EXCLUSIVE! Movie Reagan Is Here! Penelope Ann Millers Courage To Play The Icon Of Nancy Reagan | David Nino Rodriguez

All right, folks, welcome to Nino’s Corner TV. I, this is gonna be Fluff Tube Edition, and I got the one and only Penelope Ann Miller plays Nancy Reagan in the upcoming Reagan movie, which is gonna be epic. She plays opposite of or Dennis Quaid. Dennis Quaid plays Reagan and Penelope plays Nancy Reagan. And I just gotta ask you, how’d you go from playing Dahmer’s mother? Dude, Nancy Reagan, that’s a stretch. I mean, that’s crazy. Well, I’m obviously bipolar. So, folks, I just got to say, you know, Penelope is a family friend. She’s a close friend of ours.

And I got to say, you have really been an amazing person in our life. So thank you. Well, I love you guys so much. And anyway, I’m glad you’re in my life, too. Thank you. And, you know, I go back, let’s go back a little bit before we touch on Reagan and do all that. And let’s first, let’s just first talk about the climate in Hollywood. It’s I mean, you’re playing a conservative Ronald Reagan. Are you getting backlash? I mean, Nancy Reagan, are you getting any kind of backlash from it? Is it kind of, I mean, controversial response? Yeah, controversial.

What kind of response are you getting from this? Zachary? Well, it’s funny because we made this movie. I jokingly say, you know, we we served a full presidential term because it was four years ago that we made this movie. You made this movie four years ago. Four years ago. Right. So we were one of the first movies out the gate to film. This was before or whatever, but we had to be tested every day and all the crew had to wear masks. And the one, I have to say, positive thing about it was that my my youngest daughter, who was still in school, was able to come.

We were filming in Oklahoma. So, so I got to have, my husband and my older daughter got a job on the film, which was great. And then, so I had my whole family there. So that was one of the positives of we all got to be together while I was on location. And that’s pretty cool. Yeah. But as far as backlash, when it was announced in deadline, you know, over four years ago, I guess, that I was playing Nancy Reagan, I posted it on my instagram page, and I was expecting people to be, like, more negative towards it or a mixed, a mixed bag because I’m in Hollywood.

And clearly we have many, many people on both sides of the aisle that especially in Hollywood, it’s more democratic, liberal. So I have many, many, many friends and that are, and I can’t tell you how many people, I got more likes and positive response and people genuinely excited that I was playing Nancy Reagan. And I think because it just, to me, I mean, this was like, I mean, when they were in the White House, like, what, 25 years ago, and then he was SAG president, he was screen actor, skilled president, and then he was governor of California and he was a Democrat and then became a Republican.

But to me, I think it’s just about history, and it’s also playing such an iconic character. And the challenge for me to play here was actually pretty daunting and scary, to be honest. I was. I mean, especially with where we’re at today, there’s got to be a lot of pressure on you to perform, you know, in that way because I got to tell you, is this your biggest role? Would you say? This role, this, especially with the polarization of today, the division of today, where the world is today and how she is such an iconic first lady, would you say this, was this, is this your biggest role to date? Well, for sure.

It’s the most challenging role I’ve ever had, for sure. Because when it’s somebody historical and someone iconic and someone most people know or either have known her, know about her, seen interviews with her, seen pictures, you kind of owe it to them to hopefully do their legacy justice. And I’m as an, as an actress, you know, I’m an artist. I don’t judge. You know, I mean, obviously, I played Dahmer’s mom. I played a lot of controversial characters, but I feel like I owe it to them, to their legacy. I played Mary Todd Lincoln, another first lady, to do them justice.

Of course, there wasn’t a lot of material or videos, Mary Todd Lincoln, but in order to get her, especially someone like Nancy Reagan, who was this fashion icon and had this hair and I had four different wigs. I had, you know, I mean, the costumes were really important, getting the facial and the expression, the voice. But, you know, I don’t want to do, like, an imitation mimicking kind of thing. I just feel like if I could just capture her essence enough to where people could believe that I was her, and that was really important in terms of my research, I read, like, are you into, like, the method acting? I have many, many, many books about her.

Wow. Wow. And I talked to her, her press secretary, who has a book called lady in Red. Her name’s Sheila Tate. I talked to this guy, Mark Weinberg, who worked with them. I mean, I talked to tons and tons of people and, of course, watch videos and there’s tons of photographs. You do like a really deep dive, and you research these characters and you embody a real life person. Yeah. What about method acting? I mean, is that part of your. Your deal? I mean, do you act like Nancy Reagan around the house? I mean, do you just.

Do you know how to turn it off? Isn’t Jim a method actor? I don’t know is. I can’t remember. Caviezel. I don’t remember if he told me he was a method actor or not, but I know a lot of people are. And. Well, I mean, Evan Peters, when I was playing Dahmer was. That was intense. I’d never seen somebody, and I’ve worked with Marlon Brando and Al Pacino and De Niro, who are considered method actors. But Evan Peters was gnarly. I mean, he was brilliant as Dahmer. I mean, brilliant, but he was really in a dark space.

