John McCain was known for his ability to reach across the aisle as a lawmaker.
But he could also span the ideological divide outside of politics. Actor Warren Beatty, a self-proclaimed “liberal Democrat,” was a close friend of the Republican senator and will be among the pallbearers at his memorial service Saturday at Washington National Cathedral.
McCain died Saturday at age 81 after battling brain cancer.
The 81-year-old Oscar winner’s friendship with the relatively conservative politician was forged before McCain’s failed bid to win the Republican presidential nomination in 2000, The Atlantic wrote in a 2008 piece.
“I think I’ve made it clear that I’m a liberal Democrat ... I consider my friendships to be friendships,” Beatty told the magazine. “Let me say this a better way. I don’t think that political ideology is necessarily germane to friendships.”
McCain offered a funny video tribute to the “Bulworth” star when he won the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2008.
Other prominent pallbearers include politicians of varying ideologies: former Vice President Joe Biden (D), former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I), former Secretary of Defense William Cohen, former Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), former Sen. Gary Hart (D-Colo.), Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and former Homeland Security Secretary and Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge (R).
Former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), former Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), former Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and members of McCain’s family will offer tributes.
McCain’s body will be interred Sunday at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.
H/T Uproxx