Ryan Phillippe understands that portraying a former Special Forces operator isn’t simply one other motion position — particularly for an viewers that features active-duty service members and veterans.
In One Mile and its follow-up chapter, Phillippe performs Danny, a combat-trained veteran trying to reconnect along with his daughter earlier than a violent confrontation with an off-grid survivalist group forces him right into a brutal combat for survival. Each movies, which debut on Digital on Feb. 20 through Republic Photos, lean closely into grounded techniques, hand-to-hand fight, and ethical complexity fairly than spectacle.
Unique Interview | Navy.com | ‘One Mile’
Ryan Phillippe and C. Thomas Howell talk about tactical realism, navy accuracy and survival in One Mile: Chapter One and One Mile: Chapter Two.
On this unique interview with Navy.com, the actors break down the Special Forces background behind Phillippe’s character, the position of navy advisors on set and why the motion in One Mile avoids shiny gunplay in favor of gritty, close-quarters fight.
Each movies launch on Digital February 20 through Republic Photos.
One Mile: Chapter One follows a former particular forces operative attempting to reconnect along with his daughter throughout a university highway journey when she is kidnapped by a secretive off-grid group.
One Mile: Chapter Two continues the story as he’s pressured again into battle when the group retaliates.
Whereas the premise delivers high-stakes motion, the actors and filmmakers made a deliberate selection: maintain the techniques grounded, maintain the violence private and respect the truth of navy service.
That authenticity was intentional.
Anytime you play somebody who was meant to be enlisted or served, there’s an additional sense of accountability and responsibility to get these parts proper. Ryan Phillippe/Navy.com
Motion, Thriller, Suspense movie, ONE MILE: CHAPTER ONE & ONE MILE: CHAPTER TWO. Picture courtesy of Daniel Energy
Ryan Phillippe on Taking part in a Former Special Forces Operator
Phillippe approached the position with each skilled preparation and private consciousness.
“I’ve had loads of tactical and navy coaching based mostly on different tasks I’ve been concerned with,” Phillippe stated. “I additionally come from a navy household.”
The character of Danny differs from many motion protagonists in a essential approach: he operates largely with out firearms. A lot of the battle unfolds by close-quarters fight, improvised traps and situational consciousness fairly than long-range engagements.
“It’s so much about his wit, his intelligence, his tactical consciousness,” Phillippe stated.
To make sure credibility, the manufacturing labored intently with technical advisors who monitored every part from motion to decision-making beneath strain.
“We had nice tech advisors on set to verify all of his decision-making and the way he would method every state of affairs was as genuine as we might presumably make it,” Phillippe stated.
For him, the duty prolonged past efficiency.
“Anytime you play somebody who was meant to be enlisted or served, there’s an additional sense of accountability and responsibility to get these parts proper — for it to be genuine and to pay correct respect to the women and men who’ve served,” he stated.
That emphasis on respect is prone to resonate with our readership, lots of whom are fast to identify inaccuracies in uniforms, techniques or chain-of-command habits.
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R) Ryan Phillippe as “Danny” and James Michalopoulos as “Vince” within the
Motion, Thriller,
Suspense
movie,
ONE MILE: CHAPTER ONE & ONE MILE: CHAPTER TWO. Picture courtesy of Republic Photos (a Paramount Photos label).
No Shiny Motion: ‘One Mile’ Embraces Grit and Shut Fight
The filmmakers deliberately stripped away a lot of the traditional gunplay that defines fashionable motion movies. The result’s a extra intimate — and sometimes extra uncomfortable — portrayal of violence.
“It feels sort of like a throwback to a ’70s film,” Phillippe stated, referencing movies equivalent to Strolling Tall and Loss of life Want. “It’s one man towards unattainable odds.”
By limiting firearms, the movie brings fight nearer.
“Eliminating gunplay for essentially the most half attracts that motion nearer,” Phillippe stated. “It’s face-to-face. Mano a mano. Hand-to-hand.”
C. Thomas Howell, who performs Stanley — the chief of an remoted survivalist village — agreed that realism was central to the manufacturing’s method.