So he was like that. Twenty four seven. I think so. I think so. I mean, I think because I played his mom, he and I had a different kind of nice rapport. But I know people like Niecy Nash, who was in the movie, in the series, who won the Emmy, you know, she said she didn’t even really get to know Evan until the show was over, so. And he’s a sweetheart. He’s a really humble, wonderful guy, but he takes it really seriously. How do you turn that off? Like, you’re able to turn that off. But how does, like, a.

Yeah, I turn it on and off. I even like to joke around in between takes because I. I feel like we need levity. And of course, the Reagan story is. It’s a biopic, you know, I don’t. That’s the other thing about this whole political thing is, like, I don’t see it as, like some political movie that has an agenda. It’s a story about an historical, iconic person who has a lot of things. And it starts off when he was a young boy. And then, you know, you. Well, you start off with, well, it goes back and forth.

Anyway, when you see the movie, you’ll know what I mean. But you see a lot from his childhood, and then you see him be becoming, you know, radio. Can I be honest? Like, I haven’t watched it. I only watched. Oh, no, I’m talking about Dahmer. I’m Dahmer. I was back to Ray. No, yeah, no, let me just say this just for a second. Okay. I watched just your part, like, at one of your parts, and I. That was it. I couldn’t I can’t get myself to watch it, man. It’s just disturbing to me. So. But. But, yeah, Reagan, I will watch.

No doubt about it. I’ve seen the trailer, and it looks amazing. But I. I don’t know. Like, I don’t know how you put yourself into that role with doll. I’m more fascinated with that because it’s just so dark and I don’t know, especially if you’re with a method actor who’s acting like that all the time. Dude, that’s gotta. I mean, not like he was. He wasn’t literally killing people. Let’s just get out of the way. Yeah. I’m just so disturbed watching it. Yeah. I mean. Oh, he was so good, though. But I felt bad for him.

I felt like he was really, like, in a really dark space. And I think to live like that 24/7 has got to be really hard. But back to the Reagan thing, I think for me, it’s funny. I find more now, and, of course, it’s four years later, and obviously there’s a lot going on in the world politically. I just hope people realize that this movie isn’t about an agenda. It’s just about a story about a man’s life and his wife and how he became the man that he became and what drove him there and his wife’s love and support and their love for each other and their love story.

I think it’s all those things. So I’m hoping it. It’s just. It’s not just for conservatives. It’s for everyone. And there’s so many people in the movie, David, that. That are both, like, are independent, democratic. You know, they’re there. I don’t think people made this film because they thought, oh, great, I get to do a right wing movie, right? I mean, that’s not what this was about. Plus, you did this four years ago also. What was it like working with Dennis Quaid? I mean, I haven’t seen much of him in recent flicks. I was like, I’ve always wondered, like, whatever happened to Dennis Wade? And now I’m seeing him everywhere.

Yeah. Reagan. And I’m like, wow. How did he play? How do you feel he did with the role of Reagan? What was it like working with him? Well, you know, we met. He came to my house for rehearsals. We kind of wanted to do a read through with our director, Sean McNamara. And it’s funny in all the years, because I’ve been around for a long time, and I was surprised. I don’t think I’d ever met him. And he had seen me in Carlito’s way and I guess liked me in that movie. And so that was nice.

But honestly, it was like an immediate connection. Like, we got along incredibly well, and our chemistry is so important because there was no Reagan without Nancy. It was Nancy and Ronnie all the time. So if we didn’t have that connection and that rapport and even that sort of humor and that sweetness, the vulnerability, and that’s what’s so cool about the movie is that you see this whole other side of Reagan. And that’s what I love. It’s like being sort of being the fly on the wall or being behind the curtain and peeking into the bedroom and seeing kind of like, who was this person outside of politics? Because you can go to YouTube and whatever and see his speeches, but, like, who was this man, and how did he become what he became and served two terms and was very popular.

I mean, you know, that he was controversial then, too. Not quite like it is right now, but, like, you know, there’s people that, that love Reagan, that hate Trump and vice versa. I mean, you know, so I just, I just hope people will want to see the movie because they’re interested in the story. Absolutely. What do you, what is there, what are some things you can disclose that you’ve learned about Reagan or learned about Nancy that my audience does not know that I do not know that maybe are intimate or was in secret or things that just astonished you, that you couldn’t believe that when you were studying her and studying their relationship.

Yeah. And being. I showed you all the books I read and all the people I talked to. I mean, one of the things that I was, I didn’t know that, how strong their love affair was. I mean, I knew they were very, very tight. So there was no, like, cheating, there was none of that going on like a Kennedy story or something like that. No, not at all. He was. He was in love with Nancy. He was in love with her. But I have to say what didn’t come right away. So he had a really a very tumultuous and devastating divorce with Jane Wyman, who was also an actress, because Nancy was an actress.

