The stars of "Stop-Loss" sound off on a soldier's life
Sara Carr
Issue date: 3/18/08 Section: Arts & Society
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Sgt. Brandon King (Ryan Phillipe) returns home to Texas after a tour in Iraq. Just as he tries to get out of the military, he is "stop-lossed" or the backend draft, (a military procedure that can force soldiers back into war through a loophole in their contracts). The film focuses on his fight to stay home while depicting the lives of his fellow soldiers in the same situation, including "10 Things I Hate About You" alum, Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
In two sets of college conference calls, I was able to talk to both Gordon-Levitt and Phillipe about their experience taking on the role of a soldier and their perspectives on the War in Iraq.
From the interview with Joseph Gordon-Levitt:
Q: Describe your character in this movie, is he anything like what you have played before?
A: No. I mean every character's different of course. But no, I've have never played a soldier before and I have never considered what it's like to be a soldier... Most of us Americans who get our point of view on the war in Iraq from the TV and from the newspaper, we never really hear what it's like to actually be a human being over there. We're told of soldiers in terms of numbers, and in terms of politics. And the fact is that the guys over there, the men and women over there, they are not just numbers and they are not just policies. They're human beings and that is what "Stop-Loss" is all about…It is trying to get people to consider it from the point of view of the human beings who are in the midst of this as opposed to the system, the money, and the oil and all the other things we hear about day to day.
Q: How would you prepare for this kind of movie because you said you've never been a soldier before in a movie. Were you able to speak with actual soldiers?
A: Yes, I got really close with a bunch of guys that had been over there and been through it. And the first thing we did actually was, when we got to Texas, was the simulated boot camp. Where we went out into the sticks in Texas for a week. There were five of us actors and four real soldiers making up a squad of nine. And there were three drill sergeants all of whom were veterans that had been in the military for decades. I stayed close with those guys. In fact, I'm still friends with some of the guys that I knew and there were soldiers around us all the time.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Robert DeVito
posted 3/21/08 @ 10:54 PM EST
I am a big, big fan of Joseph Gordon-Levitt and was going to see it because he was in it. After reading his interview, I want to see it because he made it so real and human. (Continued…)
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