Dennis Quaid said playing former President Ronald Reagan was "the most challenging role of my whole life." The movie Reagan opens Aug. 30 in theaters.

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"Everybody knows him and I didn't want to just do an impersonation," Quaid told UPI in a recent Zoom interview for his new movie, The Long Game.

Quaid said his research on Reagan suggested a different man than the public perceived, first as an actor and later as a politician.

"For people who knew him, he had a very private side that was unknowable in a sense," Quaid said. "I think Nancy knew him better than anybody."

Penelope Anne Miller plays former first lady Nancy Reagan in the film. Sean McNamara directs from Howard Klausner and Jonas McCord's script, which drew on two Paul Kengor books about Reagan.

"We're talking about the great communicator," Quaid said. "He's a very complicated man, actually, in his simplicity."