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In “Reagan,” Dennis Quaid and Penelope Ann Miller are channeling President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan and their 52-year fairy-tale romance.
They spoke with “Extra’s” Adam Weissler about the “power couple.”
Dennis said, “This movie, at the core, is a love story… It was all about Nancy and Ron, and there wouldn’t have been a President Reagan without Nancy.”
Penelope agreed, saying, “I think that is the heart of the film… They were a power couple and they were a unit and they were so tight.”
She added, “Their love story was real. It was genuine and real.”
Quaid shared, “He wrote her love letters every day, at least a little note.”
The film explores that fateful day in American history when their marriage faced its biggest test with the assassination attempt on Reagan.
Quaid noted, “It was three months into his presidency.” Miller said she could only imagine that a wife in Nancy’s position might wonder, “Is this what I’m in for? Is this what we signed up for?”
Dennis added, “That fear of assassination followed Nancy throughout his term.”
Penelope said, “So she was definitely fiercely, fiercely protective of him and who he surrounded himself [with].”
Dennis admitted that playing the real-life figure made him a little nervous!
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“He was my favorite president, and I didn’t want to do an impersonation of him,” Quaid explained. “He’s like Muhammad Ali — everyone in the world knows what he looks like, sounds like, and has a very deep opinion about it.”
Dennis said of his hesitancy, “So I didn’t say yes to begin with, but I didn’t say no.”
Penelope added of playing Nancy, “It is frightening to play real people, especially real people who are so iconic. That was daunting for me, as well.”
She reflected, “If I can just capture their essence, even if I don’t look exactly like them… or walk like them or talk like them, I want to able to feel them. That’s my hope, with all the research, that I was able to capture her essence and honor her legacy.”
Quaid insisted, “She basically channeled Nancy Reagan, even in the lunch line!”
Dennis also reflected on how Reagan lived his life according to principles that went beyond political party, noting he’d like to see more of a dialogue today.
“I think everybody wishes we had a Ronald Reagan right now… even quite a lot of democrats. About half the democrats voted for Reagan in the second election… He had principles, he governed by principles, he lived his life by principles that go beyond political party. I would like to see a little more of that today, and I would like to see a little more dialogue that the two parties had with one another back then that is missing today.”
“Reagan” is in theaters August 30.