This actor refused anesthesia to act like his character in the best war series of all time

When it was released in 2001, Brothers in Arms was the highest-grossing TV series of its time, and 22 years later, the Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks show remains an absolute masterpiece. But at the time, things were not going well with the production of the HBO series, especially due to the many injuries sustained by the cast.

brothers in arms It follows a unit of American soldiers, the “Light Company”, during World War II in 1942. Then the parachute regiment is a witness to the important events of the war.

Thus, before filming the series, which was directed by Damian Lewis (Homeland) and for authenticity, all the actors involved were sent to a training camp, where they were referred to only by their character names and trained to exhaustion. And it was during this famous exercise that Neal McDonough (Lt. Lynn D. “Buck” Compton in the series) was shot in the face with a rifle.

The actor was taken to the hospital overnight to treat the wound. But before getting the stitches, he chose not to get anesthesia because soldiers in the 1940s didn’t get them either. He wanted to feel the pain his character felt 60 years ago with the war damage. At three in the morning, he returned to the camp for the next training session, as reported by AdoroCinema.

Hide your identity to save the series

However, when Neil McDonough Went to the hospital, he took his character’s name, Lynn Compton, instead of his real name to protect the show, as actor Ron Livingston, who plays Captain Louis Nixon in the feature films, explained in the video.

“At that time, many participants were injured. Knee injuries and things like that. Insurers began to worry. In the production office, they said, “If anyone else gets hurt, we’ll stop everything.” But we didn’t want that.“

Therefore, it is in this context Neil McDonough received a “war wound”.

Neil McDonogh is a real GI Joe. Someone shoved the barrel of an M1 rifle into his mouth. At that time, they were afraid that this was the straw that broke the camel’s back. So they took him 90 miles out of town and took him to a little hospital named after Buck Compton.

The dedicated actress did not receive anesthesia for the second procedure either. In the end, all’s well that ends well: HBO was able to wrap up production brothers in arms And the series became one of the best of all time.

Brothers in Arms is still available on Amazon Prime Video via Le Pass Warner.