Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin and Johnny Depp – actors who have played Donald Trump

Some say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery – however in the case of Hollywood and Donald Trump, it is certainly not the case.

The president is frequently lampooned on late night shows and Alec Baldwin even won an Emmy – the highest honour in US TV – for his highly critical portrayal on Saturday Night Live.

Irish actor Brendan Gleeson is the latest to play the president in what is the first major Hollywood drama to explore his time in office.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at other famous faces who have taken on Mr Trump:

Alec Baldwin

Baldwin has earned critical acclaim for his Saturday Night Live portrayal of Mr Trump, donning a blonde wig and exaggerated pout for his send-up of the president.

The portrayal has not gone down well with Mr Trump, who called SNL “tired”.

Baldwin started playing the then-presidential nominee during the run-up to the 2016 election and is expected to return to the role for SNL’s new season next month.

Baldwin won an Emmy in 2017 for his portrayal of Mr Trump.

Meryl Streep

Streep is no stranger to playing high-profile political figures, having portrayed Margaret Thatcher and Emmeline Pankhurst on the big screen.

And she turned her attention to Mr Trump in June 2016, when he was still a presidential nominee.

For her impersonation at a theatre gala in New York City, Hollywood royalty Streep wore streaky orange face tan and appeared to have a sizable fake belly under her shirt, as well as a comically long red tie.

Mr Trump later called the three-time Oscar-winning star “one of the most overrated actresses in Hollywood”.

Johnny Depp

The Hollywood actor, whose CV includes a health and safety-averse chocolate factory boss, a flamboyant pirate captain and an evil wizard, played Mr Trump in a 2016 parody film nine months before his election victory.

Depp took the lead role in Donald Trump’s The Art of the Deal: The Movie, loosely based on the president’s 1987 best-selling autobiographical book.

The film, from production company Funny Or Die, was intended to look like a relic of the 1980s and was reasonably well-received by critics.

Jimmy Fallon

https://twitter.com/FallonTonight/status/1310788914332995584?s=20

The late night host frequently wears a blonde wig to send-up the president on his The Tonight Show.

Like other performers who have portrayed Mr Trump, Fallon has attracted the businessman’s ire on Twitter.

After Fallon apologised to anyone he had offended for ruffling Mr Trump’s hair in the build-up to the election – a move criticised as being too soft on the politician – the president accused him of “whimpering” and tweeted: “Be a man Jimmy!”

Phil Hartman

The beloved comedian, who died aged 49 in 1998, was the first SNL cast member to parody Mr Trump, from 1988-90.

Back then Mr Trump was a larger-than-life real estate mogul and New York City socialite. Hartman’s portrayal is much more grounded than Baldwin’s modern equivalent and the character featured in sketches exploring his failing marriage to ex-wife Ivana.

Other SNL stars to play Mr Trump include Darrell Hammond, Jason Sudeikis and Taran Killam.