And, you know, he was brought up very religious and believe you only get married once. And I think that was just devastating to him when that marriage didn’t work out. And a lot of it had to do with he was sort of slowly getting into politics. He was SAG president. He was very involved in that. And Jane Wyman wanted him to just be the actor, and she was getting more famous as an actress, and I think that was something that just polarized them. So when Nancy came along, she didn’t care about being an actress. She just, like, her agenda was, I want to get married.

I want to be a good wife. I want to have kids. Like, I can just be the person behind the guy, which she was, clearly. But I think he wasn’t expecting that and didn’t even know if he could have that again. And so it took him a while. They courted for, like, over a year. He had to warm up to her. I think he just. He was. I mean, what was it like? He was on a dating spree. Okay, so he was dating many women, right. And then he finally found Nancy, and he took him a while to, like, say, you know what? I’m gonna stop playing the field.

All right, you got me. That type of thing. Yeah. Is that what I’m hearing? Yes, for sure. And then I think it’s sort of really. I think with her, she was a smitten kitten right away. I mean, yeah, there’s an interview that she has where she said something like, well, there were a few Nancy Davis’s, you know, in the union, and one was sort of connected to the communist party, and she was really nervous. And so this producer, Mervyn Leroy, said, oh, well, I know the SAG president, Ronald Reagan. She’s like, you can meet him and maybe he can help you.

She goes, oh, that would be dandy. So she was. She was all about it, so the minute. And she would go and listen to his talks at the SAG union events and this and that. So I think she was already. Already really into him, and she was very patient with him. But I think for him, it took him a while to warm up to it, like you said. But I think once he realized what he had, it was everything he’d ever wanted. Women were very important. Was the woman that he always wanted supportive? The whole thing, 100%.

And I think because of that love that he felt from her and that devotion, and she was fiercely protective of him, and she was willing to do anything for him, and they couldn’t live without each other. I mean, and then he wrote. She wrote, or she published this book called I love you, Ronnie. And it’s all of his love poems that he wrote her from their courtship on throughout their entire marriage. I mean, he wrote her, like, I think, almost every day a love poem, and she’d find him in every day a love poem. Amazing. Yeah, I remember.

That’s. That’s incredible. And you don’t you don’t hear that about Ronald Reagan. You don’t hear, you don’t hear that about anybody anymore. Sorry. What’s wrong with people? Seriously? My husband doesn’t write me those love poems. I’m going to put this on his bed, on his pillow. I mean, that’s just, that’s, that’s a beautiful story. So let me ask you, let me ask you this. So the similarity. Let me just, let me just read this quote, because this is a book that I have among my many books, and this is like, pictures of them, but anyway, it says Michael Deaver, who is deputy chief of staff, he said, it’s the most real love I’ve ever seen.

What you see there is. Right. It is true. Reagan said once that his life began when he met Nancy. And I believe that to be true. I think that he became a fulfilled person. He became able to do many things that he wanted to do because of Nancy. And then Ronald Reagan’s quote is, if Nancy hadn’t come along when she did, I would have lost my soul. Holy cow. Yeah. Wow. That’s, that was something that I didn’t see how big that love was. Yeah. And that lost my soul. She saved him. Totally saved him. Yeah. Wow.

So good. Yeah. And someone said, too, there was like, there were two halves of a circle, and it was very hard to get in there. I think maybe his children, maybe some issues. How many kids? How many kids did they have? Well, he had two with Jane Wyman, they lost one, but two that are alive. And then, and then with Nancy, they had Patty and Ron Junior. So let’s talk about the similarities of then and now the Cold War. And here’s where I’m going with this, because I feel, you know, a lot of people that watch my channel know that we’re getting ready for something very scary to come.

You know, there’s going to be, we got, we got Russia down in Cuba. We got, there’s chinese warships being spotted off Alaska. We got China getting ready to go after Taiwan. We have an open border. The whole thing, the whole thing’s a mess right now. We’re Israel and Gaza, Ukraine and Russia. And I feel like this movie couldn’t have come out at a better time because it seems like we’re coming into this time, this period. That’s the Cold War 2.0, 10.0, whatever you want to say it is. But the, but Reagan handled the cold, the cold war.

Now we’re coming into a point where I feel Trump will be given something that was a mess. And he’ll now be coming into this Cold War 2.0 with Russia then being in Cuba. I mean, this is going to be serious. I don’t think people understand just how serious this is going to be. And the timing of this movie coming out is, is going to be historic in my mind. Have you thought about this at all? Have you thought about while, the timing of this? Because you couldn’t predict this. You did this four years ago. No, there.

