Actors and veterans join forces for film premiere

ACTOR Luke Bracey has fronted countless Hollywood big wigs, but he’s never wanted to impress someone more than Vietnam War veteran Sergeant Bob Buick.

The Los Angeles-based Australian actor portrays Buick in Gold Coast-filmed war epic Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan, which tells the story of the heroic efforts of Delta Company of Queensland’s 6th Battalion Royal Australian Regiment in the infamous battle in 1966.

Yesterday the pair had the opportunity to watch the film together at the Australian red carpet premiere at Event Cinemas Pacific Fair, alongside fellow actors and veterans including Delta Company Commander Lieutenant Colonel Harry Smith.

“It’s surreal. It’s the first time I’ve ever played a real person who is with us and who was an ordinary man who did extraordinary things,” Bracey said.

“Filming this was very intense and you feel the weight of what you’re doing. I’ve been nervous for about a year waiting for them to see it and hoping they liked it and I think they did.”

Mr Buick was 25 when his lieutenant in 11 Platoon was killed in battle, forcing him to take command of the surviving men. “The battle scenes, I’ve never seen anything like them,“he said. “When he (Bracey) walked down and said ‘we’re Delta company, we don’t wear jewellery or the rest of it’, that’s exactly the words I remember. It’s very humbling.”

Mr Smith said Danger Close,

filmed in Kingaroy and Nerang last year, was difficult to watch.

Danger Close hits cinemas

on August 8.