“The Report” star Annette Bening remembers 'grit' of Dianne Feinstein after death: 'I was honored to play her'

After playing influential politician Dianne Feinstein in the 2019 movie The Report, Oscar-nominated actress Annette Bening is paying tribute to the late California senator in an exclusive statement to EW.

"From the moment Dianne Feinstein stepped in as mayor of San Francisco after the brutal murder of the previous mayor, George Moscone and her fellow Board Of Supervisor's member, Harvey Milk, by another supervisor, Dan White, Dianne proved herself to be a public official of absolute integrity and grit," Bening tells EW through a representative. "Her legislation in banning assault weapons and her outing of the attempted coverup by the CIA of their clandestine torture program during the Iraq war were among her greatest achievements as a legislator. I was honored to play her."

Everett Collection; Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images Annette Bening as Dianne Feinstein in 'The Report'

Feinstein, the oldest member of the Senate, died Thursday night at 90, per the New York Times.

Bening played Feinstein in the 2019 drama opposite Adam Driver as Daniel J. Jones, who led an investigation into the CIA's Sept. 11 Detention and Interrogation Program. She told EW at the time of the film's release that she first met Feinstein in 1978, when Bening was a student at San Francisco State.

"I have this emotional connection to her because of this terrible tragedy that happened in San Francisco," Bening said, referencing the assassination of Harvey Milk. "I had just moved there, I was in my singing class, and the entire university was shut down because there had been this terrible shooting [in City Hall] — just because people were in shock. It was this terribly important moment in her life. And she also went to San Francisco State — she's an alumni. I'd met her at political events like that. I had that from a personal standpoint. But it didn't really bear on how I played her. I just really tried to adhere to the script. The narrative is so important — the events and the facts stand for themselves. The important thing was to try to serve that as best I could."

In addition to Bening, actress Ashlee Temple portrayed Feinstein in the 2008 Oscar-winning movie Milk, which also chronicled the shooting of the queer politician.

Read Bening's tribute to Feinstein above.

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