American presidents like to make jokey TV appearances, especially once they no longer have the worst job in the nation. What they don’t tend to do is act. Even Ronald Reagan, America’s big actor-turned-POTUS, didn’t return to his old job after office. (Nor has Donald Trump, despite a history of playing himself onscreen.) Still, Game of Thrones vets David Benioff and D.B. Weiss thought they could coax Barack Obama to do some acting. Alas.
In a new chat with the BBC (in a bit caught by Deadline), Benioff and D.B. Weiss opened up about 3 Body Problem, their big GoT follow-up, which concerns humanity’s way-too-close encounters with aliens from a nearby solar system. They wanted the 44th president to make a cameo. He turned them down. But he was charming about it.
“He did sign a very funny note, when we tried to get him for a cameo,” Benioff said. “It was to the effect of, ‘In case there ever is a real alien invasion, I think I should probably save myself for that crisis.’”
Would Barry have played himself? Maybe some fictional president who’s still in office? We may never know.
Adapted from Liu Cixi’s Hugo-winning trilogy, 3 Body Problem follows five earthbound characters fending off invading aliens. We don’t want to get into spoilers, but unlike with Game of Thrones, viewers don’t have to worry about Cixi taking his sweet time finishing the series; it’s already completed and he’s moved on with his life.
3 Body Problem is set to drop on Netflix on March 24. You can watch the trailer here.