The same year Johnny Smith saw Martin Sheen’s Greg Stillson become president and destroy the world, Sheen also played the president of the United States in the 1983 miniseries “Kennedy.” It co-starred Blair Brown as Jackie, Vincent Gardenia as J. Edgar Hoover, E.G. Marshall as Joseph P. Kennedy and Kevin Conroy – longtime voice of the Batman – as Ted Kennedy.
Beyond “The Dead Zone” and “Kennedy,” Sheen’s career has all sorts of ties to the Oval Office. Sheen played Bobby Kennedy in 1974’s “The Missiles of October.” He played Nixon’s White House counsel John Dean in the 1979 Watergate miniseries “Blind Ambition.” He narrated 1991’s “JFK.” He played Michael Douglas’ chief of staff in “The American President.” He played “Jack” in 2006’s “Bobby,” about the assassination of Robert Kennedy. And, of course, he played President Jed Bartlet on “The West Wing” for seven years.