'The Brink of War' Interview: Jeff Daniels and Jared Harris

Moviefone speaks with Jeff Daniels and Jared Harris about 'The Brink of War'. "If you do too much, it becomes a caricature," Daniels said of playing Reagan.

Opening in theaters on August 14th is 'The Brink of War', which tells the true story of the 1986 Reykjavík Summit between Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, and was written and directed by Michael Russell Gunn.

The Brink of War

"Not all battles are fought with bullets."

PGDrama History Thriller War

Release Date: Aug 14, 2026

Run Time: 1 hr 57 min

The film stars Jeff Daniels ('The Martian') as Ronald Reagan, Jared Harris ('Lincoln') as Mikhail Gorbachev, Hope Davis ('Asteroid City') as Nancy Reagan, and Oscar winner J. K. Simmons ('Whiplash') as George Shultz.

(L to R) Jared Harris and Jeff Daniels star in 'The Brink of War'.

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Jeff Daniels and Jared Harris about their work on 'The Brink of War', their approach to playing the iconic world leaders, the screenplay, their research, and working with director Michael Russell Gunn.

Jeff Daniels stars in 'The Brink of War'. Photo: Angel Studios.

Moviefone: To begin with, Jeff, I think people forget that Ronald Reagan began his career as an actor. As an actor yourself, did that give you a unique perspective as to who he was and how he was feeling in this moment with Gorbachev?

Jeff Daniels: It was a part of the research that I was already familiar with. That was the one and only. He used that ability to be in front of either one person or a thousand people, and he could hold the room. He could hold attention, he could use his humor, his comic timing, which he had, to his advantage, whether in trying to get Gorbachev to relax and further discussion within a more relaxed atmosphere after a funny story or something. But he used it, and he had that in his toolbox. So in that sense, it was useful to be in the same profession. I was gonna say, I haven't done a 'Bedtime for Bonzo', but then there was 'Dumb and Dumber'.

Jared Harris stars in 'The Brink of War'. Photo: Angel Studios.

MF: Jared, can you talk about the research you did into Gorbachev's life to prepare for this role, and was there anything that you learned that really helped shape and inform your performance?

Jared Harris: I mean, the thing that opened the door for me, was a photograph, and it was the picture of when his wife died before he did, and he was at the funeral. She was in a casket, and he was draped over the casket, like Hamlet at Ophelia's grave, and it was very moving, the anguish on his face. I felt very sympathetic towards him.

(L to R) J. K. Simmons and Jeff Daniels star in 'The Brink of War'. Photo: Angel Studios.

MF: Jeff, can you talk about your approach to playing Reagan and walking the fine lean between a performance and an impression?

JD: If you do too much, it becomes a caricature, which you just watch that. You don't feel anything. As an audience, you just watch that. But if I can get rid of some of that, use enough of the voice, the hair, the mannerisms, get the rhythm of how he would speak, and maybe almost a melody at times, then I'm pulling you into what he's thinking and what he's feeling. Because that's what I want you to think and feel yourself as an audience. It's a bit of a magic trick. Film is about pulling the audience in, caricature is about, "look at me, look at me, look at me." We all did it. I mean, Jared did. J.K. did with Schultz, and Hope did with Nancy. It was a similar approach that Michael Gunn, the writer/director, pushed us towards. I was very appreciative of that. The story of that weekend was what pulled everybody. Just that weekend, what that beginning, middle, and end of Reagan and Gorbachev, its story structure. It's perfect.

(L to R) Jared Harris and Jeff Daniels star in 'The Brink of War'. Photo: Angel Studios.

MF: Finally, Jared, what was it like working with director Michael Russell Gunn and watching him execute his vision for this project?

JH: Well, he was incredibly well informed. You know, it's always useful to have someone who can answer all your questions. There's tons of them when you're looking at a script, as you're an actor, there's endless questions that come up. He was incredibly supportive and encouraging to any ideas that you wanted or, there were a few tweaks that were made, but it was a very positive experience. He wrote an incredibly accomplished script. I mean, that's what brought everybody to the table. That script is exceptional and we read a lot of very poor scripts.

'The Brink of War' opens in theaters on August 14th.

What is the plot of 'The Brink of War'?

President Ronald Reagan (Jeff Daniels) races against time to salvage a deal with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev (Jared Harris) that could dismantle nuclear arsenals—or ignite disaster. With pressure mounting on all sides, every word spoken brings the world closer to peace... or destruction.