Why the entire ‘Saving Private Ryan’ cast thought they were getting fired: “He must hate us”
There was never any chance that Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan would be a cakewalk for its cast and crew, but even when the cameras started rolling, the cast had the lingering suspicion that they were only one bad scene away from being given the boot.
The director knew from the outset that he wanted to make a war movie unlike anything Hollywood had seen before, and to achieve the realism he’d envisioned, Spielberg sent his ensemble off to boot camp, where the first signs of trouble reared their head.
The actors weren’t prepared for how intense their training would be, and they were on the verge of calling it quits until Tom Hanks talked them down from the ledge, which ironically helped deepen their bond and inform their characters because life had imitated art before they’d even set foot on set.
Due to his ongoing, and highly publicised, struggles with addiction, Tom Sizemore was already walking a tightrope, and Spielberg told him in no uncertain terms that if there were any relapses, issues, or problems relating to his personal battles, he’d be the first in line to be replaced in the film.
Of course, everyone cast in Saving Private Ryan remained on board from the first day through to the last, but Edward Burns admitted that it took a while for everyone to become comfortable. As he explained to Collider, the filmmaker’s hands-off approach took a little getting used to, leading the ensemble to believe he wasn’t thrilled with what they were doing.
“We worked for about a week before Steven gave any of us any notes,” he said. “We were all convinced that we were gonna get fired because he must hate us. Why isn’t he giving us any notes?” It was all part of his master plan, with Spielberg trusting his cast so implicitly that he felt he didn’t need to provide them with any instructions.
Obviously, from Burns’ perspective, it would have been helpful had he clarified that on day one instead of letting them believe he hated them. “He said, ‘I cast you guys for a reason,'” the actor elaborated. “I assume you’re gonna show up for work prepared, and I don’t want to get in your way.'”
Spielberg did eventually give them notes, most notably pulling Jeremy Davies aside and telling him that he’d settled on Upham as the audience surrogate, but for the most part, he left them to their own devices to bring their own quirks, foibles, and camaraderie to the fore, lending even more authenticity to the tale of hardened soldiers being sent behind enemy lines on a rescue mission they have no personal investment in.
Having become so used to directors whispering specifics in their ear and nudging their performances in a certain direction, the Saving Private Ryan cast were so unaccustomed to one of cinema’s greatest directors taking the opposite approach that for the first few days of principal photography, they were convinced he was lining up their replacements.
