Jane Fonda’s turn as Nancy Reagan has outraged fans of the former first lady but the actress says “The Gipper’s” wife is happy she landed the role.
“I don’t think that whatever differences there might be in our politics really matters you know,” says the actress in a new clip promoting the film ‘The Butler’ which follows the life of a White House worker who served eight presidents.
A vocal liberal, Fonda sparked outraged in the 1970’s when she toured North Vietnam, earning the moniker “Hanoi Jane” and critics blasted her casting as Nancy Reagan when it was announced. Fonda wears a T-shirt featuring her own image during the ‘Hanoi Jane’ days in the interview posted online.
Fonda plays little more than a cameo in the film, which also features James Marsden as John F. Kennedy, Alan Rickman as Ronald Reagan, John Cusack as Richard Nixon and Robin Williams as Dwight D. Eisenhower. Forest Whitaker plays the title role.
“As an actor I approach her as a human being and I happen to know that she’s not unhappy that I’m playing her,” Fonda says.
“The Butler” is due to hit cinemas mid-August.