Woody Harrelson to Play LBJ in Rob Reiner’s ‘LBJ’

Woody Harrelson’s next serious career step finds him entering the Oval Office for director Rob Reiner. The True Detective and Hunger Games star (and former bartender of our hearts) will take on the role of former President Lyndon B. Johnson, a man who helped pass the Civil Rights Act, and most recently played on screen by Tom Wilkinson in Selma.

THR reports that Rob Reiner will direct a biopic about the life of LBJ, with Harrelson starring as the former President. Johnson served as Vice President under President John F. Kennedy, but when JFK was assassinated in 1963, LBJ was sworn in to take his place, thrust into the ongoing battles between Republicans and Democrats at a time when the social and federal political climate was reaching a boiling point.

The new film, simply titled LBJ, was scripted by Joey Hartstone, and will be helmed by actor/director Rob Reiner, who most recently directed the 2014 film And So It Goes.

LBJ was most recently portrayed on the big screen by Tom Wilkinson in Selma, with some accusing the film of painting the former president in a somewhat unfavorable light. But director Ava DuVernay actually presented a rather fair and complex version of LBJ, a man struggling between his political career and his conscience.

Harrelson can be seen in three films this year: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2, Triple 9 and Now You See Me: The Second Act.