Eastwood took a ‘15:17’ gamble that made his day

Director let three real-life heroes play themselves in his film about a foiled terrorist train attack in Paris.

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 El-Khazzani. “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.’ ”

DAN MACMEDAN/USA TODAY

Director Clint Eastwood, center, found real-life heroes Anthony Sadler, left, Spencer Stone and Alek Skarlatos were the best people to star in “The 15:17 to Paris.” ROBERT HANASHIRO/USA TODAY

The country went nuts for National Guardsman Skarlatos, U.S. Airman Stone and Sadler. AP