And it wasn’t like they timed it. Oh, let’s, let’s release the, right. There’s no way you could. It’s kind of wild. And then with everything with Russia and then what happened with Reagan and, you know, and him, you know, with the Berlin Wall and him meeting Gorbachev and, and Nancy was very big behind that. She really believed in these peace talks and really said, get over there, because all these russian, you know, I don’t know, they’re presidents or what are they called, those russian people. It was Gorbachev back then, was it? Wasn’t it? Yeah. So it was Gorbachev.

But anyway, everybody was dying prior. And she said, well, you better get over there before this one diese. But they had the peace talks in Geneva and then the Berlin Wall. But he believed in peace through strength, and he believed in negotiating and talking to these people who were considered enemies or threats. And that’s one of his biggest legacies, is creating or ending, like they say, the cold War. So, I mean, and there was controversial things about him, too, that he didn’t recognize the aides of epidemic when he should have sooner. And they were really good friends with Rock Hudson.

And when they had no idea that rock Hudson was gay and when they found out, I mean, it was just like devastating. But back then it was like, not that he was gay, it was just that they didn’t know, but the whole aids thing was a big deal. And, you know, so there, look, it was controversial then, too. I just think now, I mean, when I, more intense now is what I’m saying. When I was a little girl, like, I grew up in a very liberal democratic home, and my parents were friends with people on both sides.

They went to parties. The Reagans were there. My mom did a story on Nancy Reagan. People weren’t as divisive like they didn’t hate you if you didn’t agree with them. And I find that now people don’t want to talk to each other. And I just remembered as a young girl that just wasn’t the same. I just feel like people could go to parties together and hang out together. And if they didn’t agree, I don’t even think they even talked politics back then. They might even. They don’t even talk. It was considered rude to talk politics. Politics and what.

And how much money you made or what you did for a living. It was considered. Right. And now people are, like, fighting at the dinner table. It’s ridiculous. It’s crazy. You know, I remember the first time I saw you in a movie. It was. I think it was Carlito’s way. So you’ve played the romance interest to quite a few leading men, which I can say. What? Al Pacino, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Right. Arnold Schwarzenegger. So out of all, did you play Danny Devito? Danny Devito, Robert Devito, and other people’s money. And then I got the o. Actors. Devito, Pacino, Brando de Niro.

I haven’t worked with DiCaprio, but I don’t know, you know, DiCaprio’s in El Paso right now. No, for what? Yeah, he’s a spotted him and Benico Dotoro. Oh, I know another one with an o. But, yeah, another. Oh, I’ve worked with him in big top peewee. So. Pee wee Herman. Big top pee wee. That’s another. That’s another love interest. I was winning pee wee Herman. He was such a sweetheart, too. You know, that. That kid, that. That pee wee Herman was, like, my idol when I was a. When I was a child, which is really messed up.

Yeah, yeah. I used to mimic him and run around the house, like, playing. I was that kid, so. Holy cow, I love fighter. My dad’s all, yeah, I’m gonna put him in boxing. So. So what was it like? Can you just give me, like. Give me some idea. What was it like playing opposite to, like, peewee Herman? What was Peewee Herman like? Now. Now that you said that, I gotta ask that, what was he like? He was a sweetheart. He was lovely. I mean, I got Christmas cards. He just recently died, which is really sad. He had cancer, but I’d always get Christmas cards from him.

There was one time I was getting honored, some, like, career achievement thing at the Sarasota film festival, and he’s from Sarasota, and he came and showed up at the event, and he called me out of the blue and he said, I read in the paper you were here. And we. He came and had lunch with me and. And then showed up at this award ceremony, and he was just. He was a very loyal, lovely, sweet guy and. And very funny. Yeah, no, he was. I’m going to admit it here, I loved Pee wee Herman when I was a kid.

Clearly. Well, yeah, I don’t know if I can still do it. I don’t know. That’s good. That’s not too bad. So let’s talk a little bit about De Niro. Let’s talk about Al Pacino, and let’s talk about Schwarzenegger. Schwarzenegger. What was he like? He was. He was quite the prankster. He was. He was funny as well, and very friendly. And he was fun to work with. Really fun. I got a new car, was the first new car because all the cars that I’d had before, prior to this movie because I was starting to, like, do well in the business.

And so I got my first new car. My other cars, the three before them, were all used. And when it showed up on the set, they. I had some. Somebody delivered it, and it was this red BMW. And I was so excited. And Arnold convinced me that he was like, that’s not new. This is a used car. And I’m like, I can’t do his accent that well. I’m like, what are you talking about? And he said, no. I said, the odometer is like, you know .001 or whatever. He said, oh, they change that all the time, Penelope.

You’re so gullible, you know, so I was freaking out, thinking, oh, my God. And he looked under the car and he was inspecting it and everything, and I thought, oh, my God, this. Somebody sold me. Sold you eleven. So I was gonna, I was gonna call the dealer and say, this is a used car. And then he said, I just kid. I’m just kidding, vanellope. It’s so gullible. He was kind of a prankster. Marlon Brando is a. Was a prankster, too. Marlon Brando. Another one. Dang, I forgot to even mention him. Marlon Brando. Yeah. Wow. What was that really funny? And I didn’t expect him to be that funny.