“It was gritty. It was soiled. It was actual,” Howell stated. “You don’t see that so much in motion pictures.”
Nothing within the movie comes simply. Each confrontation carries weight. Each combat extracts a value.
“Nothing was handy,” Phillippe stated. “Each combat, every part was hard-earned.”
That philosophy prolonged to the bodily manufacturing. Phillippe endured exhausting impacts towards stone and rock and scenes in icy water. He credited each the stunt crew and co-star Amélie Hoeferle, who performs his daughter, for committing totally to the bodily calls for.
“I feel you’re feeling that if you watch the movie,” Phillippe stated. “You get a way of that authenticity.”
Nothing was handy. Each combat, every part was hard-earned. Ryan Phillippe/Navy.com
C. Thomas Howell on Taking part in a Morally Grey Survivalist
Whereas Danny’s background is rooted in formal navy coaching, Stanley operates from a distinct philosophy: survival at any price.
“The 2 characters have so much in frequent, despite the fact that they’re utterly totally different,” Howell stated. “They’re each preventing for the individuals they love. And survival.”
Stanley leads a small, off-grid group dealing with extinction. His choices — together with kidnapping — push him into ethically fraught territory. However Howell doesn’t view the character as a villain within the conventional sense.
“He’s not socially homicidal,” Howell stated. “He’s actually approaching it from the nice of the entire, despite the fact that it’s a despicable act.”
That complexity intrigued Howell when he first learn the script.
“I discovered that attention-grabbing — to play anyone doing dangerous issues who isn’t essentially a foul individual,” he stated.
The conflict between Danny and Stanley turns into a examine in contrasting tactical worldviews: skilled navy operator versus self-taught survivalist hunter.
“He’s tactically skilled with a navy background,” Howell stated. “My character is a survivalist, a hunter. Although their approaches are very totally different, they’re each fairly deadly.”
All through a lot of the movie, bows, knives and close-quarters preventing dominate. Solely later does heavier weaponry enter the equation.
They’re each preventing for the individuals they love. And survival. C. Thomas Howell/Navy.com
The Position of Navy Advisors on Set
Authenticity in navy storytelling typically hinges on the presence — and authority — of skilled advisors. Phillippe emphasised that such steering was integral to shaping Danny’s portrayal.
“You just about all the time do if you’re taking part in somebody who’s within the navy,” he stated. “You may have somebody there to verify it’s not BS — the alternatives the character makes and the way they method conditions.”
Actors work intently with advisors not solely on technical motion but in addition on mindset: when to escalate, when to watch, when to carry again.
“You’re employed fairly intimately with that individual. You depend on them,” Phillippe stated.
For him, the non-public connection to service members raised the stakes.
“Particularly somebody like me, who has loads of navy within the household, I wish to be sure I’m getting it proper,” he stated. “It’s loads of consideration paid to that. We had been in good arms.”
That collaboration helped form a movie that prioritizes grounded habits over cinematic shortcuts — a distinction that seasoned viewers typically discover instantly.
Emotional Stakes Past the Motion
Whereas the motion sequences are central to the advertising, One Mile is anchored by Danny’s fractured relationship along with his daughter. Earlier than violence erupts, the story frames a veteran trying to reconnect — a dynamic acquainted to many service members navigating the pressure between responsibility and household.
Phillippe believes that the stability between adrenaline and emotional weight is what finally defines the movie.
“I feel it’s an action-packed thrill trip,” he stated. “However you’re additionally drawn into the emotional features of the story.”
For Navy.com readers — whether or not active-duty, veteran or member of the family — that intersection of tactical realism and private consequence would be the movie’s strongest factor.
The violence in One Mile shouldn’t be stylized fantasy. It’s bruising, shut and private. The characters should not invincible. Their choices carry penalties. Their our bodies present the toll. In an period of more and more digital spectacle, One Mile opts for one thing older — and arguably extra acquainted to those that have served: survival formed by preparation, intuition and resolve.
