“It’s a very difficult thing you know…preparing to go mad.” This curious statement is from the mouth of Sebastian Sacco, the British actor who portrays the lead role in Tommy. The film’s title and the lead character of the same name depict the life of a British soldier in World War I. This global battle during the early 20th century shows a time when war was waged quite differently but the effects on its participants were every bit as malevolent as it is today. While depicting a battle between Allied and Axis forces, Tommy focuses on the psychological damage which lasts every bit as long as the physical injuries. Sacco has been the lead in a number of present day films but this is his first period piece. His ability to make the mental state of his character believable and every bit as timely as his modern roles cannot be overstated. From the early meetings Sacco had with Director/Writer James Walker Sieradzki, it was obvious that Sebastian was the correct choice for the title role. Sieradzki has worked with many high profile actors (such as BAFTA winner and Golden Globe nominee Stephen Fry and action superstar Jean-Claude Van Damme) and thus quickly recognizes leading actor characteristics, traits which Sacco reinforced with his incredible performance in Tommy. Sieradzki confirms, “There is no doubt in my mind that we cast precisely the right actor for the role and would not have gotten such amazing footage with any other actor. We needed an actor who could portray the inner turmoil of living with PTSD while also successfully executing the actual war scenes which see him fighting to survive in combat. It was an extremely difficult role to execute both emotionally and physically, but Sebastian more than rose to the challenge and exceeded even my highest expectations.” While Sebastian is enthusiastic about his part in the film, he readily admits to the difficulties involved; a facet which deepened his respect for the actual men who underwent these situations in their real lives.
Tommy was both an easy and a difficult production for Sebastian to be a part of, throwing yourself into a situation you know to be both physically and mentally punitive can often be this way. While the actor was ready for the challenge, he understood that he would need to resign himself to a period of discomfort. WWI veterans are not accessible as they once were so Sacco was left to his own research via books and online. During the filming, historian Andrew Robertshaw was available to give perspective and guarantee authenticity. In hopes of gaining insight to the soldier’s experience during that era and style of trench warfare, Sebastian states, “I helped the week before shooting with digging and preparing the trench in no-man’s land. I wanted to help out but it was also important for me to feel what it’s like to spend all day digging and carrying sand bags and barbed wire through the mud and the wet and the rain. That’s the experience that people had in trench warfare. It seems like such a small thing but I wanted to use any possibility to get closer to the state of mind of the men of that time. Even though I will never know, it got me a bit closer.” This preparation was likely the easiest part of Sacco’s involvement in Tommy. During one particularly difficult sequence, Sebastian had to run through a WWI set that recreated the no-man’s land of Europe in that era: full of mud, barbed wire, and stacked with wood. Sebastian had to get through the entire set in a limited number of takes in perfect timing with the camera, extras, and a tank. He also had to time his performance to match the explosions that were set to go off in the background while he was being pelted with powder shots and a paintball gun to simulate enemy fire. In addition to all of this, he had to keep “acting” as the character trying to save his life in the middle of a war. This sequence was shot over an entire period of daylight and nighttime, making it a highly grueling shoot for the entire cast and crew.
Tommy was readily acclaimed and recognized by critics and public as evidenced in its being screened as an Official Selection at the LA Shorts Fest, one of the leading film festivals in Hollywood. As the film’s star, Sacco is quite happy about its success. As a British actor, to receive such quick acceptance from Hollywood is welcome praise. The bruises he received, the intense cold, the fear of impaling himself with his rifle’s bayonet when his boots became stuck in the mud on set…these are not the things he is reminded of when thinking of his experience making Tommy. Sebastian reveals, “The very idea of comparing what I did in filming to what real soldiers went through is ridiculous but, as an actor, my job is to try to feel what my character feels. The experience was draining for a short time. What a soldier goes through in war…it’s unimaginable. When I found myself on set, amongst a simulated war experience…it works on your thoughts. I did my own investigating about war. Good and bad, right and wrong, is not so black and white. Many of these “hero’s” fighting are scared young boys. What the officers did to their own troops in some cases was torture and murder. War is the monster and we are all victims to that alike, regardless of what side you are on. Doing this film, being in uniform, running through the mud with explosions going off next to me and being fired at, being in the trenches, this just made my connection to that idea a little bit closer.” It appears that Tommy also brings different generations closer; as evidenced by the fact that the film has 688,000 views on Facebook and over 3.4 thousand shares…all within the first week of being released online. Sebastian Sacco’s performance in the film has brought a younger generation to a heightened awareness and interest in the WWI and the effects it had on the individuals involved. The real Tommy’s of that era would likely be quite appreciative of this fact.