I thought, you know, you kind of think of him in his films. Of course. I’m sure you’ve seen on the waterfront. I mean. Oh, yeah. It’s one of my favorite. He’s one of my dad’s favorite actors. He’s one of mine. I mean, I just think he’s brilliant. So in my lifetime, being the age that, I mean, I’m older now, but the age that I was when I got to work with him, he wasn’t really working very much. And so there was always this fear of, like, is he even going to show up on the set. And I remember the first day of rehearsals.

We were filming in Toronto, and he was, like, an hour late, and we were like. And there was Bruno Kirby in the lobby of the hotel with a newspaper and a hat, like, waiting for him to arrive. Like, Bruno’s. He’s in the premises, you know, that kind of thing. Anyway, we were all going stir crazy, wondering what would be like when we met him. And he showed up, and. I kid you nothing, in a powder blue velour jumpsuit. Oh, my gosh. That was not what I expected. And then he gave me this big bear hug, and he’s like, you’re my daughter, you know, because I played his daughter in the movie.

Wow. Do you ever. Now, I’m just curious on this, and I know, I hope Jimmy doesn’t hate me for asking this, but Jimmy is my husband, by the way. By the way. Yeah. Did you ever really get romantical feelings for any of these leading men, or do you just turn it off? Well, a lot of loaded questions, Dahmer. First of all, I have been married. I have been married for almost. Well, 20. Almost 25 years. Okay, fair enough. Fair enough. I’m just. It’s just a question. I have to say that I worked with a lot of these people before my husband came.

Picture. So. And, no, I did not know. I did not. That. Something you get. I’m just saying. Can you turn it on and off? I mean, because you have to sometimes act like you’re in love with them. I’ve always wondered this. Seriously. Like, even Dennis Quaid. I had to be in love with Dennis Quaid, but we didn’t. You know, we weren’t having an affair. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But is it. Is it weird? Are you. Does it feel like it could go that way and then you have to turn it off? You know what I’m saying? Like, get the catchers up.

And it happens. Obviously, it’s happened to many, many people when they. I mean, Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart, and, I mean, the list goes on and on, but, like, I mean, of course it happens, because you’re creating those feelings, and then they can turn real. So definitely, you know, I think as an actor, you kind of learn to kind of know when to shut it down. But, yeah, we’re acting. It’s like. I don’t know. It’s. It’s interesting. It. I’m sure it’s got to be hard for the person. Like, my husband’s not an actor, so. Your husband’s one of the most real dudes I’ve ever met.

I love your husband. He’s awesome. He’s really awesome. He really is awesome. Yeah. Really. Like that guy. Oh, I’m glad. And I’ve known him since I was 15. Like, we weren’t high school sweethearts, but we go way back together. So what? I didn’t. I didn’t know. I’ll have to tell you that story another time. It’s a funny story. Yeah. Wow. But, yeah, I mean, it’s. I just think, you know, it’s important to have chemistry, and it’s important to try and not let it become something. Unless it’s supposed to be in something, then it becomes something. But if the two people are hopefully not otherwise engaged, so to speak, these are just questions.

I’m really just asking questions, honest questions that just pop into my mind that I’ve always wondered about Dinero. Tell me about Dinero a little bit. Well, that’s funny story, too, because when I was shooting the freshman with Marlon Brando and Matthew Broderick and Bernard Kirby, they. I was set to. They wanted me to come in and audition for awakenings, which is the movie I did with De Niro. Just like, there’s a picture. This is my wall of fame, by the way. Wall of fame, ladies and gentlemen. De Niro with the dancing. See, there’s Schwarzenegger and there’s.

Are those all autographed? No, no, no. The only autograph I’ve ever gotten, and I never asked for it, was from Marlon Brando. I just asked his assistant for this picture of him because he had this really great eight by ten. He looked like Jackie Gleason. And it was really funny. And I was like, can I have that picture? And then it was slid under my door with an autograph, and he said the nicest thing. I wish I had it in front of me. But it was so sweet about how much he liked me, his person, and an actress, and it was really sweet.

And anyway, I digressed, but De Niro. So they wanted me to audition, and Penny Marshall was the director and everything. So I had auditioned for De Niro before that in a movie called we’re no Angels. That was Sean Penn. Demi Moore got the role, but when I auditioned with him, I had to go in the room. I mean, nowadays you don’t even go in a room and meet people, which is so crazy, because my younger daughter. Sorry, my older daughter is an actress, and all they do is self tapes. They never get to meet anybody. It’s just the weirdest thing.

