Jared Harris (Mad Men) will play Civil War commander and future U.S. President Ulysses Grant in Steven Spielberg's Abraham Lincoln biopic, Lincoln.  Daniel Day-Lewis plays the 16th President and the film (based on Dolores Kearns Goodwin's book Team of Rivals) covers the last four months of the Civil War.  Grant rose to prominence beginning with his decisive victories battles as Shiloh and Vicksburg,and his continued success on the battlefield eventually earned him command of all Union armies in 1964.  Since the book focused mainly on the power struggles within Lincoln's cabinet, the Grant role will most likely be a minor one.

Based on Kearns' biography, Grant won't be a major character, but Harris is yet another welcome addition to the impressive cast.  The movie also stars Sally Field, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tommy Lee Jones, James Spader, John Hawkes, Michael Stuhlbarg, David Strathairn, Walton Goggins, David Oyelowo, Tim Blake Nelson, Bruce McGill, Jackie Earle Haley, and Lee Pace.  Lincoln is set to open in late 2012.  Harris will next be seen playing Professor Moriarty in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. [Empire]