Jackie Earle Haley Joins Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln" Biopic

Freddy Krueger will play the Vice President of the Confederacy during the Civil War.

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If you haven't seen Jackie Earle Haley in awhile since that abymssmal Nightmare on Elm Street film, look no further than Little Children. In it, Haley took off the claws to play a pedophile neighbor in the screen adaptation of Tom Perotta's novel. The role (and the Oscar nod) put him back on the map and now he has joined the cast of Steven Spielberg's Old Abe biopic Lincoln. According to Deadline, Haley will play Alexander Stephens, vice-president of the Confederacy during the Civil War.

A brief history lesson, kiddos. Stephens was noted for the Cornerstone Speech, delivered in Savannah, Georgia, said this in 1861:

"Our new Government is founded upon exactly the opposite ideas; its foundations are laid, its cornerstone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery, subordination to the superior race, is his natural and normal condition."

It's dizzying to try and comprehend the type of antagonist Haley will play, but his skills shown in both Watchmen and Little Children adds weight to the magnitude of collective talent in this film. We know that Lincoln will take place in the final months of the President's life, so which representative of Stephens will we see? Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tommy Lee Jones, Tim Blake nelson, Sally Field, and James Spader join Daniel Day-Lewis as he emanicipates the masses as Honest Abe on December 2012.

[via Deadline]

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