Heroes keep it real
Clint Eastwood went for authenticity when he cast “15: 17 to Paris,” about a foiled terrorist attack on a train
LOS ANGELES – Clint Eastwood remembers being stunned and then gratified on Aug. 21, 2015, when he heard three Americans had thwarted a terrorist brandishing an AK- 47 on a crowded train to Paris.
“I had this great sense of pride. That was a great event they pulled off,” Eastwood recalls of Alek Skarlatos, Spencer Stone and Anthony Sadler, who stopped attacker Ayoub ElKhazzani.
“This guy had an AK- 47 and somewhere between 250 and 300 rounds of ammunition, pistols and knives. He could’ve killed 300 people, easy. I thought, ‘ I’d like to meet these guys.’ ”
Eastwood did meet the three heroes — childhood friends traveling around Europe together — backstage in 2016 after presenting them with a Spike TV Guys Choice Award for their bravery.
The meeting was momentous, not only because it triggered Eastwood’s work on his film centered on the highspeed train ride, The 15: 17 to Paris ( in theaters Friday).
The director, 87, eventually stopped his casting process and asked the charismatic Americans to play themselves onscreen, despite their having no acting experience.
Even the guys, who wrote the book the movie is based upon, were stunned listening to Eastwood’s proposal in his office weeks before shooting.
“What went through our heads was this was a lot of pressure. We don’t want to disappoint. He’s taking a big risk by doing this, and we’re taking a big risk,” says Skarlatos, who appeared on Season 21 of Dancing With the Stars.
“We don’t want to ruin our life story, either. We did have a little debate. But you cannot say no to an opportunity like that.”
Eastwood adds wryly, “Besides, everybody knocks out a flop every now and then.”
In reality, Eastwood was comfortable taking the major gamble of casting three unknown quantities in his lead roles.
His stars were naturals portraying themselves, re- creating the European jaunt they took while Stone and Skarlatos were on leave from their duties in the Air Force and Oregon National Guard, respectively. The casting proved even more powerful when the director restaged the fateful attack on the same train line.