How Sally Field fought for Spielberg's first lady in 'Lincoln'

When Steven Spielberg asked Sally Field to play Mary Todd Lincoln in 2005, deep down, the two-time Oscar-winning actress knew the road to playing the contentious first lady wasn't going to be easy. Writers on the film project came and went, as eventually did Liam Neeson, the actor originally cast to play Abraham Lincoln. When Daniel Day-Lewis agreed to come on board, Spielberg wasn't sure Field still fit, owing largely to their age difference. Lincoln was nearly 10 years older than his wife, but Field had more than a decade on Day-Lewis.

By Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times

December 20, 2012