![]() “Obviously we weren’t going to be pulling guys out of training or off missions,” says Waugh.Īs in real life, the U.S. Navy SEAL community gave the project unqualified support, but required the filmmakers to work around their schedules. The directors gave us a lot of room to create the story the way we wanted it told, which made a big difference to us all.”Īfter an agreement was reached to honor Naval Special Warfare members killed since September 11, 2011, in the film’s credits, a core group of men signed on to portray the film’s combat operators. This is probably the most accurate depiction of how we operate that has been seen on film. “I’m not interested in glamor or fame, but I would like to help shine a light on the different facets of the U.S. “At first, I didn’t want to be involved with the project,” says James. But the small group of us that are the recognizable guys in the picture thought there was a unique opportunity there to tell our story in a way that hadn’t been done before.”Īlthough Special Warfare Operator First Class Ajay was recommended for the film by his commanding officer, he still balked at the idea. “It was big leap to do something like this. Navy SEALs’ history of quiet professionalism is an essential part of the fabric of their community, says Lieutenant Commander Rorke. They felt that this was their time to set the record straight about who their community really is.” But when they saw what we were all about, they really got involved. It was cool to help us with our research, but they had to get back to work. “Their attitude was that it’s not really what they do. “Once we committed to using the real guys, they all said no,” says McCoy. The hardest part, say the directors, was convincing the U.S. “Would you rather see a bunch of actors who learned how to play ball a few months ago? It was the first time in our careers we were directing the actual characters, not actors playing the characters.” McCoy compares it to seeing a film about basketball in which the Los Angeles Lakers take to the court. He may have been training and on active duty for 20 years. “He has an intensity and an aura that’s almost impossible to replicate. The more they talked about it, the more convinced McCoy and Waugh were that this was the only way to achieve the authenticity they needed to properly honor their subjects. We really felt that going the star route wouldn’t do them justice.” “They are all fine actors, but they’re not U.S. Navy SEALs starred Charlie Sheen, Demi Moore and Bruce Willis, says Leitman. Navy SEALs, as they have before in film.”Ī scan of recent cinema history revealed that the last three major films featuring U.S. “We realized that actors could misrepresent the U.S. “It had become our mantra to make sure everything does service to who they are,” says McCoy. Instead of casting actors, they wanted to use real U.S. Navy SEAL platoon in San Diego, co-directors McCoy and Waugh considered a new and untried option for their film.
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