So, in any case, I went in. And of course, it’s scary. I’m meeting De Niro and all this stuff, so I’m nervous, and he’s looking down at the script the whole time, and he doesn’t look up once at me. And I walked out of the audition, and I, through the screen, I started crying, and I called my agent and I said, oh, my God, he hates me. Like, you got intimidated? That was the signal to the director that he didn’t think I was good. So then when they told me they wanted me to come in for awakenings, Bruno Kirby, who was in the godfather with De Niro, they had become good friends and had the same birthday and all this stuff.

So I told Bruno while I was shooting the freshman, I said, oh, they want me to go in on awakens. But I think De Niro hates me because he never looked at me once during the audition, and he said, no, no, no. He’s really, really painfully shy. He’s just socially awkward and really painfully shy. Yes. Which I thought, considering, you know, raging bull and all those things, and you’re just like, taxi driver. I’m like, what? So I thought, oh, he’s shy. Oh, I feel so sorry for him. So I was like, oh, I’ll make him feel better.

And, you know, he’d worked with Marlon Brando, or he played the younger Marlon Brando. Great. I mean, he worked with the greats. Yeah. So I was like. So then when I. So I was like, okay. So I went in to read with him, and I just, you know, it helped that I said, I’m working with Marlon Brando and Bruno Kirby because he knew them. So that broke the ice. But I was, like, so talkative, and so I thought, I’m going to bring him out of his shell. So it was like a challenge for me. And then I got the role so clearly.

But he was. He was more of a method actor, I have to say. He too, like the Evan Peters he very much was, because, you know, he was this man who’d been in this coma, or so to speak. Right. That was one of the. That’s a great movie. Anybody hasn’t seen it, you’ve got to see it. It’s a classic. It’s one of the best movies ever. It’s a sad, sad film. Robin Williams is so brilliant in it. He played the real life Oliver sacks, who, this doctor that. You’ve met. Robin Williams as well? Yeah. Oh, I worked with him, yeah.

Oh, my gosh. I’ve met. I’ve been very lucky, honestly. I sort of jokingly say I worked with all the godfathers, but I’m not in the mob. How’s your daughter? Like, your daughter’s acting? So let me, so I know nepotism plays a big role, right? I mean, is she getting rolling? They call them neppy babies. Neppy babies. Okay, so what, I mean, like, if my sister or niece or someone wanted to start acting, it’s gonna be an uphill battle. I mean, it’s gonna be crazy. But you obviously is there, is it. There’s a lot of truth to that, right? She’s gonna have kind of a foot in.

Well, you hopefully get them a foot in, you know, with the connections you have. But at the end of the day, if they’re not talented and they’re not good, they’re not going to make it. So that’s, the rest is up to her and, and what her innate ability is. And I think she’s very talented. But, you know, I think it’s just a question of, it’s tough these days. I mean, I mean, she did a movie that got stuck. It was also delayed, and then they had to come back a year later and finish it. And then a year later, it got into the Tribeca film festival and won and everything.

But then she, we had the sag strike, and then everything shut down then. So it’s been a very hard, like, a lot of stops and starts, and I think it’s really hard now because now nobody wants to go meet people. They don’t. Now these casting directors work out of their homes like this, like what you and I are doing, and they don’t have to. We have an office. They don’t have to set appointments. They don’t have to. People show up, so you don’t build a rapport, a connection. So you’ve lost. Right. So how has, how has Hollywood changed in that sense? Because hasn’t social media changed everything? I mean, I’ve heard that they only, and now this is just what I’ve heard, rumors that they only take people with a massive social media following so they can promote the film better.

And they not necessarily have to be that great of actors or actresses as long as they just have a bigger social media following. Has that changed the game? I know it’s changed the game in boxing. In boxing, Jake Paul, even Ryan Garcia were huge before they even, you know, they changed boxing. I mean, their social media following changed boxing. I’ve even said they can create their own belts and nobody would even care. They don’t even have to fight for a sanctioning body like the WCWA or whatever, because they have such a massive following and they put asses in seats.

Is it the same thing in acting? I mean, is acting kind of fallen into that now? Social media has changed everything, in my opinion. Yeah. No, I mean, I think it’s a real shame because they will, they’ll hire people because of the amount of followers they have versus, if they’re talented, promotion. They can promote to their audience. Oh, we’ll get more people to come see the show or the movie or whatever it is, if they have a big following, and then it just negates. Like, none of that was when I started. We didn’t have cell phones.

We didn’t have any social media. I reluctantly got into social media and still have a love hate with it. I don’t even know if it’s a love. It’s sort of like, I have to do it, and then I hate it, too, at the same time. Well, here’s another reason why I’m asking that is because it would seem to me like you guys would be on the verge of doing a huge media blitz and going out maybe beyond talk shows and stuff like that. But since you’re playing Reagan in the liberal industry, I mean, Nancy Reagan. Sorry.

