Saddling up for ‘12 Strong’
Hemsworth can ride. His co-stars, not so much.
LOS ANGELES – For Chris Hemsworth, it was a no-brainer that 12 Strong would be compelling onscreen. It’s based on the heroic true story of Green Berets riding horses into victory in the impossible mountainous Afghanistan terrain after 9/11.
The hard part was actually recreating those rides on the set in New Mexico.
“We didn’t need to look like the best horsemen, but rough, dirty and unpredictable,” Hemsworth says. “And that’s how it felt most days.”
Actors with little equine ability, such as Michael Peña, were able to tell the story of 12 Strong (in theaters Friday), depicting soldier counterparts who had no experience.
“Michael was the worst rider. For sure,” says Hemsworth, who has shown his riding skills onscreen as the brawny thunder god Thor. “He was like: ‘Are you kidding me? I’m from Chicago. I don’t ride horses.’ ”
Cast member Trevante Rhodes also copped to having “definitely not enough” horse experience before shooting. Geoff Stults says he told producers a fib: “I just lied like any actor. It’s like, ‘Oh, yeah, I do rodeo stuff.’ ”
Even after three weeks of boot camp, including daily riding lessons, Stults still struggled to mount his horse Salt, encumbered by bulky prop firearms and layers of long underwear.
“I would try to swing my leg around and Salt would take off without me. It was a game he played,” Stults says. “I’d have this definitely-not-PG-rated conversation with him.”
In one regrettably filmed scene, Stults gave an overly powerful mounting kick. “I threw my leg over so hard that the saddle slid over to Salt’s other side. The only thing that kept me from going into the ground was my face landing in the horse’s (butt) next to me,” Stults says. “And the horses started riding as I held on ... on camera.”
Peña says he won’t forget the saddle soreness: “Now I know why cowboys are bowlegged.”
One ride was particularly scary when Peña’s horse bolted. Wide-eyed, the actor pulled frantically on the reins.
“You’re in survival mode, trying not to fall off. Your life flashes before your eyes,” Peña says. “I was like, ‘ Whooaa!’ But who knows? I might not have even been really going 10 miles per hour.”
The experience made Peña appreciate the actual Green Berets, who learned to ride in real battle. “They adapted. They’re superheroes,” he says.
As the weeks progressed, the riders grew more confident. Director Nicolai Fuglsig urged contained movements for safety (and insurance) reasons. But Hemsworth decided to kick into an unbridled gallop for a key battle scene.
Thad Luckinbill, a 12 Strong actor and producer — and decently experienced horseman — followed in the pack, leaning over his horse shooting his prop firearm. It was a brilliant scene on camera. Until his horse veered hard.
“I started falling,” Luckinbill says. “Before I went flying, I saw a spot of loose sand to land in, jumped and just sort of ate it.”
There was concern before Luckinbill brushed himself off.
“My ego was definitely more bruised than my body,” he says. “And the scene looked great.”