We brought you the news that Clint Eastwood is directing the film The 15:17 to Paris to tell the heroic story of three young men who thwarted a terror attack on a train in Paris in 2015. On Wednesday, Warner Bros. made a surprising announcement in terms of casting. In lieu of A-list celebrities, the three young heroes who boarded that Paris train will be portrayed by the actual heroes themselves.
Airman 1st Class Spencer Stone, Oregon National Guardsman Alek Skarlatos and civilian Anthony Sadler have no Hollywood experience, aside from Skarlatos's turn on "Dancing With the Stars." To his credit, he came in fourth place on the reality show and even joined the "Dancing With the Stars" tour.
As USA Today describes, to give the leading roles to the actual subjects being portrayed is "nearly unprecedented" in Hollywood. They are usually lucky just to get cameos.
Eastwood loves a good story about an American hero. In 2014, he directed American Sniper, which told the story of Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, who was credited with the most kills of any U.S. sniper. The successful film earned Oscar nominations, including one for its star Bradley Cooper.