mix political wrangling, with the royalty looking to the US for support in the inevitable war with the Nazis, and domestic drama, giving focus to Roosevelt's alleged affair with his distant cousin and confidant, Daisy Suckley.

The film, in fact, will be told through the eyes of Suckley, who will be played by Laura Linney. Olivia Williams takes on the role of Eleanor Roosevelt, while Samuel West and Olivia Colman will play the King and Queen, respectively.

PHOTOS:

Comments

[paultec]

11:26 AM on 11/27/2011

Bill Murrey is a great actor and I'm sure this will be a great movie,can't wait !
FDR one of our Great Presidents,We all know we have had a lot of bad ones.

[WarriorLemming]

02:50 AM on 11/09/2011

QUOTE:
"the perfect choice for the job"

Absolutely! He has wonderful comedic timing--so nuanced. It will be interesting to see how Bill Murray plays FDR.

[corsair807]

07:50 PM on 11/08/2011

LOOKS GREAT AS FDR

[Connor Wisnom]

07:49 PM on 11/08/2011

FDR : worst president in US history. that man set the stage for many things that today are screwing us over big time. if you think that we couldnt have gotten out of the recession or world war II without him, then you dont know where the credit deserves to be placed. without visionaries and leaders like Eisenhower and Patton, the war would have been lost. and the great depression? the war solved the problem and FDR knew that was what was going to happen when we joined in.

[flilguy]

12:05 AM on 11/27/2011

FDR was a far from perfect president. The high school I attended in the 1980's was built in 1938 as part of the New Deal. The people in my area didn't attend high school until that school was built, after 8th grade you went to work in the fields, mills and factories. I grew up in Southern Illinois, although most of the people down state are Republican, many of FDR programs helped rural America. In this day and age the term "Progressive Democrat" is a negative thing, but in the 1930's and 40's it meant having the infrastructure for electricity, running water, and a primary education. During the time frame of the 1930's and 40's many conservative icons like Ayn Rand and Ronald Reagan voted for FDR after the Great Depression hit.

[paultec]

11:21 AM on 11/27/2011

Thank you for your factual account of the great humanitarian and President,FDR.There was a reason Americans voted him in so many times.Because they loved him.To criticise his memory is to be UNAMERICAN.

[paultec]

11:16 AM on 11/27/2011

I would like to call you a bunch of names but that wouldn't be allowed. @#$%!

[Mike Muhawi]

05:58 PM on 11/08/2011

I grew up with Bill in movies like Cady Shack and Ghost Busters and who doesn't love Ground Hog Day! I associate him and his brand of comedy with my childhood.... I'm glad he hasn't faded into the woodwork and why not if the man can reinvent himself in completely new roles good for him!

[Sue Lyon]

02:46 PM on 11/08/2011

A wonderful and insightful read about Roosevelt:
"Roosevelt and the Coming of the War 1941" - Charles Beard

[DanEboi]

02:39 PM on 11/08/2011

Sounds brilliant. Cant wait.

[Si1ver1ock]

12:56 PM on 11/08/2011

He also did a great Hunter S. Thompson in "Where the Buffalo Roam."

Still a classic.

[Si1ver1ock]

12:54 PM on 11/08/2011

I will almost certainly go to the theater and watch it.

Haven't been, since the last Harry Potter film.

[champagne charlie]

11:45 AM on 11/08/2011

Did he learn nothing from the remake of "The Razor's Edge"?

[Si1ver1ock]

12:54 PM on 11/08/2011

I did.

[electricladyland]

10:59 AM on 11/08/2011

Lean back, look up, and squint. Instant FDR impression!

[pascalmusicman]

10:49 AM on 11/08/2011

looks a lot like Bill Murray in an old man's wardrobe. I'm sorry to rain on everyone's parade, but this is like Tom Hanks playing a machine-gunning gangster - it just does not work for me. (but then, who do I think I am?)

[hazelsjam]

07:21 PM on 11/08/2011

I have to agree with you...I see no resemblance at all!

[GQB]

09:36 AM on 11/28/2011

Right... Because the only important part of playing a role is doing a physical impersonation. You must think Rich Little is the greatest actor in history.

[DogDancer]

10:45 AM on 11/08/2011

Can't wait. Hope this is as good as it promises to be.

[themeekeer]

10:41 AM on 11/08/2011

Wasnt the "vacation home" in Campabello and later Warm Springs? Hyde Park was the primary residence of the Roosevelts.

[vlynnieg]

02:43 PM on 11/08/2011

He spent a lot of time in Warm Springs, GA, as the waters in that area are reputed to have therapeutic value and he was seeking help for his polio. The Little White House (his home there) is an awesome museum, if you ever get the chance to visit. He died there.

[themeekeer]

10:39 AM on 11/08/2011

I hope this turns out well. I like Murray a lot and he needs an Oscar already!