Posted on Jun 18, 2014
What Actor/Actress do you feel has given the best performance as a Service Member or Veteran?
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We've all seen movies referencing military service and veterans so who is your favorite and why?
Military History
Servicemembers
Movies
Hollywood
Actor/Actress
Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 69
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I'm throwing in The Last Castle with R. Redford. The personality types, the calm bearing of the General, the "little" things they got right.
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The guy who was glory seeking as the Company Commander in Band of Brothers, he was a total jack wagon.
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SPC William Weedman
Listened to an interview by David Schwimmer, he intentionally cut himself off from the rest of the cast in order to illicit the total disdain the company had for him. He also looked in CPT Sobel's story, he ended up dying of malnutrition after a failed suicide attempt.
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All good choices folks. But, I'm going to throw in these two:
Tom Hanks - for BOTH Forest Gump and Saving Private Ryan
Gary Sinise - aka "Lt Dan" Taylor (Forest Gump) & for all the work he has done for vets.
Tom Hanks - for BOTH Forest Gump and Saving Private Ryan
Gary Sinise - aka "Lt Dan" Taylor (Forest Gump) & for all the work he has done for vets.
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The Great Santini! Robert Duvall eat up the role of a heroic Marine Fighter Pilot Aviator, who struggled with alcoholism, was a largely dysfunctional family man and father. But as a combat leader, a squadron Leader, his men would have followed him to hell and back. We have all known our own versions of the great Santini. Men who probably could not do anything else than what they did, as warriors, living up to their code of honor as they saw it, while the civilian world outside the military seemed to be going down the toilet with permissive behavior, drugs, and a culture that valued individualism and self-gratification, over selflessness, sacrifice, and the accomplishment of a mission greater than oneself.
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Capt Lance Gallardo
The Great Santini - the soup incident
Happy Father's day - Ooh Rah
I can still remember being shown a snippet of the movie during OCS in the summer of 85 (yeah we did OCS twice in the PLC CRS Jrs and Srs) in Quantico, VA. The Instructors use to to pump us up with motivating movie scenes before we tackled another, post chow, military subject. The death hour! So it was the scene where The Great Santini and his wild bunch of Aviators were in a Dinner bar/Restaurant and some tight ass Navy Captain comes over and tells the Lt. Col. to have his men tone it down as they were bothering the other officers present (and their spouses). So he goes through this elaborate joke, where they make a vomit looking soup concoction, and with his men busting up, he pretends to be staggeringly and nauseously drunk goes over to the Navy Captain's table and then he "barfs" all over the live musicians leg! He then calls over two of his pilots "Chowders on Me!" So these two pilots come running over with spoons and start eating the clam chowder barf off the stage." Here is the U-tube video of that scene.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5betKv46GB4
All hundred plus officer candidates where hooting and hollering in that classroom, and at that moment in time, there was not a dry eye in the room, and there was a fierceness of desire in all our hearts that we wanted to be Marine Officers (and a good portion wanted to be aviators), more than anything else in the world. Why the hell else would you be willing to put up with all the physical challenges and abuse of OCS? Some of us were prior enlisted, for them this was the THIRD time going through a boot camp/basic training environment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5betKv46GB4
All hundred plus officer candidates where hooting and hollering in that classroom, and at that moment in time, there was not a dry eye in the room, and there was a fierceness of desire in all our hearts that we wanted to be Marine Officers (and a good portion wanted to be aviators), more than anything else in the world. Why the hell else would you be willing to put up with all the physical challenges and abuse of OCS? Some of us were prior enlisted, for them this was the THIRD time going through a boot camp/basic training environment.
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The entire cast if Platoon. Honorable mention to Tom Berrenger. Back in the day I watched Platoon and then afterwards watched Major League and didn't realize he starred in both movies.
Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman in Crimson Tide. One of my favorite all time movies.
What about the 4-Star General in War Games working in NORAD, who said "I'd piss on a spark plug if I thought it would help right now."
Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman in Crimson Tide. One of my favorite all time movies.
What about the 4-Star General in War Games working in NORAD, who said "I'd piss on a spark plug if I thought it would help right now."
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PVT (Join to see)
Or renaissance man, lone survivor. Hes played a sailor, solider and marine. Up next, air force movie.
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PVT (Join to see)
MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca or lone survivor, renaissance man, three kings. Hes been a sailor, solider and marine. I feel aN airforce movie soon.
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Tom Hanks (Saving Private Ryan)
Mel Gibson (We Were Soldiers)
Both INCREDIBLE performances. Real, emotional, and pretty much not Hollywoodized (not a word, I know, but you get the point).
Also Private Joker from Full Metal Jacket. Outstanding job!
Of course, Mark Wahlberg and the other actors from Lone Survivor. They NAILED it.
I love Clint Eastwood, John Wayne, and other actors like that... but they FELT like they were acting.
Mel Gibson (We Were Soldiers)
Both INCREDIBLE performances. Real, emotional, and pretty much not Hollywoodized (not a word, I know, but you get the point).
Also Private Joker from Full Metal Jacket. Outstanding job!
Of course, Mark Wahlberg and the other actors from Lone Survivor. They NAILED it.
I love Clint Eastwood, John Wayne, and other actors like that... but they FELT like they were acting.
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