TV press tour: Actress Julianne Moore channels Sarah Palin

PASADENA

Apparently Tina Fey isn't the only woman who can do a decent impersonation of Sarah Palin. Oscar-nominated actress Julianne Moore will play the former vice-presidential candidate in the upcoming HBO film, "Game Change."

Moore said it was a "daunting" challenge to assume the personality of Palin. The first thing she did after winning the role was hire a vocal coach to help her get down Palin's "idiosyncratic way of speaking." She also watched Palin's reality TV series and read her book, "Going Rogue."

"She's a real human being, and it's my responsibility as an actor to portray her as accurately as possible," Moore told reporters at the Television Critics Association press tour.

Did portraying Palin in any way change Moore's opinion of the former Alaskan governor?

"I certainly have a profound respect for the historical nature of her candidacy," she said, "...The fact that she was able to perform the way she did (under such pressure) was amazing."

Debuting in March, "Game Change" tells the story of John McCain's (Ed Harris) ill-fated bid in the 2008 presidential race. Director Jay Roach says he reached out to Palin while researching the film, but she declined, though her lawyer, to cooperate with the production.