{"id":300947,"date":"2011-03-11T11:19:28","date_gmt":"2011-03-11T11:19:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/03\/11\/steven-spielbergs-war-horse-jeremy-irvine-picked-for-an-epic-movie\/"},"modified":"2011-03-11T11:19:28","modified_gmt":"2011-03-11T11:19:28","slug":"steven-spielbergs-war-horse-jeremy-irvine-picked-for-an-epic-movie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/11\/steven-spielbergs-war-horse-jeremy-irvine-picked-for-an-epic-movie\/","title":{"rendered":"Steven Spielberg’s War Horse: Jeremy Irvine picked for an epic movie"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n<\/p>\n

\nBy
\nBaz Bamigboye <\/a>
Last updated at 11:19 AM on 11th March 2011<\/p>\n

Jeremy Irvine admits that he had never liked horses, let alone ridden
\none, until he was cast as Albert, the farmer\u2019s son who cares for Joey,
\nthe red bay at the centre of Steven Spielberg\u2019s latest epic War Horse.<\/p>\n

The movie doesn\u2019t open here till January 13 (December 28 in the US)
\nbut already it is being seen as a major contender for next year\u2019s best
\nfilm Academy Award.<\/p>\n

\u2018I was really minding my own business and then suddenly I\u2019m in the
\nmiddle of a Steven Spielberg film,\u2019 said Jeremy, 20, who found himself
\nacting alongside not just Joey the horse, but top British stars like
\nBenedict Cumberbatch and David Thewlis, with Peter Mullan and Emily
\nWatson playing his parents.<\/p>\n

\n\"Riding<\/p>\n

Riding to war: (left-right): Benedict Cumberbatch, Patrick Kennedy and Tom Hiddleston saddle up in Spielberg’s War Horse<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The young actor had been playing a spear carrier in the Royal
\nShakespeare Company production of Dunsinane at Hampstead Theatre when he
\nwas sent on a series of auditions for a role in the DreamWorks film. <\/p>\n

The movie is based on Michael Morpurgo\u2019s best-selling novel about the
\ncolt with the remarkable white cross emblazoned on his forehead who
\ngets sold to the Army and winds up on the Western Front in World War 1,
\nwhere he pines for Albert, the farmer\u2019s son he left behind in the West
\nCountry. <\/p>\n

The novel was turned into a play at the National Theatre and remains a
\nbox office champion at the New London theatre. A Broadway production
\nbegins at the Lincoln centre on Tuesday. <\/p>\n

Lifelike puppets were employed on stage, but real horses are being used in the screen version.<\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019m not a huge animal person,\u2019 Jeremy confessed, \u2018and I didn\u2019t grow up around horses. In fact, I\u2019d never ridden a horse.<\/p>\n

\u2018During the audition process I tried to brush up on that,\u2019 he said, and to that end he started helping out at a local stables.<\/p>\n

He kept being called back to audition until one evening, he got a telephone call from his agent.<\/p>\n

\u2018Steven Spielberg would like to have a cup of tea with you tomorrow morning at nine o\u2019clock, can you do that?\u2019 the agent said.<\/p>\n

\u2018Ah, yes, I think I can,\u2019 Jeremy replied. He met Spielberg, and the part was his.<\/p>\n

\n\"Awards<\/p>\n

Awards hopeful: Former Oscar winner Steven Spielberg is directing the film, which is tipped for awards success next year<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

But that\u2019s when the itals real end itals work began.\u00a0 Albert, his
\nfilm character, had been raised with horses, so Jeremy had to at least
\nlook like he was comfortable around them.<\/p>\n

He underwent a two-month intensive horse training course, along with
\nTom Hiddleston, who plays the British Army officer who first catches
\nsight of Joey, and Benedict Cumerbatch and Patrick Kennedy, who play
\nfellow officers.<\/p>\n

\u2018It was beaten into me,\u2019 Jeremy joked. <\/p>\n

The production flew in stunt riders and horse trainers, plus what the
\nAmericans call Liberty trainers \u2014 some might call them horse
\nwhisperers. <\/p>\n

\u2018The horses have no tack on, and you communicate with them using body language,\u2019 Jeremy explained. <\/p>\n

\u2018You get them to run around you, run behind you. You\u2019d take your
\nshoes off and the horse would run off with the shoes. The purpose was to
\nbecome as comfortable as possible with the horses.\u2019 <\/p>\n

Soon, they were eating out of his hand.<\/p>\n

There were 11 horses, used to play Joey at various stages of his
\nlife. Then there were the horses that Albert tends when he runs away to
\njoin the Army, so he can find Joey.<\/p>\n

