Spielberg’s Lincoln Film Picks An Unusual Mary Todd: Sally Field

Tim Grierson
·Editor
Say hello to Mrs. Lincoln. Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
Say hello to Mrs. Lincoln. Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

After appearing in very few movies over the last decade, Sally Field seems to be returning in a big way. First, she signed up to play Aunt May in the new "Spider-Man" reboot, and now it's been announced that she'll be in another high-profile film: Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln."

The Hollywood Reporter says Field will play Mary Todd Lincoln, the wife of our 16th president, who will be played by Daniel Day-Lewis. While the film, based on historian Doris Kearns Goodwin's book "Team of Rivals," will primarily look at Lincoln's clashes with his cabinet members during the Civil War, the role of Mary Todd would seem to be significant enough to coax Field temporarily away from television, where she's been a part of the long-running ABC drama "Brothers & Sisters" since 2006.

For most Americans, Mary Todd Lincoln is known primarily as the president's wife who battled with depression. How much of that will play into the role is unknown, but it certainly seems like it'll be a factor considering that Spielberg said in a statement about Field, "I've admired her films, and she has always been my first choice to portray all the fragility and complexity that was Mary Todd Lincoln." "Fragility and complexity" would seem to suggest that Spielberg and screenwriter Tony Kushner want to make this First Lady more multi-dimensional than what we normally see in portrayals of the woman.

What's most interesting about the casting of the two-time Oscar-winner is how it goes against the grain of typical movie relationships in which the male actor is usually far older than his female co-star. Field turned 64 in November, while Day-Lewis will be 54 at the end of this month. And in case you're wondering, that age discrepancy is historically accurate, except in the other direction: Lincoln was nearly 10 years older than his wife. No doubt Lincoln scholars will begin the belly-aching about that any moment now, while Hollywood observers will simply enjoy the novelty of a rare reverse age gap.

Sally Field to Play Abraham Lincoln's Wife in Steven Spielberg Movie [The Hollywood Reporter]