ABOUT THE CASTING

The script for U-571 called for a relatively large ensemble of characters, and a number of wonderful actors wanted to be a part of U-571. The final cast includes some of the most talented names in Hollywood today, as well as many promising newcomers

Ms. De Laurentiis says, "Our cast is not a predictable cast. When Matthew came onto the project, it was very exciting to make an ensemble around him, with the choice of Bill Paxton, Harvey Keitel, Jon Bon Jovi, Jake Weber and David Keith, and then all the new faces that you'll see.

McConaughey, star of A Time To Kill and EDtv, divulges, "I had been looking for an action film that was character-driven and as I got talking more with Jonathan, I really became intrigued with the idea of working with him on this picture."

He continues, "It's a mission film and it became apparent that if we just did our job as actors, the action is inherent in the story which is exciting. I play a good leader who loves his country. It's my character's greatest strength and also his Achilles heel."

Bill Paxton, who has starred in such box office giants as Titanic, Twister and Apollo 13 enthuses, "I've always loved historical films. To play a captain of a United States submarine in World War II is a great honor. A ship's captain is ultimately the man responsible, and my character is a mentor to Matthew's character."

Rock star Jon Bon Jovi, who made the cross-over to acting with Moonlight and Valentino and continued with Ed Burns' No Looking Back, expounds, "Even though the movies I've done thus far have been intimate stories, I wanted to do this film because I felt Jonathan is a brilliant writer with his interplay of characters. He's written something that that has a great storyline with a lot of action and suspense."

"Plus," Bon Jovi says, "It's an opportunity to show people what it really was like to be in these coffins on the ocean."

Jake Weber, who played the jilted fiancé in Martin Brest's Meet Joe Black, reflects, "I think the characters were very richly drawn, very identifiable in Jonathan's script. It's a good story with a lot of psychological drama in addition to the action."

Weber continues, "Jonathan saw my character as a man who shows no apparent sign of weakness, very educated and seemingly fearless, but he's not a soldier. Instead, he's brave in a more quiet way. I find this is a film where you'll discover a lot of different types of heroism."

As the cook Eddie, T.C. Carson, who is best known to audiences for his role on the hit television series Living Single, plays the one minority on the ship's crew.

"I liked this part because Eddie is really smart...he watches and wants to do things, and he has a real drive," says Carson. "He had to have a certain amount of stamina to volunteer for submarine duty, because he is definitely out of place, and even though he wants to kick some ass, he has to quell that because the mission is bigger than that."

U-571 also served as a reunion for a number of actors from previous Mostow and De Laurentiis projects. David Keith, who worked before with the De Laurentiises on Firestarter, signed on to play attack specialist Coonan, who is brought on board to train a handful of these sailors in a short period of time. Jack Noseworthy, who played Billy in Breakdown, came on board as Wentz, the submarine's radio and sonar operator.

"It's really exciting to work with Jonathan again because Breakdown was a great movie and a great working experience," says Noseworthy. "For this film, I get to play someone who is sort of between a rock and a hard place, because even though he's an enlisted man, he is the eyes and the ears of the submarine which means he is privy to a lot of information. This sets him apart from the others since there's a struggle going on in what information he can give and what information he can't."

In U-571, Mostow focused a great deal of attention on making sure that all the different characters had a human quality to them, because these men serving in the submarines were regular people performing extraordinary actions in the face of adversity.

"We had retired World War II submariners on the set at all times," says Mostow, "to make sure that if somebody pushed a button, that was the button that was pushed. If a command was given, that was the command that was given."

To help guarantee the film's authenticity, including realistic dialogue and situations, the production hired as its technical advisor Vice-Admiral Patrick Hannifin, who served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and operated submarines for almost 35 years before retiring in 1977. Hannifin spent a year operating a U-boat after the war to understand its technology, and went on to lead a distinguished career in the U.S. Navy, commanding diesel boats and nuclear submarines. Eventually, he commanded all of the U.S. and NATO submarines in the Mediterranean, and ultimately served as the director of the Joint Staff of the Joint Chief of Staffs.

"I thought one of the best parts about the entire movie was the transformation of McConaughey's character from being a good officer to a man who took command," Hannifin says. "Even though he was forced into it, he was still able to make the kind of decisions that a commander has to make."

In discussing the cast Hannifin says, "They were a very dedicated bunch of people. It was fun to try and teach these young actors first how to be sailors, and then how to be submariners."

"The casting of this movie is something that I'm really excited about," Mostow adds. "I have a mixture of some very well-known veteran actors and then some new faces that we've never seen before who I hope will gain notice from the movie."