
David Strathairn has been cast in Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln.
Strathairn will play William Seward, who served as Lincoln’s Secretary of State from 1861 to 1869. Seward was a passionate abolitionist and fiercely loyal to Lincoln as he served in his cabinet during the Civil War.
Strathairn joins the previously-cast Daniel Day-Lewis and Sally Field on the DreamWorks Studios picture. Day-Lewis will play the titular character, and Field his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln.
“Throughout his career, David Strathairn has consistently delivered performances of strength and character. That's why I am so pleased that he will portray the Secretary of State, who became such a dominant figure in Lincoln's ‘team of rivals’ cabinet," director Spielberg said.
Playwright Tony Kushner wrote the screenplay, based on Doris Kearns Goodwin’s best-selling book Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln. The book focuses on how Lincoln worked with his former rivals during his presidency.