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‘Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter’ star Benjamin Walker’s famous mother-in-law

Benjamin Walker
Benjamin Walker

Playing Abraham Lincoln comes with a lot of baggage. Everybody knows him, everybody loves him.

Benjamin Walker, who plays Honest Abe in this weekend's "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter," may be most concerned about one very important critic -- Meryl Streep. The three-time Oscar winner and acting goddess happens to be his mother-in-law. Walker is married to Mamie Gummer, daughter of the three-time Oscar winner. The two wed last July.

The wedding took place at Streep's Connecticut home and was attended by Claire Danes, Laura Linney, and Tracey Ullman. The two met while starring in the Broadway play "Dangerous Liaisons."

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Walker spoke to the U.K.'s Metro paper recently about how his relationship with Streep affects his acting. He remarked with diplomacy worthy of a wartime president: "It's much harder for women in this industry, so it's truly remarkable what she has accomplished. The only thing more intimidating than an international film star is a mother-in-law. So we should just probably leave it at that."

Walker, who at 6-foot-3 is just an inch shorter than America's favorite president, will don the top hat and fight freaky vampires in the tongue-in-cheek adventure. It's his first time as the lead actor in a big Hollywood production, but, oddly, it won't be the first time Walker has played a re-imagined U.S. president. He also portrayed Old Hickory on Broadway in the rock musical "Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson."

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From the looks of the trailer, Walker does a mighty good job of bringing Honest Abe to life. Hopefully his mother-in-law agrees.

See the trailer to 'Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter':