NATIONWIDE -- Woody Harrelson steps into the shoes of the 36th president of the United States in "LBJ," a part he was reluctant to take on.

"Yeah, because I think about Vietnam or at least I used to just think about Vietnam when I thought of LBJ, so I didn't think it was a part for me, but then Rob Reiner directing it I was like, I love Rob Reiner,” Harrelson said. “Also, I think politically he's about astute as anyone comes so he had to have ample reason to want to do it.

Jennifer Jason Leigh portrays Lady Bird Johnson.

"It's daunting whenever you play someone real,” Leigh said. “It's a little bit frightening and also you feel beholden. I mean, you feel like you have, you have to capture them in a very real way. It's a big responsibility,"

Director Rob Reiner said Johnson's presidency was about more than the Vietnam War.

“He did have this legislative success, domestically, and if you think about it, second to maybe FDR, probably the greatest legislative achievement of any president,” said Reiner. “Had it not been for Vietnam, he would have gone down as one of the presidents of all time."