jeff daniels is as passionate and eloquent about today's politics as atticus finch is in the courtroom and so we feel very fortunate nat tonight that jeff daniels will get the last word tonight. but first, we begin with a tweet that will definitely go down in history. today the president of the united states wrote in his diary that russia helped get him elected. president trump is the only president who makes his diary public because he writes it on twitter. this morning, the president tweeted "i had nothing to do with russia helping me to get elected. that is the first time the president has acknowledged what the rest of us have known for a long time and what robert mueller documented in his investigation, and in his report. russia helped donald trump get elected. here is the way robert mueller described what the russians did yesterday. >> russian intelligence officers who were part of the russian military launched a concerted attack on our political system. the indictment alleges that they used sophisticated cybertechniques to hack into computers and networks used by the clinton camp

you talked about playing atticus finch, the iconic character. you work on sorkin as a writer.'re one of the few actors that can do that. you're used to that, it is fast, a challenge. >> uh-huh. >> we also have a moment, the trump moment, right? so you have a historic play, a moment in time, a great writer, right? what are the things that get added to the play to make it meet this moment. there's no explicit in vocation of trump or semi explicit. it seems like a period piece if you're not paying attention closely, but i know you did some stuff to tweak this to make it meet this moment. what did you do? >> the thing we did was that even atticus was guilty of minor racism when he took the tom robinson case in the play, the black maid, he tells her i took the tom robinson case, she goes good, he leaves, and she says you're welcome. and calls him on it later. >> she becomes the hero in this version of the story. >> yeah. and atticus has to learn that it's not okay just to sit on your porch and let bob ule come by and go are you going to the lynching thursday, you missed the last on

it's atticus finch >> seth: yeah. >> it's atticus finch. and it's the role of a lifetime.cs we got the -- we got the people are coming, we're -- >> seth: you -- you got a tony nomination >> that happened >> seth: congratulations >> that happened [ cheers and applause this is -- this is not - this is not the gig where you call your agent and go, "get me something better." >> seth: right, right. [ laughter ] >> get me something better so, this is pretty good. >> seth: and again, atticus finch, needless to say, this is a character -- beloved almost seems like an understatement did you find it daunting to take on this role in this play? >> oh, well, yeah. yes, and no. it's -- you know, gregory peck did the movie and he won an oscar for it >> seth: yeah. >> and people revere him he was -- they only made the one movie. there were no other plays. there were no other movies, there were - and so people think of atticus finch as gregory peck. and the people who love the book are -- there are three people -- three kinds of people who come to the show. the people who absolutely love t

harper lee's 1960 novel "to kill a mockingbird," the story set in 193s, alabama, jim crow era, atticus finchyed by jeff daniels, robinson accused of raping a white woman. the themes and issues are very real and emphasized recently in an op-ed, every night, racists kill me, then i leave the theater for a world of danger. in it, he writes, i look out to all of those white faces with enough disposable income to be able to see the show and see jeff daniels as atticus finch ask me the same age old question. why did you run. if you didn't do anything wrong, why did you run. i think after all this time and so many dead innocents do they not understand why we would run? in that moment, like so many moments in the play, it is no longer a play. it is no longer a role. it's not theater. and it's not safe. gbenga joins me now. thank you for writing this. i saw you on opening night in your play and it is remarkable. but you were surprised, as a black man in america, you were surprised how that role seemed so real. like it gave you something that even you hadn't thought about, even though you have obvious

it's atticus finch it's atticus finch on broadway, at the shubert theater the carnegie hall of broadway bookot you've ghis great cast we've got new york pros. people like celia keenan-bolger and willullen and gideon glick they play the three kids they're adults - >> jimmy: but by the end of theo play, think they're children >> oh, 30 seconds in >> jimmy: seriously, it's phenomenal >> yeah. they're doing some incredible work >> jimmy: did you know that you were going t-- d everyone know that they were going to cast adults to play - >> no, they did the first reading. this is almost two years ago that we started working on this and did the first reading, just had celia and will and gideon just read it just so we can hear it and by the intermission, aaron and bart sher, the director, were going, "you know, this is probably what we should do."is and it was a i mean, you go in and you got all these people who love the book >> jim: yeah >> cherish the book. >> jimmy: oh, of course. >> the first week of performances was "don't screw this up. [ light laughter ] you could feel it in the whole aud

after the break, jeff daniels and why atticus finch from to kill a mocking bird speaks truth to todaya mocking bird speaksh to today when you shop for your home at wayfair, you get more than free shipping. you get everything you need for your home at a great price, the way it works best for you, i'll take that. wait honey, no. when you want it. you get a delivery experience you can always count on. you get your perfect find at a price to match, on your own schedule. you get fast and free shipping on the things that make your home feel like you. that's what you get when you've got wayfair. so shop now! shaving has been difficult for me. i have very sensitive skin, and i get ingrowing hairs. oh i love it. it's a great razor. it has that 'fence' in the middle. it gives a nice smooth shave. >>> i recently sat down with one of my all time favorite actors, jeff daniels who's playing one of my all time favorite characters, atticus finch, his nominated role, "to kill a mocking bird" our conversation on civility and decency and a president known for neither. >>> i live in michigan. after the e

