Casting the Donald Trump Movie: Who Would Play Him?

If Sarah Palin’s vice presidential candidacy taught us anything, it’s that the intersection of incompetence and politics is riveting entertainment. The 2012 film, Game Change, taught us that Hollywood can take such incompetency and spin it into a riveting narrative film. But if Sarah Palin was “incompetent,” then current Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump, is somewhere along the lines of “cartoon villain.” If Game Change won multiple Emmys, then the Untitled Donald Trump Project could end up being one of the highest grossing films of this decade. But who’s going to play Donald Trump in the movie about his campaign?

1. John Wilkes Booth

Let’s start with the obvious choices, the low hanging fruit. Perhaps the most obvious potential actor to play the role of Donald Trump is John Wilkes Booth. Sure, Booth has been dead for over 150 years, and acting has changed a bit since then, but Booth’s acting prowess would mean he wouldn’t have any issues adjusting to contemporary acting practices in order to play the brash candidate. Maybe Booth is such a great fit because he wouldn’t have to stretch his political views too far to match Trump’s. Maybe it’s the absolute insanity that is both of their hairstyles, but something about Booth just speaks to the Trump ethos. Booth is one of the ultimate villains in American history – he literally killed the president who ended slavery. And, as Trump will almost certainly be the villain in this film, Booth’s villainous experience could be the most important aspect of his acting resume. However, as Booth is still technically awaiting trial for murdering Lincoln, it is possible that he would not be available when needed.

2. Ronald Reagan

If John Wilkes Booth is unavailable, then my next choice is Ronald Reagan. Reagan knows what it’s like to run for president, having been elected twice. Although Reagan died in 2004, he could bring a level of realism to the role that few others could. The two have similar career paths leading up to their eventual campaigns: they were both democrats at some point, they both had careers in the media, and they both wanted to make America great again. That was actually Reagan’s campaign slogan. When you’re supporting Trump, it turns out you’re supporting copyright infringement - go figure.

And, needless to say, Reagan has the obvious acting pedigree to be Trump. Although he may lack the desired villainous experience to play Trump (he only played a villain in The Killers, the final film of his career) he is an obvious potential Trump because of his dual experience as both president and villain. However, due to Reagan’s busy schedule as a corpse, some further backup actors may be necessary.

3. Mel Gibson

If onscreen villainy is a requirement to play Donald Trump, this may be bad news for Mel Gibson, my next potential star. However, since Gibson is such a villain off-screen, it would make sense to make an exception. Gibson not only captures the villainous mentality that Trump embodies, but, much like the Trump character, is comfortable alienating various minority groups. In fact, both are just as famous for their actual work as they are for offensive things they say.

Of course, life-rights must be taken into account when considering who would act as a living person in their life story. Fortunately for Gibson, Trump announced that he was a big fan of Gibson’s work in Bravehart after seeing the movie on an airplane in 2011. Trump also noted that he hoped that Gibson would eventually “make a comeback.” What better comeback could Gibson make than in a starring role, cast as Donald Trump? Such a situation would allow Trump to be directly responsible in reviving the career of a fellow bigot. One would assume that such a situation would be a win-win.

4. Will Ferrell

If the Untitled Donald Trump Story is written as a comedy, as it very well may be, there is only one possible man who can play the part - Will Ferrell. Ferrell’s range has been well demonstrated throughout his acting career; he thrives in both comedic and dramatic roles. Furthermore, Ferrell proved that he has the ability to competently portray politicians during his time on SNL and in his role in The Campaign. Although John Edwards (the basis for Ferrell’s character) is politically very different from Donald Trump, comedy does not hinge as strongly on realism as drama does, and this would therefore not be a major obstacle in attempting to evaluate Ferrell’s ability to play Trump.

Ferrell has already acted some of the lines that he would be delivering in the Donald Trump film. In The Campaign, Ferrell delivers the line, “it’s just one poll, those things aren’t scientific.” This seems like a fairly ridiculous statement from a political candidate, however, Trump made the claim that polls are “not very scientific” earlier this campaign. Perhaps the differences in Ferrell’s character is, in fact, not so different from that of Trump. If this were to be the case, Ferrell may be a poor casting decision – it would be best to avoid a simple rehash of The Campaign.

5. Donald Trump

There is no perfect fit for the role of Donald Trump; my suggested actors each have flaws that could prevent them from being the right actor for the role. If worse comes to worse, Trump could always play himself – he certainly has the acting experience to do so. And, needless to say, he has both the correct look and feel to play himself. However, if Trump were to pull out the victory, his ability be cast as himself would be severely diminished. Either way, The Untitled Donald Trump Project is the inevitable political film I’m going to be most excited for in the 2020s.