Will Poulter and Kit Connor on the link with the shaving of the head and the tattoos on their film Warfare

The young distribution of the war of Alex Garland’s film had to bond fairly quickly, to play an American military unit whose life depended on each other, during the war in Iraq in 2006.

The familiarity was crucial, so before the start of filming, the casting was sent to a three -week military bootcamp.

They lived together, learning military jargon and firearm security and were pushed beyond their limits – which brought them together.

First of all, they agreed to shave their heads to look at the room, stimulating confidence and familiarity.

“We shaved our heads on the first day and obtained tattoos at the end of the process, so he reserved the experience,” Poulter told the BBC.

The actor, who recently appeared in The Bear and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3, plays Captain Eric, who was part of a group of American soldiers and Iraqi scouts on a surveillance mission.

We see how it does not go, with devastating consequences.

Heartstopper Connor’s star plays the newcomer Tommy, hitting how young the soldiers were – he just was 21, the same age that Tommy was at the time.

The actor says that the decision to obtain a tattoo shared with his casting comrades after the wrapped shoot was “evidence”. The casts of the Avengers and the Lord of the Rings did the same after their final films.

Warfare actors decided to The tattoo would say “call me”to reflect their fraternity, while referring The success of Dance in 2004 by Erik PrydzWho throws the film.

The casting presents some other big names, including the woeon-a-tai pharaoh with a dogs, Cosmo Jarvis, Stranger Things of Shōgun, Joseph Quinn of the next biopic of the Beatles and Charles Melton of Riverdale.

“It was really a trainer for me,” said Connor about his time on the film. “I have made friends, I really think I will know him for a long time.

“We all wanted to commemorate it – we are so proud of the work that we did together.”

-The film is entirely based on a real mission which took place during the war in Iraq, and is built on the memories of the American soldiers who were there.

The group was integrated into the house of an ordinary Iraqi family, which we see briefly in the film, in Ramadi – an area controlled by the Al -Qaeda forces.

The army’s goal had been to slip and observe the area under the cover of the darkness, to ensure the safe passage of land forces the next day.

What they did not know what they were next to an insurgent house, which is the target of an attack.

Shot in real time, Warfare has no music or flashbacks, so there is no release for the public. You fell into the thickness of the action for the whole film.

The soldiers ordered must make split-second decisions in the middle of pain and chaos, the Iraqi family taken in the cross-fires.

Nominated with Garland Oscars, whose rear catalog includes the 28 -day film franchise And Ex machinahad the idea of ​​war when he made the film last year Civil war.

He worked on battle scenes with the Hollywood stuntman and the Ray Mendoza shooting coordinator.

“During the process of modifying the civil war, I was able to really focus on part of the work that Ray had done, and how sophisticated and nuanced,” recalls Garland.

They discussed Mendoza’s previous life as Seal Us Navy and Operation Ramadi, where he was his communication agent.

Mendoza said he would always have wanted to make a film on this mission.

The veteran had a great reason to want to recreate what happened that day – to help replace the lost memories of his colleague Elliott Miller.

Miller, a former Navy Seal, was so seriously injured in Ramadi that he suffered Traumatic cerebral lesion and memory lossAnd had to have a amputated leg.

During the mission, Mendoza transported the unconscious soldier to the rescue tank who finally saved his life.

“Elliott doesn’t remember it, and when he woke up, he had a lot of questions,” said Mendoza.

“Regardless of the number of cards we have drawn, or how many times we have written it – without this central memory, I think he had trouble.

“It just raised more questions than answers. So I wanted to recreate it.”

Garland and Mendoza therefore decided to wage war together, to share the writing and the production of credits, and to devote the film to Miller.

The crucial question is whether to see the film helped Miller give things together.

“It was, yes – it was a sponge,” said Mendoza.

“We crossed him – he had a lot of questions, he has children who have questions.

“It is now a memory of the film, but it is as close as it goes – it is super grateful.”

Miller was played by Jarvis, who calls him “a funny guy … he is great – a living incarnation of perseverance”.

It was a “unique situation to do when you are responsible for representing someone who is sitting right in front of you,” said Jarvis, about the person he played on the set.

“But because he did not remember (what happened), many of my references had to come from his colleagues.”

The casting of soldiers caused some online excitement, some publications calling the actors “All the little friends of the Internet” and “Red Hot Rising Stars” again.

Garland breaks an eyebrow on this subject, and Mendoza jumps to explain why these actors were chosen.

“I told them that, so I do not try to offend them, but we are not looking for the best actors. They are all big actors. We were looking for good actors,” he said.

“So that means, it is their desire to push their bodies in front of a level of comfort to which they may not be used.” You’re going to be exhausted. You will have to count on other people. It’s not for you, it’s about the team “.

“And those who jump to this opportunity, you said to yourself:” Yes, this is the attitude we need “.”

Gathering and crossing the memories of soldiers was a great job, widely undertaken by Garland.

“I think there is an inherent value to try to be honest and honest on something as serious and important as war,” he said.

He shot the film in a studio in a suburbs north of London, on an old aerodrome of the Second World War, which makes in real time to recreate “a real combat incident … as honestly, medico-legal and precise as possible”.

Unsurprisingly, while sharing credits with Garland, the former Seal Us Navy Seal Mendoza directed the Bootcamp of the actors.

It was played by Woon-A-Tai, who calls him “a brilliant instructor who instilled a lot of self-confidence”, while making the safety of firearms an absolute priority.

The actor was also fascinated by the story which is not “dramatized or Hollywood”.

“Seeing these guys did not obey orders-and doing what they needed to save their peloton was interesting for me,” he said, speaking of the soldiers’ evacuation process.

Mendoza thinks that the film can also help veterans who find it difficult to express what war can look like.

“Some of these things are more difficult to explain in words,” he says. “So art imagery is the way I am able to communicate this.”

Connor echoes this, saying: “Many of these men are much less inclined to speak of themselves in these situations, whether to be due to humility, or difficulty in really articulating it.

“Many of them just don’t really like to talk about their involvement.”

The film was called “the most heartbreaking – and honest – representation of modern combat never made” by the telegraphwhile The New Yorker said It offers a “hyperrealist reprimand for American war film”.

The goalkeeper said The “message of filmmakers is lost in the deafening blizzard of the battle”, while Empire added: “It could well be the most effective anti-war film in cinema: there is no sentimentality, no pivoting by hand, but especially not a second, the war is cool or attractive.”

Poulter says that he admires the determination of filmmakers to make war purely factual.

“I hope this film contributes to a better understanding of the negative and the way in which the consequences of the war are characterized by many losses …

“I think it’s as much an anti-war film you can hope to see.”

Warfare is in the cinemas on Friday April 18.