Here at MovieWeb we can exclusively reveal that actor Elya Baskin will portray B.E. Kertchman in Reagan, the first full-length feature film on the 40th U.S. President of the United States. We also have our first look at Baskin in the film by way of a pair of photos of the actor on set, seen above and below. The film is currently being prepped for a release in theaters in early 2023 with Dennis Quaid starring as President Reagan.
A Soviet defector, Kertchman traveled around the United States speaking to audiences about his experiences in the Soviet Union. Baskin had also emigrated to the country after graduating from a prestigious theater college in Moscow in 1976. The actor has since secured roles in dozens of films, which includes Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3 as well as Moscow on the Hudson, Air Force One, and others.
"I knew right away that I had to play this role," said Baskin of his casting.
Along with Quaid as Ronald Reagan and Elya Baskin as B.E. Kertchman, Reagan stars Penelope Ann Miller as Nancy Reagan, Mena Suvari as Reagan's first wife Jane Wyman, Lesley-Anne Down as Margaret Thatcher, Kevin Dillon as Jack Warner, and Jon Voight as the KGB agent who tracked Reagan for 40 years.
Reagan follows Reagan's journey from his childhood in Dixon, Illinois, to Hollywood to the White House. The biopic is directed by Sean McNamara. Quaid and McNamara last worked together on the film Soul Surfer. McNamara recently directed the films Mighty Oak and Miracle Season.
Elya Baskin Will Play B.E. Kertchman in Reagan
Dennis Quaid comes into Reagan with experience playing a president of the United States. The veteran actor previously played Bill Clinton in the 2010 film The Special Relationship alongside Hope Davis as the former president's wife Hillary. Joining Quaid, Elya Baskin has plenty of film experience of his own with some of his other notable credits including Spy Hard, Austin Powers, Heartbreakers, and Transformers: Dark of the Moon. He will be featured in the fourth season of Stranger Things as Hopper's friend following appearances on MacGyver, Madam Secretary, and Homeland.
Reagan is not specifically from the late president's point of view, though it does offer a lot of insight into his life and presidency. You can read the official synopsis for the movie below.
"Ronald Reagan's story is told through the voice of Viktor Petrovich, a KGB agent (a composite character based on real individuals) who closely followed Reagan since his days in Hollywood. The film begins with an aging Petrovich, now 90 years old, being visited by an up and coming Russian leader who wants to know how the Soviet Union was lost. Petrovich, the spy who knows everything there is to know about Reagan, begins recounting the tale of his great adversary: the man he nicknamed 'The Crusader,' beginning in 1922 when 11-year old Ronald Reagan goes through his first life crisis."
Reagan will be released in early 2023. Find out more about the film at the official website.