Barack Obama surprised much of the ‘Disclosure Day’ cast when he visited the set Steven Spielbergwhile the newest film was in production. The visit, which was the former president’s first time on a film set, quickly became one of the most talked about moments behind the scenes of the highly anticipated project.Spielberg, 79, first announced Obama’s visit during a May appearance on Michelle Obama’s ‘IMO’ podcast, joking that his friend and former president, 64, had threatened to watch the film vertically on his phone if he wasn’t one of the first to see it. “He said he’d only watch it on an iPhone if he wasn’t one of the first,” Spielberg quoted. “And he said he wouldn’t see it horizontally, he’d only see it vertically.“
How the actors reacted to Obama’s arrival on the set
Spielberg described the moment Obama entered the set as something close to a revelation for the younger actors. “Of course, for my cast, it was a religious experience because this iconic president walks into our set,” he said. “To me, he’s a good friend, but on set, the kids didn’t know Barack except for what he’s done for the world and what he represents. I think the actor is very extroverted; when he came in, you could hear a pin drop. They didn’t know what to say.”co-star Eve Hewson confirmed the visit’s impact when he spoke to The Hollywood Reporter on Monday at the film’s premiere in New York. “I showed up at work nervous to do my scene, and then there was the Secret Service, and then Obama showed up,” the Irish actor recalled. “Imagine your scariest day at work, and then Obama comes to see you. It was crazy, but also probably the most extraordinary experience I’ll ever have in my life, and I’ll always cherish it.“
What ‘Disclosure Day’ is all about
Hewson, 34, appears on ‘Disclosure Day’ alongside Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, Wyatt Russell, Colman Domingo and Colin Firth. She plays Jane, the romantic partner of O’Connor’s character Daniel, and spends much of the film on the run as she tries to publicly spread information about the existence of intelligent non-human life on Earth.
Barack Obama and the question alien life
Obama is no stranger to questions about extraterrestrial life, having spent eight years in the White House between 2009 and 2017. He made headlines in February when he confirmed that alien life is real in an interview with YouTuber and political commentator Brian Tyler Cohen, although he added, “But I haven’t seen them.”After his comments went viral, Obama clarified his position in an Instagram post on February 15. “Statistically, the universe is so vast that the odds are good that life exists there,” he wrote. “But the distances between solar systems are so great that the chances of aliens visiting us are low, and during my presidency I saw no evidence that aliens have made contact with us. Really!”‘Disclosure Day’ hits theaters on June 12.