Soon Jeremy was running through a mammoth assault course, built on
\nthe Duke of Wellington\u2019s estate by production designers to resemble a
\nWW1 battlefield, complete with German trenches, British trenches, and a
\nNo Man\u2019s Land strewn with coils of barbed wire.<\/p>\n

Jeremy carried an authentic Lee-Enfield 303 that had been used during
\nthe First World war. He was familiar with the weapon because it was
\nsimilar to one he used when he was a cadet at school. <\/p>\n

He was used to drills and marching, although Spielberg told him that
\nAlbert would not have had time for military training. \u2018These guys back
\nthen sometimes had just two weeks before they were on the Front and they
\nlearned basic drill. They wouldn\u2019t have been taught how to hold their
\nweapons properly.\u2019<\/p>\n

It was all tremendously exciting for a young actor from a small
\nvillage in Bedfordshire, where he lives with dad Chris, an engineer; mum
\nBridget, a local government politician; and his two younger brothers.<\/p>\n

\n\"Co-star:<\/p>\n

Co-star: Actress Emily Watson also appears in the film, playing Irvine’s mother<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Jeremy has long been interested in military history. \u2018My bedroom\u2019s
\nlike an armoury,\u2019 he said. \u2018I\u2019ve got a huge collection\u00a0 of WW1 and WW2
\nweaponry.\u2019<\/p>\n

But slowly, during filming, the heartbreaking moral of Morpurgo\u2019s
\nstory, adapted for the film by Lee Hall and Richard Curtis, began to
\ndawn on him. <\/p>\n

Jeremy recalled one scene where the British cavalry charge the German
\nmachine guns. \u2018It\u2019s the weapons of the old world \u2014 our men on horses \u2014
\nmeeting the absolute destruction of these tools of mass slaughter.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2018There was this line of machine guns and there\u2019s this wall of lead coming out of these guns. <\/p>\n

\u2018There were real explosions at my feet, bodies flying through the air, stunt men getting shot at. It was terrifying. <\/p>\n

\u2018The smoke and the smell and the taste of the guns firing. It\u2019s not difficult to act scared in that situation.<\/p>\n

\u2018There\u2019s no doubt this was deliberate: not only to have the film look great, but to have that effect on the actors.\u2019<\/p>\n

There were 130 horses in the cavalry charge, and hundreds of extras,
\nmany of them ex-military. \u2018It was an eye-opening scene,\u2019 Jeremy
\nrecalled.<\/p>\n

\u2018I had been a struggling actor for two years, so to go from that to
\nbeing on the set of a Steven Spielberg film, where he treated me like
\npart of one big family, was amazing\u2019.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not for nothing Spielberg has Dad stencilled on the back of his canvas chair on set.<\/p>\n

Before he went off to boot camp, Jeremy walked the fields and farms
\nsurrounding his village home, so he could be alone and learn his lines. <\/p>\n

And that is where he returned after his latest visit to Los Angeles.
\nHe knows that Hollywood is a world that can suck you in \u2014 and spit you
\nout just as fast. <\/p>\n

Besides, he says, his family would not tolerate him becoming a
\nHollywood bad-boy. \u2018I can\u2019t imagine what would happen if I ever came
\nback and started being a bit of a diva. I think I\u2019d have my head ripped
\noff. My family wouldn\u2019t stand for it.<\/p>\n

\u2018There\u2019s nothing nicer than coming back to your village, where people
\nlike my mum\u2019s friends take the mick out of\u00a0 me. I prefer that\u00a0 to the
\ncraziness of Hollywood. \u2018<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