Since you’re playing in the movie Reagan, you’re playing Nancy Reagan in a very polarized country right now and very liberal, liberal industry, you might need. Are you going to be on these talk shows or are you going to have to resort? Well, I am going to be on the Today show August 29. I will be on the Today show, I think, with Dennis I’m doing on the view. I mean, you know, what’s so interesting is a lot of show do me. A lot of those shows are. I’ve been on the view many times. Yeah. You know, a lot of those talk shows are dark in August because everyone goes on vacations, so there’s not a lot of the talk shows to do.

Well, the news shows you can do. I mean, look, let’s face it, the conservative media will do everybody, anybody, any time. Ready to go? Let’s do it. The liberal media now is, it’s been a tougher nut to crack. And I think it’s because they’re scared that maybe if they’re somehow promoting Reagan, are they promoting the right side of the conservatives? And I think that’s just the scary thing about. Well, I don’t know if it’s scary, but it’s just that that’s the nature of the beast that we’re dealing with at the moment. And that’s why I’m hoping, you know, as a woman playing a very strong, powerful woman who was a force to be reckoned with, who was a fashion icon, who was an actress who happened to marry somebody who got into politics.

She didn’t even care about politics. She just married a guy who was good at it, I guess, or she thought he was good at it. I mean, I don’t judge the people I play. I mean, for God’s sakes, they played Dahmer’s mother. Like, if I’m judging that person, then I’m not playing them. Do you know what I mean? I’m. I’m looking. You can’t. You gotta leave judgment aside 100%. I’m just playing an historical figure. But another thing that I have to say about Nancy was she was vilified. You know, Reagan was adored and loved and very popular.

I mean, not with everybody, let’s face it, but. And people look back on him, too, fondly. I think they look back now on Nancy more fondly as well. But at the time, she said she cried for eight years. Okay. Yeah, I think this is the trailer. You sent me the trailer right now. The trailer, yeah. So she was vilified. They called her the Dragon lady. I mean, she. It was awful, I think, because she was so protective of him. And I think her defense mechanism was sort of to be maybe seeming cold and aloof, but she wasn’t like that.

She just. She just got they. It was very controversial when she decorated the White House, but when she got there, the electricity and the plumbing didn’t work, and everything was in shambles. And she said, you know, this is the people’s house. We have dignitaries and people from all over the world and presidents coming. We can’t have this house. That’s a mess. And she didn’t even use taxpayer money. She used privately funded money. So even with the China that she redid, she got completely, like, all this backlash for it. And she said, but there’s no one full set of China, because people either steal it, they steal a little bread plate or a teacup, or it’s chipped or broken.

So she got all this. But once again, it was privately funded. Mary Todd Lincoln, the same thing happened, didn’t happen with Jacqueline Kennedy. Jacqueline Kennedy redid everything and was beloved. So very interesting. All right, I’m going to go ahead and play the trailer here, folks. Reagan, the movie. Here it is. Welcome to your life. There’s nothing in retired governor can do, but a president, now, he can do a thing or two. Everybody wants to do the world. I will be frank with you that as a citizen, I would not like to see any political party outlawed on the basis of its ideology.

Because I still believe, mister chairman, that democracy can handle it. I was a brand new KGB officer given my first intelligence assignment. A certain actor and union leader. Dutch, there’s a purpose for you. Like you can run from a bully for so long, but after a while, you’re gonna have to stand up to it. It’s my boy. There’s about to be another war right here in Hollywood. The commies on one side, the mob on the other. And you’re right in the middle, son. If you put as much work into your career as you do making your speeches, you’d have an oscar by now.

Hello, I’m Nancy Davis. Hello, Nancy Davis. I’m Ron Reagan. I’m curious, Ron, what would you say is the issue of our time? No question about it. Communism and the Soviet Union. Get in the game. Run for office. It’s you. I’m running for governor. Governor. And I would like your vote. I’ve forgotten your name. Do his initials help our arm? Honey, Roy Rogers is here and he’s running for governor. Ronnie, remember when we met, you told me that you wanted to make a difference in this world? You know what you have to do. Governor Reagan, again, typically, is against such a proposal.

There you go again. But he was not afraid to take us on. There’s nothing a retired governor can do about the Soviets. But a president, now, he can do a thing or two. Welcome to your life. I was a lifeguard on a river. There’s no turning back. And I learned how to read the currents. Not just the ones on the surface, but also the ones deep underneath the water. I am about to start the biggest war of this century, and I’m not gonna fire a single shot. You’re gonna blow up eight years of diplomacy. Well, if you think that got their undersea to want you, just wait.

What did the president know and when did he know it? What would you have me do? I want you to fight. Everybody wants to. Everybody. Mister Gorbachev, tear down this wall. Wow. There are some incredible actors and actresses in this. I know that. John Voight. John Voight, yeah. Very outspoken guy, John Voight. Very outspoken. Yeah, I’ve always been. My thing has always been. I’m just an actress. Nobody cares what I think politically, and I don’t want to go. And you’ve always been great at that, you know, and I give you a lot of respect for that, you know, you’ve always been very quiet and everything like that.

