# Roles in War Films **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 5, 2000, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-in-war-films/39827 "2000-11-05T19:00:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2000, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-in-war-films/39827/1 "2000-11-05T19:00:23Z")
I re-watched **Saving Private Ryan** yesterday morning (great movie). While watching, I mentioned to Mrs. Batty that if I were a big time movie star, I would actively lobby for a meaty role in a good war movie. Her response, “It seems all the really big movie stars do.” Which got me to thinking - are there any huge, stupendous movie stars who haven’t made a good war flick? Not to sound sexist, but I think we’re dealing with male stars here, as there just aren’t that many good roles for women in war films. The only one I could think of off the top of my head is **Edward Norton**. How about you? ---
**Author:** ![Crunchy\_Frog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ebca7d/32.png) [@Crunchy\_Frog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crunchy_Frog)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2000, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-in-war-films/39827/2 "2000-11-05T19:10:31Z")
Has Brad Pitt ever done a war film? ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2000, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-in-war-films/39827/3 "2000-11-05T19:12:11Z")
Not a war film _per se_, but Brad Pitt was a soldier experiencing combat in **Legends of the Fall**. ---
**Author:** ![Crunchy\_Frog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ebca7d/32.png) [@Crunchy\_Frog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crunchy_Frog)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2000, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-in-war-films/39827/4 "2000-11-05T19:20:14Z")
I just looked at a filmography of Bruce Willis. He’s played a Vietnam vet in _In Country_, and a soldier in _The Seige_, but hasn’t been in any real war films. Does that count? ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2000, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-in-war-films/39827/5 "2000-11-05T19:24:27Z")
Close enough. Were there any scenes in **In Country** of the war? I can’t remember. Actually I don’t think I’ve ever seen that whole movie from start to finish. ---
**Author:** ![Crunchy\_Frog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ebca7d/32.png) [@Crunchy\_Frog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crunchy_Frog)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2000, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-in-war-films/39827/6 "2000-11-05T19:35:16Z")
I don’t know about _In Country_. I never saw the movie, just the description in the filmography. ---
**Author:** ![Crunchy\_Frog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ebca7d/32.png) [@Crunchy\_Frog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crunchy_Frog)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2000, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-in-war-films/39827/7 "2000-11-05T20:01:35Z")
Here’s some more actors I think haven’t done any war films (one of the plusses of working Sundays - no work to actually do and I’m getting paid to surf right now. Thanks for the thread, Jack, this is keeping me busy and helping pass the time :)): **Kevin Costner** filmography at [http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?Costner%2C%20Kevin](http://us.imdb.com/M/person-exact?Costner%2C%20Kevin) **Jack Nicholson** (I may be wrong about this, since I haven’t seen all of Jack’s films, and some of the movies in the list don’t have descriptions) filmography at [http://us.imdb.com/Name?Nicholson,+Jack](http://us.imdb.com/Name?Nicholson,+Jack) **Kevin Spacey** filmography at [http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hc&id=1800018626&cf=movies](http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hc&id=1800018626&cf=movies) I have 2 hours until I can go home for the day, so I’m still looking . . . ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2000, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-in-war-films/39827/8 "2000-11-05T20:27:37Z")
Let me clarify - not neccesarily War Movie roles, but roles in movies where combat is depicted. Under my interpretation of my own rules, you can scratch Kevin Costner. He had a very lengthy combat scene in **Dances With Wolves**. It was the Civil War and he was hell bent on killing himself, only to become a hero of the battle. As for Jack Nicholson, I’m not sure either. I know he has played military men ( **A Few Good Men** - **The Last Detail** ), but I don’t think he’s had the requisite combat scene. Of course I could be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Crunchy\_Frog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ebca7d/32.png) [@Crunchy\_Frog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crunchy_Frog)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2000, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-in-war-films/39827/9 "2000-11-05T20:36:25Z")
I forgot about that scene in _Dances With Wolves_. Been a while since I’ve seen it. I’m not sure about Nicholson either, a good portion of his early films did not have complete descriptions of the plot, so I don’t even know what genre they were in. I keep thinking someone else will read this and add something, but I guess for now, you and I are the only two interested. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2000, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-in-war-films/39827/10 "2000-11-05T20:41:16Z")
