Daniel Day-Lewis has signed to play Abraham Lincoln in Steven Spielberg’s upcoming biopic about the 16th president of the US.
Spielberg and DreamWorks’ Stacey Snider announced the casting today, reports Coming Soon.
Liam Neeson had previously been attached to the role.
“Daniel Day-Lewis would have always been counted as one of the greatest of actors, were he from the silent era, the golden age of film or even some time in cinema’s distant future. I am grateful and inspired that our paths will finally cross with Lincoln,” Spielberg said.
Snider added of Day-Lewis: “Throughout his career, he has been exceptionally selective in his choice of material, which makes us feel even more fortunate that he has chosen to join with us for Lincoln.”
The film is based on Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin’s best-selling book Team of Rivals.
The movie will reportedly dramatise Lincoln’s clashes with the men in his cabinet while dealing with abolition and the end of the Civil War.
Oscar-winning screenwriter Tony Kushner is scripting the project with Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy producing.