You do great job. And the fact that you’re playing this role at this time and that you’re able to just be calm as a cucumber, I love it. And I think, I think you’re one of the, honestly, with the roles you’re taking on right now, do we have anything to look forward to after this movie? Well, I’m about, I’m gonna, I’m going to start shooting something in the fall, but I have a couple independent movies that were, you know, hoping will come out soon. I mean, once again, it could be another four years. I don’t know, with what’s, who knows? So you don’t have any projects right now that you’re getting ready to do? I will, yeah.

In October I start shooting something, and maybe in September there’s something else. So the fall. I’ll shoot in the fall. But honestly, like, David, I love what I do, and I’m very passionate about my work, but I also love being with my family, and I kind of really pick and choose what I do so that I have time with my family. Like, I never want to be away all the time. And obviously, I have an older daughter who’s in her early twenties, so, you know, that’s what’s to follow in your footsteps. Is she the one. That’s the actress? Yes.

Yeah. Eloisa. And you want her to do this? I mean, you experienced a lot of, I mean, you know, even what my parents told me. And my dad was in the business. My dad was an actor and a writer. And, you know, he just said, you know, follow your passion and follow, and you can do what you want if you follow your dreams. And, and so I feel like if that is her passion and that’s what she wants to do, I’m going to support it and hope that she’s successful at it. It’s a tough, really tough business.

I’m very grateful that I’ve still been able to work at my older age and have a bad. You’re not that old. You still look beautiful. But I’ll be, I mean, look, I, and the best thing about it, folks, and I’ll tell you this right now, she’s a beautiful person, an amazing person. And I, and I’m very privileged to know you as a friend. Penny, go ahead. There’s just so you know that you can buy the tickets now for Reagan. Even though it opens August 30, there’s a, it’s like, reaganmovie.com and Reagan dot movie. Anyway, I think you’ll probably have it in your links right below.

Maybe. But anyway, you can purchase, um, reaganmovie.com or Reagan dot movie. Um, you can purchase your tickets in. Wait, you’re saying it’s either one of those? You’re not sure? I don’t know. Both of them work. Okay, you know, whatever works. So it’s either one. It’s either one or it’s one or the other. It’s both. Okay, cool. So whatever one you want to post is, fine. The link. But anyway, you can go to my instagram, Penelope Ann Miller. And it’s. It’s in my links are in my bio. All of them. Um, but, you know, good news is you can buy tickets in advance.

I hope people will go see the movie. Hope the word of mouth. This is going to be huge. This is going to be huge. So this comes out August 30? Yeah. Labor Day. Labor Day weekend. Yeah. And am I invited to the premiere? Sure. All right, cool. All right. All right, folks. All of you get jealous out there. Penelope and I want everybody on the red carpet. That means. Oh, Mandy, that means I can’t wear a t shirt and a cap, man. Not to dress up. I could do it. Do whatever you’re comfortable with. I appreciate it.

You’re used to it. You’ve been in the limelight. You know? I hate it. I don’t know. I loved you, by the way. I loved you on that doctor drew interview, your stories. Speaking of, in an incredible human being, you’ve been through a lot, and I admire you so much for where you are in your life today and what you’ve been through. And it’s really, really admirable. And you’re an inspiration, honestly, to hopefully many people who are struggling with addiction and even mental stuff. I just think your story is very inspiring. And I know you have your book and everything like that.

And, you know, Reagan’s father was an alcoholic, and I didn’t know that, and he struggled with that a lot. Yeah. I think the first thing about any kind of addiction is admitting you have it. Nobody wants to admit they have it. Most. Most my friends right now that are still addicted, they feel like they have it under control. They’re like, ah, you just can’t control it. I’m like, yeah, your life would be so much better if you just gave it up. But, hey, that’s just me. That’s my prerogative, right? You know? Well, you knew it was.

It was literally gonna kill you. And. Couple times. A couple times. I mean, I’m like. I mean, I don’t got any more hall passes. That’s why I’m taking advantage of my bonus time here on planet Earth and making the best of it. You could probably hear the wind. The guy with the. The blower outside my window. My worker. But okay. But, um, Penny, thank you so much for joining me. This is going to be a fabulous movie, folks. Get out. Buy tickets. I’m going to put reaganmovie.com down there. Click on the link. Yeah, put the thing down there.

Or, like I said, go to my Instagram or X. Those are the only two I’m on. But what’s your ex? It’s Penelope a. Miller, and my Instagram is Penelope Ann Miller. Will you text me the links after this? Yeah. Okay, cool. Already, but I’ll do it again. Oh, no, maybe I didn’t. I don’t know. But I texted you the links to the. To the Reagan. Okay. Yeah. Thank you so much. Thank you for joining me, folks. Nancy Reagan, everybody, right here. Nancy Reagan. Give her a hand. Thank you, Benny, so much. God bless you. All right.

Thanks for having me. All right, bye.
[tr:tra].

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