Tropical Thunder: The Pacific

So, you missed Tom Hanks’ and Spielberg’s labour of love - The Pacific. Stop being a baby. Here are the leading marines in a dress parade

The Pacific campaign of World War II was an ugly, nasty affair, even by the standards of a global conflict. Thousands of miles away from the battle in Europe, the US combined armed forces attempted to roust the empire of Japan from hundreds of Pacific islands. Fighting one of the most dedicated, ruthless armed forces ever seen, the United States Marine Corps were often the first men in, landing on the beaches of Guadalcanal, Peleliu and Okinawa to face months of bloody battle. Now this brutal conflict has been slavishly recreated in glorious high-definition by the men behind Band Of Brothers.

Read FHM India in the digital libraryEvery issue, every shoot, on TCG Media.

Taken this time from the real lives of three marines, John Basilone, E.B. Sledge and Robert Leckie, The Pacific is as gruelling as it is action-packed. “The great treasure is in the details. It’s about individual guys who find out they can do things when they’re exhausted and when they’re scared,” says executive producer and vessel of childhood memories, Tom Hanks. “Sometimes what they can do is curl up in a ball and not do anything and other times they can carry somebody to safety or kill a guy. Those are all momentous moments in anybody’s life and that’s what the details are. The nature of warfare in the South Pacific was so different. It’s going to be tougher. It’s going to be hard… I mean to watch.”

FHM spoke to the men who are taking on the lives of the few, the brave, and getting the crap beaten out of them in the process.

“Have your weapons ready, the Japs always try to stop us on the beach. Have a round in the chamber. Have your high-explosive mortar rounds ready for immediate use. Fill your canteens and clear your weapons. Reveille will be before daylight. Hit the sack. You will need the rest. Good luck and carry on.”

Extract from With The Old Breed by Eugene B. Sledge

Joseph Mazzello, 26

Plays: Corporal Eugene B. ‘Sledgehammer’ Sledge, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines

You’ve seen him in: Jurassic Park, as the mildly irritating boy, Tim

There’s a lot of people in this show. Was it hard getting the job?

I did it the old fashioned way. I went to the casting director, then the producer, then another producer and then eventually I was up in front of Steven Spielberg and HBO. After that I had to go in one last time for Tom Hanks. And finally, six months after starting the audition process, I got the part.

So how was boot camp?

When we got there, it was the real thing: middle of the jungle, getting screamed at, no eating, no sleeping, digging ditches. I lost nearly a stone in ten days. It was brutal. A guy broke his collarbone, a guy broke his ribs, a guy got stabbed in the foot. And everything was trying to kill you. A plant would kill you!

Did you talk to your character’s family?

Yeah, that was the most important thing, that I paid tribute to the man. His wife said to me, “I know it’s made up of three men’s stories. But Joe, don’t let them make my Eugene a wimp.”

During the beach battles, how much is happening around you and how much is added later?

95% of what you see was happening there on the day. When I was there, they said they were adding CGI and I thought, ‘Where?’ There’s no room for it. Things were exploding everywhere and you only have one go as it takes so long to set up. It was like a dance, the timing was so tight. I had a close call where I had to run and pick up this helmet. They kept saying, “You have to do it faster.” So we’re running and at the end there was this trench that went about 7-8ft down, and at the bottom were some rusted, spiky, gnarled bits of metal. I managed to slide down, but the guy I was with went straight down and just missed impaling himself.

Would you have signed up to fight in the war?

Boy, I hope so. I hope I’d have signed up. Those men changed the world. It was the perfect good versus evil battle.

Did you steal your uniform?

I know another cast member who did. I wanted to take the mortar I use home. But that’s hard to get through security. All I got to take were my dog tags, ring, and the Bible and pipe I smoke in the show.

More importantly, did you keep anything from Jurassic Park?

Ha ha! Actually, I do have a model of one of the velociraptors in my living room at home.

James Badge Dale, 32

Plays: Private Robert Leckie, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines

You’ve seen him in: 24 and The Departed, playing Matt Damon’s shifty friend, Barrigan

What was it like meeting your character’s family?

They were very kind. I was so nervous driving up to their house in New Jersey. Robert’s wife came out to meet me and said, “I see it,” and I kind of melted. He’s not around to give me his approval, so for them to say you can do this and tell the story, it was a huge responsibility.

The Pacific has a lot of explosions in it. Did you have any close calls?

I had one where we were storming an airfield and my helmet came off. I knew I needed it for the end of the shot so I reached down to get it and I kicked it, so I reached down again and then I realised I was standing on a mortar pot and it blew up in my face. Time slowed down, I knew it was coming into my face, and I turned and I could feel all the dirt and the rocks go past me and I span and hit my head. They got it on film and it looked great.

You must have to get everything with one take with that many explosions?

You do. They came up with this idea where I get blown up and fly into a tree. They got a crane to throw me, so the explosion’s in front of me and I’m getting pulled back and have to turn in mid-air to hit this palm tree that had been built with padding. They’d spent all day setting up this explosion and I’m standing there. Then boom! I go flying and I forget to turn round. After they yell “Cut!” I could hear all the pyrotechnics guys groaning and saying it took them 24 hours to set up.

So it was pretty dangerous?

Yeah, and that’s not including the kangaroos.

Kangaroos?

We filmed in northern Australia and you should have seen them. We’d have to cut all the time because a kangaroo would just wander into shot. One time I was sitting there on my own waiting for them to set up the shot and I hear “Kangaroos!” and about seven of them come bombing through the set knocking stuff over and three of them head straight for me. I got down into a ball and they jumped over me. Amazing looking creatures – and they taste pretty good as well.

Jon Seda, 40

Plays: Gunnery Sergeant John ‘Manila’ Basilone, 1st Battalion, 7th Marines

You’ve seen him in: Gladiator and Oz

Did you go for Basilone from the start or were you up for the part of some cannon fodder?

I went for Basilone from the start. Whatever the decision process is, it came my way and I was humbled. I wanted to be a part of it in any way, let alone being Basilone.

Basilone’s a bit of a name in the Marine Corps. How did you research him?

It’s hard, there’s a lot of stories about him out there. But I didn’t want to portray him as this Rambo character, running through the jungle barefoot with a machine gun on his back. Those are exaggerated.

So what was he like then?

He was a regular New Jersey guy who loved being a marine. He found his niche with a machine gun, he had this ability, he knew the weapon and he loved his country and was willing to do whatever was necessary. And he found himself in certain circumstances where he stood up and did things that were heroic. But he would never say that, he would say that every man there was worthy of the title of ‘hero’.

Is it strange playing someone who died?

We filmed that scene – my death – on February 19, 2008. And he died on February 19, 1945. It wasn’t planned. We were doing the scene and someone told me what day it was and it hit me, I had goosebumps all over.

Did it feel real when you were filming the battle sequences?

The special effects were incredible, so realistic. Some of the bodies were real.

What, real dead people?

No. When you see bloated bodies floating in the surf, some of them are real people. Actual live actors. Just slightly bigger actors, and they just lie there for close-ups.

From the August 2010 issue of FHM India.