Biden Seeks SOTU Advice From Morgan Freeman, Bill Pullman and Other Actors Who’ve Played Presidents | Video

Ahead of his State of the Union address Thursday night, President Joe Biden consulted some unlikely advisors for the big moment … past presidents of Hollywood.

On a Zoom call, the Commander-in-Chief met with Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman, Geena Davis, Tony Goldwyn and Bill Pullman, among others, asking for advice for the annual speech.

“Well sir, in my capacity as president, all I had to deal with was a meteor,” Freeman said, years after portraying President Tom Beck in 1998’s “Deep Impact.” “One of the things that I came out of that with in my speech to people — hope. Hope is the strongest force we have in this country. It is the most useful and the most effective. My advice is just keep telling us how you’re working for us and building hope.”

Next came Tony Goldwyn, who played President Fitzgerald Grant III in all seven seasons of Shonda Rhimes’ “Scandal” series.

“Looking back on my own presidency, I behaved very badly in a lot of situations,” he said. “In preparation for your speech, it’s just there was one piece of advice that meant a lot to me when I was president: ‘Tell them that you exist for them. Tell them that they make you a better man.’”

As Goldwyn recited his piece of advice, dramatic music played, before he cut things short, saying, “That’s pretty much it.”

“When I used to give speeches, I would always wind down with popcorn and red wine, but I know for you that would be ice cream,” Goldwyn added.

Davis, who played President Mackenzie Allen on “Commander in Chief,” spoke about new crises popping up every week that she had to face. Biden told her she did a “hell of a job,” which made her laugh.

“I do feel I should point out one thing. It always bears remembering, there’s no crying in politics,” Davis said, alluding to her famous film “A League of Their Own,” in which Tom Hanks reminds all of his players “there’s no crying in baseball.”

“What I hope is my politics doesn’t make anybody else cry,” Biden responded.

Douglas, who portrayed President Andrew Shepherd alongside Annette Bening in “The American President” (1995), emphasized that “having a loving partner changes everything.” He also advised Biden to save a dance for the First Lady in the East Room.

“We’ve had a lot of lines to learn ourselves. It’s nice to watch somebody else have to get it all together rather than us,” Pullman, who played President Thomas J. Whitmore in “Independence Day” (1996), said. “I had it easy. We just had invaders from outer space coming in wanting to mess with us, and that tends to unify people.”

While acknowledging that his speech may not have been the greatest ever, Pullman noted two points: “We can’t be consumed by our petty differences, and we will be united in our common interests. Somehow, these words became something to remember.”

Pullman also stressed the importance of Biden’s words when he says, “There’s nothing that we can’t do when we do it together.”

Biden finished by inviting all of the actors to come visit him at the White House.

Biden’s State of the Union speech will begin at 9 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. PT.

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