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Apropos of nothing, you might be wondering, "What if the President of the United States of America turned out to be a bad guy?" This question has been asked in fiction a few times, but rarely as directly as in the film Absolute Power, starring Clint Eastwood and directed by him as well. This genial political thriller, adapted from a novel by David Baldacci, reunites Eastwood with Gene Hackman, who won his second of two Oscars playing the villain for Eastwood in Unforgiven. There, he was an evil sheriff. Here, he wields even more power as an American president. Nevertheless, President Alan Richmond is far less formidable than Little Bill Daggett, one of the Western genre's most frightening villains. In Absolute Power, the danger isn't necessarily the man wielding the power but the long shadow he casts and the way underlings will volunteer to do horrible things on his behalf without needing to be asked.

Which actors are the most "Presidential"? To find out, we assembled this exclusive list of actors who have portrayed the President of the United States more than once.

Getting the opportunity to portray a Us President in film is rare. It can be a dignified role, and many times the actor has to be able to exhibit certain qualities we would traditionally associate with the Us head of state. Us Presidents are also depicted in film in a variety of ways. Some of them are the main characters for their respective films, where others are simply bit parts designed to represent the figurehead. Other roles may be satires, caricatures, or played for comedic effect. Regardless of the purpose or the depth of the role, there have been a limited number of Us President roles in the last century+ of motion picture projection.

Of course, some actors are more Presidential than others.