Brad Pitt had to learn more than just the physical demands of playing a retired Special Forces officer in his upcoming survival thriller “Heart of the Beast.”
In the film, Pitt plays James Belmont, a former soldier who becomes stranded in the Alaskan wilderness with Odin, his combat dog, following a plane crash.
Pitt, who’s already a pilot and diver, underwent weightlifting and extensive cardio training in preparation for the role. He also learned practical survival skills.
“I learned that you can start a fire with Vaseline and cotton balls,” Pitt said in a statement sent to Inquirer Entertainment. “He showed me how to find trees that are going to be dry enough to use as kindling.”
Pitt received guidance from Lief Swenson, a real-life Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) instructor who trains military personnel and pilots to survive hostile environments.
Swenson taught Pitt how to make fires and measure distance using his thumb, among other wilderness survival techniques.
However, Pitt said his preparation went beyond learning how to survive in the wild. He also worked with military adviser Shaun Dezern, a former United States Navy serviceman who spent more than two decades serving as a medic with the Marine Corps, Naval Special Warfare and Marine Special Operations Command.
“He was a very special man to have around,” Pitt said. “We can learn how to carry ourselves as someone who’s been through formal military training, and he certainly kept me within those guardrails.”
Pitt also drew from Dezern’s personal experiences to understand the emotional challenges faced by soldiers after returning from combat.
“It’s one thing to survive a battle, but then to survive the coming home and who you are in this world that you can’t quite make sense of… it’s even more do or die,” he said.
Directed by David Ayer, “Heart of the Beast” follows James and Odin as they fight to survive after their plane crashes in Alaska.
“Heart of the Beast” opens in Philippine cinemas today, Sept. 23. (Jessica Ann Evangelista © Philippine Daily Inquirer)
