Sally Field To Play Mary Todd Lincoln In ‘Lincoln’

Sally Field has joined the cast of the Steven Spielberg film Lincoln, starring Daniel Day-Lewis as the 16th president of the United States.

Field will play Mary Todd Lincoln, Honest Abe’s wife.

Spielberg commented on the casting, saying “I’m excited to be working with Sally for the first time. I’ve admired her films, and she has always been my first choice to portray all the fragility and complexity that was Mary Todd Lincoln.”

The film focuses on the “political clashes between Lincoln and the officers of his cabinet”, and is based on the book Team of Rivals, by Doris Kearns Goodwin, which has been adapted for the screen by Tony Kushner.

Filming is expected to begin in the fall for a late 2012 release.