“I lay down in the grass and wept”: the actors suffered on the set of the Civil War

What is it about? A fierce race in a broken America that is on a razor’s edge like never before in the near future.

Fantasy so close and so real

Alex Garland, the writer and director of Civil War, envisioned the possibility that violent conflict could destroy an unprepared nation. For him, whether it is a civil war or a war with a neighboring country, the reality of the conflict remains the same. In his film, he transfers the familiar images of the streets of Washington to the war zones.

American landscapes ravaged by violence seem both surreal and eerily real. Wagner Moura, who plays Joel, was very upset when he read the script: “These images that we’re used to seeing on TV that usually take place in far away countries were happening here in the United States, it was crazy and scary.”

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intense shooting

To capture the full horror of combat, Alex Garland insisted on using blank weapons whenever possible: “The noise these machines make is very loud. Some of them, like the .50-caliber rifles, almost create an air vacuum, almost like someone holding your chest.”

Kirsten Dunst had to wear headphones to drown out the sound of gunfire on set. He recalls: “One day I was too far away from the set to do my make-up and the whole caravan shook because of the explosion they were doing.” He even says that two weeks after filming ended, he experienced post-traumatic stress.

in turn Wagner Moura One of the most powerful scenes of the Civil War is noted, when the group comes across a mass grave and an army of soldiers, one of whom is played by Jesse Plemons:

“Filming that scene was very brutal and very physical. At the end of a whole day of me and my friends begging for their lives, I remember laying on the grass and crying for almost half an hour.”

Jesse Plemons in the game

Jesse Plemons, which is short but noticeable Civil war, joined the cast of the blockbuster a few days before filming began. Reason ? The actor who was originally supposed to play his character left the project. Kirsten Dunst, Jesse’s wife, then recommended her husband to director Alex Garland. The pair have already filmed Fargo together and the second season of Jane Campion’s The Power of Dog.

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military adviser

Alex Garland summoned military advisor Ray Mendoza. He was given carte blanche to choreograph, with stunt coordinators Jeff Descheneau and Wesley Scott, the final sequence showing the siege of the Capitol. About fifty stuntmen were mobilized.

The director specifies: “Ray is an ex-Navy SEAL, so those who were in that sequence were his colleagues. We just asked them to do what they did in their everyday lives. So I didn’t give them notes or tell them how to act. The only thing. I said , so that they don’t worry about the camera.

Mendoza adds: “I hired a lot of veterans and I thought it was great to see them immerse themselves in the scene. Whether it’s the dialogue, the atmosphere or the shooting scenes, everything is true to reality.”

Yellowstone Survivor!

Note the casting of Jefferson White as Dave. The actor is best known for playing Jimmy Herdstrom in Yellowstone, an ex-drug dealer who joins Kevin Costner’s team to work on the latter’s ranch. This adorable character has seen significant development in the hit series and is very popular with fans.

Civil War stars Jefferson White as Joel’s video journalist rival, a photojournalist Wagner Moura.