Steven Spielberg's 'Lincoln' Casts Tommy Lee Jones, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Many More

Steven Spielberg is a busy man, and while his plans to finally make an Abraham Lincoln biopic were announced late last year, we've had little news since. We know that Daniel Day Lewis would play the title role, and that Sally Field will be Mary Todd, but other than that, there has been very little to report. That changes today with the addition of Tommy Lee Jones and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and a big list of other actors who are all in talks now. More details are after the break.

Also in talks are: Hal Holbrook, James Spader, John Hawkes, Tim Blake Nelson, Bruce McGill and Joseph Cross. That is one hell of a cast. But wait, there are possible names to fill out the fringes: David Costabile, Byron Jennings, Dakin Matthews, Boris McGiver, Gloria Reuben, Jeremy Strong, and David Warshofsky.

Lincoln will shoot this fall in Virginia, and has a tentatively scheduled late 2012 release date. Here's the rest of the press release that went out today, announcing some of the roles to be played by the new additions.

Based on the best-selling book, Team of Rivals, by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, the screenplay has been written by the Pulitzer Prize winner, Tony Award winner, and Academy Award nominated writer Tony Kushner.  It will be produced by Kathleen Kennedy and Steven Spielberg.

The film will focus on the political collision of Lincoln and the powerful men of his cabinet on the road to abolition and the end of the Civil War.

Oscar winner Tommy Lee Jones will play Thaddeus Stevens, a Republican leader and powerful congressman from Pennsylvania in the U.S. House of Representatives.  Stevens was a staunch supporter of abolishing slavery and was critical to writing the legislation that funded the American Civil War.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt, known for his roles in "Inception," "(500) Days of Summer," and next year's "The Dark Knight Rises," will take on the role of Robert Todd Lincoln, eldest son of President Lincoln and the only one to live past his teenage years.

Other announced cast will take on various supporting roles in the film.