It was a great cast with amazing performances by Tommy Lee Jones as Thaddeus Stevens, Sally Field as Mrs. Mary Todd Lincoln, David Straitharn as William Seward, James Spader who was freaking hilarious as W.N. Bilbo, John Hawkes as Robert Latham, Joseph Gordon-Leavitt as Robert Lincoln, Hal Holbrook as Preston Blair, Lee Pace as Fernando Wood (who might I say does a british accent quite well - remember him in "Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day"?), and Jared Harris (another brit) playing Ulysses S. Grant.
Here's a bit o' trivia (or I like to call it...gossip!), according to imdb.com:
-Once Daniel Day-Lewis decided on the voice that he would use to portray Lincoln, he sent an audiotape of it to Director Steven Spielberg in a box with a skull & crossbones on it so no one but he would hear it first.
-During the three and a half months of filming, Steven Spielberg addressed his actors in character: he called Daniel Day-Lewis "Mr. President," and Sally Field "Mrs. Lincoln," or "Molly." Additionally, he wore a suit every day on set: "I think I wanted to get into the role, more than anything else, of being part of that experience - because we were recreating a piece of history. And so I didn't want to look like the schlubby, baseball cap wearing 21st century guy; I wanted to be like the cast."
-After Liam Neeson dropped out, Steven Spielberg returned to his original choice for the titular role, Daniel Day-Lewis. Day-Lewis declined because he didn't know if he could play such an iconic role. It was Leonardo DiCaprio who convinced him to take the role after Spielberg told him that Day-Lewis declined. It is unknown how DiCaprio convinced Day-Lewis to take the role.
Enjoy!