Yeah, looks like it. Ah, screw 'em. If they can’t recognize a good time when we slap them accross the face with it that’s their problem not mine. [sub]Just in case anybody else does decide to contribute, I didn’t mean you by that above statement. ;)[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2000, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-in-war-films/39827/11 "2000-11-05T21:00:44Z")
> [@](#): > > I keep thinking someone else will read this and add something, but I guess for now, you and I are the only two interested. > > Yeah, looks like it. Ah, screw 'em Let me get this straight–the post is only 2 hours old, and you two are whining that nobody’s posted yet? Sheesh! :rolleyes: As for Nicholson, he did appear in _Ensign Pulver_ which is a war comedy set during WWII. ---
**Author:** ![Crunchy\_Frog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ebca7d/32.png) [@Crunchy\_Frog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crunchy_Frog)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2000, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-in-war-films/39827/12 "2000-11-05T21:29:40Z")
D’oh! _Ensign Pulver_ the sequel to _Mister Roberts_! I forgot - he played Dolan. So Jack, your rules: does the lack of battle scenes keep Nicholson on the list, or does it being a war movie count? ---
**Author:** ![vandal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/858c86/32.png) [@vandal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vandal)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2000, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-in-war-films/39827/13 "2000-11-05T22:33:40Z")
Huge stars that haven’t made a good war flick, you say? How about Al Pacino in _Revolution_? Came out in the mid 80s. Donald Sutherland was in it too. Don’s in practically every movie that comes out, but I don’t know if anyone considers him huge yet. I don’t. And I don’t know if he’d be considered a huge star either, but there was Dylan McDermott in _Hamburger Hill_. The movie sucked, and he’s a quasi huge star. Would it qualify? (Don Cheadle was in it too, but again, the huge scale must be questioned here.) Then, there was Robert De Niro in _The Mission_. This was sort of a fictional war involving Spain selling Brazil to Portugal, then the Portugese fight the remaining Brazilians. It’s been a long while since I’ve seen it, so I could be wrong on that plot (which I probably am), but I remember several combat sequences with uniformed soldiers. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2000, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-in-war-films/39827/14 "2000-11-06T00:01:40Z")
Number 1 - I don’t consider **Ensign Pulver** as counting, because it is a comedy, and I haven’t seen it (hey, my game, my rules). But generally I’m looking for actors who have portrayed (or attempted to portray) the horror/heroics of war/combat. Or more to the point, those who haven’t. Number 2 - Even though vandal lists movies that he/she thinks sucks, they still count. Besides, Robert De Niro was in **The Deer Hunter** so that negates any crappy movie he’s ever done {cough} … {Rocky and Bullwinkel}. So the list we’ve generated so far is: Edward Norton Bruce Willis Jack Nicholson Kevin Spacey ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2000, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-in-war-films/39827/15 "2000-11-06T03:58:57Z")
How about the guy who said “Hey, Vern!” all the time? ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2000, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-in-war-films/39827/16 "2000-11-06T06:26:45Z")
I don’t know if Keanu Reeves has done a war movie yet, but he should. I know I’d happily plunk down $8 to see him get the crap kicked out of him by R. Lee Ermy. –sublight. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2000, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-in-war-films/39827/17 "2000-11-06T15:49:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Snooooopy \* > \*\*How about the guy who said “Hey, Vern!” all the time? \*\* I could have sworn there was a **Ernest Eats Naplam in The Nam**. But I guess I could be wrong. (His name is Jim Varney [recently deceased]) ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2000, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-in-war-films/39827/18 "2000-11-06T16:00:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Snooooopy \* > \*\*How about the guy who said “Hey, Vern!” all the time? \*\* Jim Varney was in a WWII TV show called “Operation Petticoat”, as a seaman aboard a Navy sub (painted pink) that had 5 female nurses. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2000, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-in-war-films/39827/19 "2000-11-06T16:27:37Z")
I just did a little research on Keanu. He appeared in a movie called **A Walk in the Clouds**. I haven’t seen this movie, but the plot summary on IMDB says he portrays a man just back from WWII. Were there war scenes in this movie? Has anyone seen this? ---
**Author:** ![Crunchy\_Frog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ebca7d/32.png) [@Crunchy\_Frog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crunchy_Frog)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2000, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-in-war-films/39827/20 "2000-11-06T16:36:56Z")
My ex made me watch that piece of crap movie. I remember very little about it, but I do not think there were any war scenes. IIRC, it starts with his arrival after the war and then there’s the whole stupid mushy love-story shite. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roles-in-war-films/39827.md?page=2)