The first season of Ryan Murphy’s American Crime Story was a big hit. The 10-episode limited series about the O.J. Simpson trial scored huge ratings for FX and nominations galore for the cast and crew. So it wasn’t a surprise when FX greenlit a second season, which will focus on the lead-up to and aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Murphy spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about the upcoming season and, in addition to laying out a bit of his vision, revealed that the producers “will cast actors as George W. Bush and other then-officeholders who played key roles in the event including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin and Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco.”
This brings up an important question: Who will the series cast as George W. Bush? The first season brought in some recognizable faces to play some big roles — from Cuba Gooding, Jr. as O.J. to John Travolta as Robert Shapiro to David Schwimmer as Robert Kardashian — so it’s no stretch to imagine that Murphy and company are sizing up another big fish this time. And with the success of season one, big name actors are probably lining up to be a part of it. It could be anyone!
But before we get too far down this path, tossing out names all willy-nilly, I’m just going to throw this out there: They should have John Travolta play George W. Bush. Allow me to present my case.
1. John Travolta already said he wants to be part of season two
It’s true. He said so after the season one finale. His exact words were, “I told them I was interested and that it was up to them.” That’s a promise, John Travolta! No take backs, pal.
It’s also worth noting that he said this as part of a long story that involved him flying his own plane down to New Orleans with supplies, which raised the possibility that he could technically play himself in this thing. Up until about 10 minutes ago, that was the only thing I wanted in the world. But now I have changed my mind. Because…
2. I think I would like to see John Travolta play George W. Bush
Yeah, I definitely would. Did you people see his performance as Robert Shapiro? My God. It was magic. The closest I ever got to describing it correctly was “like a medicated billionaire used car salesman,” and believe you me, I spent a lot of words trying. An unreasonable amount, some might say. I stand behind every one of them.
And it wasn’t just me who loved it. Look at this quote from Travolta himself.
So you have to be brave to let an actor do that, especially how he looks and how he behaves. It’s humorous and entertaining, but also do you really want John Travolta to do that? And you have to be brave to let him do that. Just like with Pulp Fiction, Quentin had to be brave to let me wear the hair long, walk around slumped and do all that, because it might be counterintuitive to others. But to a real artist, that’s what you’re supposed to do. You’re supposed to let them create their vision of that character.
Let John Travolta create his vision of George W. Bush!
3.
4. I mean, why not?
Fair’s fair.
5. I will also accept David Schwimmer as George W. Bush
I’m not unreasonable.
