Many movie-world watchers were shocked when Jane Fonda, she who so angered many Americans with her actions during the Vietnam War, was cast as Nancy Reagan in the upcoming movie "The Butler," about the life and times of White House butler Eugene Allen.

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Director Lee Daniels poses with Oprah Winfrey and Jane Fonda, playing Nancy Reagan, and Alan Rickman, as President Ronald Reagan.

Now Oprah Winfrey has  tweeted a photo of Fonda as Nancy Reagan and Alan Rickman as President Ronald Reagan, posing with Winfrey herself and the film's director Lee Daniels.

In 2005, Fonda told Lesley Stahl of "60 Minutes" that her actions during the Vietnam War were a "betrayal" of her country and "the largest lapse of judgment that I can even imagine."

It's not known how large a part Fonda's Reagan role is, since the film covers decades of White House life.

"The Butler" does not yet have a release date.

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Stephane Reix / EPA file

Jane Fonda at the Cannes Film Festival in May.

Like Rihanna, Jane Fonda found love in a hopeless place. In an interview with the U.K.'s The Sun, the screen legend explains how she discovered "true intimacy" with her boyfriend, Richard Perry, while recovering from knee replacement surgery in June 2009.

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"When I had my knee replaced just over two and a half years ago, I found a lover. His name is Richard Perry, he is 70 and he is a music producer," Fonda says. "When I moved in with him I was still using crutches; we haven't been apart since."

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Fonda believes Perry -- who was married to actress Rebecca Broussard, 49, from 1987-1988 -- has given her what previous lovers never could.

"The only thing I have never known is true intimacy with a man," says Fonda, whose ex-husbands include director Roger Vadim (1965-1973), politician TomHayden (1973-1989) and media mogul Ted Turner (1991-2001). "I absolutely wanted to discover that before dying. It has happened with Richard. I feel totally secure with him. Often, when we make love, I see him as he was 30 years ago."

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According to the "Peace, Love and Misunderstanding" actress, "At 74, I have never had such a fulfilling sex life. When I was young I had so many inhibitions -- I didn't know what I desired."

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Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images

Actress Jane Fonda arrives at the 2012 Vanity Fair Oscar Party on Feb. 26.

LOS ANGELES -- The right wing is going to love this: Jane Fonda, whose outspoken opposition to the Vietnam War continues to enrage conservatives, will play former first lady Nancy Reagan in Lee Daniels' "The Butler."

"The Butler" is a sprawling historical drama that centers on Eugene Allen, a black man who worked as butler in the White House under eight presidents.

Oscar-winner Forest Whitaker ("The Last King of Scotland") is slated to play Allen. Oprah Winfrey, Hugh Jackman and Liam Neeson are among the other big names who are circling roles in the project.

Daniels earned an Oscar nomination for directing "Precious" and is currently directing "The Paperboy" with Nicole Kidman and Zac Efron.

Fonda's performance would be a supporting one, because the film spans decades, chronicling Allen's years in the White House from 1952 all the way up to 1986, when the Reagans inhabited the White House.

After winning Oscars for films "Klute" and "Coming Home," Fonda retired from acting in 1990. After more than a decade spent largely out of the spotlight, she has slowly eased back into movies, starring in "Georgia Rule" (2007) and "Monster-in-Law"(2005).

She also stars in Bruce Beresford's upcoming family drama "Peace, Love and Misunderstanding."

Variety first reported that Fonda was in negotiations for "The Butler."