And to see it filled with the kinds of people who would've been there during Roosevelt's time was very moving, and very much reminded me of some of the film footage that we'd seen, and the photographs, it was very well documented... his time there. So there's something that's always very special about being in the real place.
Taking on this role, playing Roosevelt at this point in his life must be very physical. Could you talk about that?
Margaret Nagle (the screenwriter) makes the point that cocktail hour, the martini hour, was very important to Roosevelt, because in some ways, it was kind of a pain killer. He didn't have the use of abdominal muscles or lateral muscles, and so even when he was in leg braces, which allowed him to stand, he still needed either the crutches, or, as he then developed later in his life, a way of walking for short periods where he could hold onto the arm of his son, usually, and use a cane.
