An Interview with Lincoln Actor and

Tulsa Native Robert Peters

This past weekend, one of the most anticipated films of the holiday season hit theaters, Lincoln.  Three Oklahoma natives act in the film, Lee Pace (Fernando Wood) of Chickasha, Tim Blake Nelson (Richard Schell) of Tulsa and Robert Peters (Jacob Graylor) of Tulsa.  OKPOP interviewed Robert Peters about his experience on the set of Lincoln.

Who do you play in the film? 

I play Jacob Graylor, Democratic Congressman from Pennsylvania. In the film I am the first one approached by W.N. Bilbo (James Spader's character) to be swayed into voting a different way on the13th Amendment to abolish slavery. It is a very quick bit in a montage of the people Lincoln hopes to get on his side. I'm the one by the horse and carriage.

What was it like working with such a notable ensemble cast? 

Incredible! The highlight for me I think was going to dinner one evening with Tommy Lee Jones and Gloria Reuben and a few of the other actors. I've been a big fan of Tommy Lee Jones from well, pretty much everything (Lonesome Dove, No Country for Old Men, Fugitive, Men in Black, etc.) and he and I had an incredible chat about everything from polo (one of my brothers, Steve, was a polo player), to politics, to football, and to finally a trip he told me he was taking over the holidays to the Antarctic with the likes of Ted Turner and his old Harvard roommate, Al Gore. "Yeah, Al just wants a bunch 'o rich guys to tag along".  As you can imagine, I was a little 

intimidated and he could not have been cooler and had this incredibly dry wit which I appreciated. And I was grateful to Gloria for organizing the dinner. Her performance in the film as Elizabeth Keckley is one of the most poignant in the film. I also enjoyed spending time on the set (and socially in the evenings) with consummate actors such as Michael Stuhlbarg, John Hawkes, Julie White, Wayne Duvall, Boris McGiver, David Costabile, Jamie Horton, John Hutton, and of course Sally Field and fellow Oklahoman, Tim Blake Nelson.

Steven Spielberg went the extra mile to create an authentic setting, how does that affect you as an actor? 

As corny as this may sound, I don't know if I have ever felt as patriotic as during my few weeks filming Lincoln in Richmond, Virginia. Steven Spielberg and his crew from Assistant Directors Adam Somner and Ian Stone to his production designer Rick Carter, to all of his many wardrobe, hair and makeup stylists, made you, or I should say us, feel like we were completely in the time period and in the moment of history. And during my weeks there I also took advantage of all of the historical sites in and around Richmond; particularly the civil war museums, Monticello (Jefferson's pad) and St. John's Church where Patrick Henry actually delivered his "give me liberty or give me death" speech. And seeing as how I finished elementary school at Patrick Henry Elementary in Tulsa, Oklahoma,....well, it seemed fitting somehow. Not to mention the fact that my first elementary school in Tulsa was Robert E. Lee....Funny how things come around. But yes, Spielberg created an incredibly authentic setting that I believe made every actor at some point forget that it was just a film set.