Tom Hanks dealt with rebellion during Band of Brothers training, says Neal McDonough By Carolina Costa
5 min read
 |
Actor Neal McDonough, known for his role in the acclaimed series “Band of Brothers”, revealed details of a crucial moment during preparation for filming, when Tom Hanks, one of the executive producers, intervened to control insubordination among cast members.
McDonough, who is 60 years old, was part of the cast of the HBO war drama miniseries, released in 2001. The production had Hanks, 70 years old, and Steven Spielberg, 79 years old, in executive production.
“Band of Brothers” portrayed the saga of soldiers from Easy Company, part of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the US Army’s 101st Airborne Division, as they fought in Europe during World War II.
In a recent interview, McDonough recalled the actors’ dissatisfaction with the intense training in preparation for the series, before Hanks’ unexpected arrival by helicopter, which brought an impactful message that, according to him, the team “never forgot”.
“About five days into basic training, there was a riot,” McDonough said at an event in Los Angeles.
He detailed the physical mishaps, mentioning that “they had teeth knocked out by a .30 caliber shot, a broken toe and several others were tortured.”
“The Americans loved it,” he added, with a smile. “But the rebellion was happening. They said, ‘This isn’t what we signed up for.'”
“Suddenly, a helicopter landed in the middle of our military base and out came Tom Hanks with the beard and hair like the one in ‘Cast Away,'” McDonough recalled, referencing Hanks’ famous role.
Hanks then captured everyone’s attention and delivered a clear message: “See, we all owe every member of Easy Company and everyone who fought in World War II a dedicated effort, because they gave their lives for our freedom. The least we can do is try our hardest to tell the truth as best we can, to honor these men and women.”
McDonough said the two-time Oscar-winning actor’s words completely transformed the cast’s perspective on playing the real-life heroes of “Band of Brothers.”
“I tell you, after that, we were all brainwashed,” he commented, before musing, “I’m not sure ‘brainwashed’ is the right word.”
“It was at that moment that we realized Tom was correct,” McDonough continued. “They lived, breathed and died for what we have today: freedom. None of us have forgotten that, and as soon as the series premiered, we realized that Tom was right all along.”
“He knew it would be a huge hit. Spielberg knew it would be a huge hit. We were just bumbling actors doing our jobs. And then when it came out, and it became the hit that it became, and still is 25 years later, I’m amazed at how lucky each of us was to be cast in the series.”
McDonough played 1st Lieutenant Lynn “Buck” Compton, a real Easy Company platoon leader. Compton participated in significant campaigns of the Second World War, including D-Day and Operation Market Garden, and was wounded in action in the Netherlands.
“Band of Brothers” also featured Damian Lewis, Ron Livingston, Donnie Wahlberg, David Schwimmer, Michael Cudlitz and Scott Grimes in the main cast, as well as future stars such as Tom Hardy, Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy in smaller roles.
The 10-episode miniseries was based on historian Stephen E. Ambrose’s 1992 nonfiction book “Band of Brothers” and was developed by Hanks and Spielberg, who had previously collaborated on the acclaimed 1998 World War II film “Saving Private Ryan.” Screenwriter Erik Jendresen also contributed to the series adaptation.
Hanks also directed the fifth episode, titled “Crossroads”, and made a brief uncredited cameo.
“Band of Brothers,” which premiered in September 2001, received widespread critical recognition and numerous awards, including seven Emmys and a Golden Globe.
The series was widely praised for its realism and attention to historical detail. The rigorous military training the actors underwent was specifically designed to help them behave and develop bonds more authentically as soldiers.
In an interview, McDonough recalled that the “brutal” military training was led by Dale Dye, a retired U.S. Marine Corps captain, Vietnam War veteran, actor and longtime military technical consultant in Hollywood.
McDonough explained that the intensive training proved more challenging for some actors than others.
“I’m a resilient individual. I love this kind of thing. For many of my colleagues, these two weeks felt like three months,” he said. “And it was complicated.”
McDonough said that Dale intentionally “allowed himself to be the common enemy” of the actors during the production of the series.
“We all hated him because he pushed us to the limit,” he recalled of Dye. “And we only realized that he was acting like this so that we could come together as a group, about a quarter of the way through filming.”
“There are some men on this planet that I love like I love Dale Dye, because he dedicated himself to being that figure, and ‘Band of Brothers’ wouldn’t be ‘Band of Brothers’ if it weren’t for him,” McDonough added.
In addition to serving as the main military consultant on “Band of Brothers,” Dye also played Colonel Robert F. Sink, commander of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment in the series. Dye is one of Hollywood’s most renowned military consultants and has worked on films such as “Platoon” and “Saving Private Ryan”, and TV series such as “The Pacific” and “Masters of the Air”.
Despite the gratitude the cast eventually showed for Dye’s dedication and methods, the intense physical training caused injuries to the actors. McDonough recalled that Dye even considered stopping training after several members suffered injuries. The “Minority Report” star recalled being hit in the mouth by a .30-caliber bullet shortly afterward.
“I heard him say, ‘If one more individual gets hurt, I can end this whole thing.’ That afternoon, I got hit,” McDonough said. “We were surrounding a house. A guy came out with a .30, boom, broke my teeth, blood everywhere.”
McDonough recalled that his co-star, Shane Taylor, who played doctor Eugene “Doc” Roe, was in disbelief when he asked him for medical attention after his injury.
“I said, ‘Doctor, come here and give me stitches,'” McDonough said.
McDonough recalled Taylor responding, “‘I’m not a doctor, I’m an actor,'” to which he said he replied, “‘I don’t care, just stitch me up.'”
“So he sewed me up in front of everyone, and then two or three days later it was so infected that Dale said, ‘You need to go to the hospital.’ And I knew he was in a cold sweat,” McDonough said. “But at the time, I was super excited, because of what Tom had said.”
McDonough recalled going to the hospital, where he provided his character’s name and information instead of his own.
“I knew it was socialized medicine, I knew it. But I needed to have ‘Lynn Compton’ in that report, not ‘Neal McDonough,'” he said.
McDonough said the doctor who treated him was horrified to see his infected mouth.
“The doctor said, ‘Wow, this is horrible, terrible,'” he recalled. “So they shaved it all off, cleaned it up and gave me stitches.”