the void of living for most people then, then i wasn't in. >> brown: sorkin dolided the leadof atticus finch had to shift, too, with more of an arc from the play's beginning to its en >> is he a bad lawyer who becomes a good lawyer? a bad father who becomes a good father? a racist, to become someone who believes in justice and equality? of course, not any of those. i saw that i didn't have tgive atticus a flaw. that, reading the book today, instead of back when i read it, he already had a couple. it's just that we were taught that they were virtues. atticus says, "you can find goodness in anyone-- it's yourjo b to get around inside their skin." >> brown: that assertion, sorkin said, had an echo int presidenump's remarks after the 2017 white nationalist rally rlottesville, virginia. violence erupted, leaving one woman dead.es the ent famously said there were "very fine people on both sides." hought, "wait, atticus-- suddenly i have some questions for atticus." this was no longer an exercise in nostalgia.a this wasn'eld trip to a museum. it wasn't an homage to one of america's favorite books.

. >> brown: the play he nally did write, starring jeff daniels, still focus atticus finch, the small-town lawyer in maycomb, alabama tasked with defending tom robinson, an african american man wrongly accused of assaulting a white woman. the story, set in the 1930s, is told from the point of vieof finch's young daughter, scout, who learns important lessons about race, class and morality. the book was first published in 1960. two years later, it was made into an academy award-winningri movie star gregory peck as atticus. jeff daniels called sorkin's version a "rethink." after getting the part, he read the book and re-watched the film. >> i wanted to see how he, you know, he chose to do thatat that way, hat way, that that way, and you go, "okay, thank you." clocked it. again. different medium, different script. b wn: different time. >> different time. >> brown: different time, because one of the big questions is doing "to kill a mockingbird" today. >> i think harper le as far as she cou. peck was-- it was written as the great white hero, savior, and that's what he played. that w the book, t

he stars as a small town lawyer atticus finch, the adaptation of the classic "to kill a mockingbird."gly accused of assaulting a white woman in 1930s. >> we have to show tom robinson justice in this courtroom. now, we can start gathering the animals two by two, because we'll be showing god's justice in a hurry. we can't go on like this, we know that. so let's hasten the change. let's hasten the end of the beginning. let's do it right now, in macon. let's begin by restoring this man to his family. let's begin with justice. >> that's just one of the reasons he was nominated for a tony. good morning, jeff daniels. good to have you with here. at kiticus finch was flawless. in this book, he's not so flawless. >> he's a human being. he wanted to take the stay you down. in the book it's scout looking up at the great father, and we wanted to get on eye level with him. we always took the approach he was a small town lawyer who got paid in vegetables at times. he handled band cases and foreclosures. the judge came to him one day and that's what changed his life. >> you called it the role of a l

." >>> you know, in the book and in the movie atticus finch was flawless.lar adaptation, he's not so flawless. >> he's a human being. >> yeah. >> aaron sore kun when he wrote the book wanted to take the statue down. the point of the book is pretty much scout looking up at the great father, and we wanted to kind of get on eye level with him. we always took the approach he was a smalltown lawyer who got paid in vegetables sometimes. he handed dispute disclosures, that was it. and one day the judge comes over and changes his life. that's where we started so that everything happens to him versus starting up here. >> you call it the role of a lifetime. >> yeah. >> difficult for you to play? >> no because i've been waiting for something like this forever. i've had great roles throughout my life. the stars aligned. it's the shubert theater, which is like the carnegie hall of broadway. you're atticus finch, the fictional hero. people think this guy has lived. certainly first month of the run, people came to the show with a book against their chest going, please don

that stands for what would atticus finch do?e can't ask him and in our effort to ask him, we asked the man who plays him in the jeff sorkin production. jeff daniels was a guest here today. and what he said has received a lot of attention already because of how he said it. >> you look at the cowardice of the people in the race. that's not courage. that's making sure you have a job after politics. courage is standing up and being a true patriot like we used to have in 1776 and all of that. who are the heroes going to be? is it going to be the daniel elsburg pentagon papers guy? i'm waiting for that guy. >> we're all waiting for that guy. >> we need people like that. and to look at congress with all of the politics going, you're out worthless to me. i need people to stand up and be heroic. who are you? >> jeff daniels with nicolle wallace, to end our forecast, as we start a new week. thank you for being here with us. good night from msnbc headquarters here in new york. >>> defying a congressional subpoena president trump directing

if life is in a crisis it's always useful to ask wwwafd, which obviously stands for what would atticus finchince we can't ask him we came up with the man who plays him currently on broadway in the aaron sorkin production. jeff daniels was here today as a guest of nicolle wallace and what he said has received a lot of attention already because of how he said it. >> you look at the cowardice of the 15 or so republicans in the senate who are still quiet, not bob corker and jeff flake and who's the other one that went out the back door. that's not courage, that's not courage. that's making sure you've got a job somewhere after politics. courage is standing up and being a true patriot like we used to have way back in 1776 and all of that. who are the heroes going to be? is it going to be the pentagon papers guy? who's the guy in the justice department who's going to go, here, "washington post," here's the unredacted, go. i'm waiting for that guy. >> we're all waiting for that guy. >> we need people like that. >> to look at congress, if i do this, i can't do that, you're all worthless to me right