View post:
\nSteven Spielberg’s War Horse: Jeremy Irvine picked for an epic movie<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Baz Bamigboye Last updated at 11:19 AM on 11th March 2011 Jeremy Irvine admits that he had never liked horses, let alone ridden one, until he was cast as Albert, the farmer\u2019s son who cares for Joey, the red bay at the centre of Steven Spielberg\u2019s latest epic War Horse. The movie doesn\u2019t open here till January 13 (December 28 in the US) but already it is being seen as a major contender for next year\u2019s best film Academy Award<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-300947","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\nSteven Spielberg's War Horse: Jeremy Irvine picked for an epic movie - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/11\/steven-spielbergs-war-horse-jeremy-irvine-picked-for-an-epic-movie\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Steven Spielberg's War Horse: Jeremy Irvine picked for an epic movie - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"By Baz Bamigboye Last updated at 11:19 AM on 11th March 2011 Jeremy Irvine admits that he had never liked horses, let alone ridden one, until he was cast as Albert, the farmer\u2019s son who cares for Joey, the red bay at the centre of Steven Spielberg\u2019s latest epic War Horse. The movie doesn\u2019t open here till January 13 (December 28 in the US) but already it is being seen as a major contender for next year\u2019s best film Academy Award\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/9eefcf90792_468x349.jpg.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ghanamma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ghanamma\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/11\/steven-spielbergs-war-horse-jeremy-irvine-picked-for-an-epic-movie\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/11\/steven-spielbergs-war-horse-jeremy-irvine-picked-for-an-epic-movie\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"\"},\"headline\":\"Steven Spielberg’s War Horse: Jeremy Irvine picked for an epic movie\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-03-11T11:19:28+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/11\/steven-spielbergs-war-horse-jeremy-irvine-picked-for-an-epic-movie\/\"},\"wordCount\":1197,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/11\/steven-spielbergs-war-horse-jeremy-irvine-picked-for-an-epic-movie\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/9eefcf90792_468x349.jpg.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/11\/steven-spielbergs-war-horse-jeremy-irvine-picked-for-an-epic-movie\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/11\/steven-spielbergs-war-horse-jeremy-irvine-picked-for-an-epic-movie\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/11\/steven-spielbergs-war-horse-jeremy-irvine-picked-for-an-epic-movie\/\",\"name\":\"Steven Spielberg's War Horse: Jeremy Irvine picked for an epic movie - Ghanamma.com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/11\/steven-spielbergs-war-horse-jeremy-irvine-picked-for-an-epic-movie\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/11\/steven-spielbergs-war-horse-jeremy-irvine-picked-for-an-epic-movie\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/9eefcf90792_468x349.jpg.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-03-11T11:19:28+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/11\/steven-spielbergs-war-horse-jeremy-irvine-picked-for-an-epic-movie\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/11\/steven-spielbergs-war-horse-jeremy-irvine-picked-for-an-epic-movie\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/9eefcf90792_468x349.jpg.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/9eefcf90792_468x349.jpg.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/\",\"name\":\"Ghanamma.com\",\"description\":\"News In Ghana - Latest Ghana News Headlines\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Steven Spielberg's War Horse: Jeremy Irvine picked for an epic movie - Ghanamma.com","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/11\/steven-spielbergs-war-horse-jeremy-irvine-picked-for-an-epic-movie\/","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Steven Spielberg's War Horse: Jeremy Irvine picked for an epic movie - Ghanamma.com","twitter_description":"By Baz Bamigboye Last updated at 11:19 AM on 11th March 2011 Jeremy Irvine admits that he had never liked horses, let alone ridden one, until he was cast as Albert, the farmer\u2019s son who cares for Joey, the red bay at the centre of Steven Spielberg\u2019s latest epic War Horse. The movie doesn\u2019t open here till January 13 (December 28 in the US) but already it is being seen as a major contender for next year\u2019s best film Academy Award","twitter_image":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/9eefcf90792_468x349.jpg.jpg","twitter_creator":"@ghanamma","twitter_site":"@ghanamma","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/11\/steven-spielbergs-war-horse-jeremy-irvine-picked-for-an-epic-movie\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/11\/steven-spielbergs-war-horse-jeremy-irvine-picked-for-an-epic-movie\/"},"author":{"name":"","@id":""},"headline":"Steven Spielberg’s War Horse: Jeremy Irvine picked for an epic movie","datePublished":"2011-03-11T11:19:28+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/11\/steven-spielbergs-war-horse-jeremy-irvine-picked-for-an-epic-movie\/"},"wordCount":1197,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/11\/steven-spielbergs-war-horse-jeremy-irvine-picked-for-an-epic-movie\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/9eefcf90792_468x349.jpg.jpg","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/11\/steven-spielbergs-war-horse-jeremy-irvine-picked-for-an-epic-movie\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/11\/steven-spielbergs-war-horse-jeremy-irvine-picked-for-an-epic-movie\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/11\/steven-spielbergs-war-horse-jeremy-irvine-picked-for-an-epic-movie\/","name":"Steven Spielberg's War Horse: Jeremy Irvine picked for an epic movie - Ghanamma.com","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/11\/steven-spielbergs-war-horse-jeremy-irvine-picked-for-an-epic-movie\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/11\/steven-spielbergs-war-horse-jeremy-irvine-picked-for-an-epic-movie\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/9eefcf90792_468x349.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2011-03-11T11:19:28+00:00","author":{"@id":""},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/11\/steven-spielbergs-war-horse-jeremy-irvine-picked-for-an-epic-movie\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/11\/steven-spielbergs-war-horse-jeremy-irvine-picked-for-an-epic-movie\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/9eefcf90792_468x349.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/9eefcf90792_468x349.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/","name":"Ghanamma.com","description":"News In Ghana - Latest Ghana News Headlines","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/300947","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=300947"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/300947\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=300947"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=300947"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=300947"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}