How The 'Warfare' Cast Bonded Shaving Each Other's Heads

One of the movies I'm most excited about this year is Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza's Warfare. It's a touching tribute to Mendoza's squadron of SEALs, who went through a pretty hairy situation during the battle of Ramadi in 2006. His platoon member was injured and has no memory of the events of that day, so this movie is Mendoza's tribute to him and what happened there. In order to make a movie that important, what occurs on screen has to be real, and the actors playing the roles have to experience real emotions. Mendoza is no stranger to blending the military and Hollywood. He served as a consultant on Act of Valor and Lone Survivor. And he wanted to make sure his stars would deliver. The ensemble includes D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai as Mendoza, with Will Poulter, Cosmo Jarvis, Joseph Quinn, Kit Connor, Finn Bennett, Taylor John Smith, Michael Gandolfini, Adain Bradley, Noah Centineo, Evan Holtzman, Henry Zaga, and Charles Melton.So, how do you get this group of actors to bond as a group so they behave as a cohesive unit while filming these intense scenes?In a Q&A after the film, Connor said, “I know that we all wanted to create this brotherhood and create this bond because that would make our jobs a lot easier.” Connor continued, “So the first thing that we did on our first night was shave each other’s heads, which was something that excited us all and it felt slightly ritualistic. We suddenly felt like we were immediately vulnerable with each other and it just felt like we had each other’s backs. And yeah, we trained. We ate together. We would do everything together. We practically lived in each other’s pockets for about two months. I think it really does come across in the film. There’s a real love between us all.”The guys also did a three-week special force training together, where they hoofed sixty-pound packs and completed grueling tasks. That way, when the cameras were rolling, the acting came easy. “The bond that developed naturally through the training and the emotional side of things was taken care of.” Poulter continued, “There was very little acting required because when I looked down and saw Joe Quinn [injured], I didn’t have to imagine that I cared for him at that moment. I’d spent every waking minute with him for the couple of months prior.” 'Warfare'CREDIT: A24I really think this stuff is important with actors, because your job as a director is to make them comfortable in the role and the situation. You have specific emotions you want from people, and you will only get them if there's enough prep. Woon-A-Tai expanded on this thought, saying, “It would be a lot harder to bring out these tough emotions for seeing somebody I barely know.” He continued, “But it was not at all like that because it was, in a sense, too emotional sometimes seeing a lot of our brothers, we feel, in those positions. Even though it was fake and we know it’s fake, sometimes your brain just tricks yourself. So you see a lot of blood and your brain thinks it’s real.”Gandolfini added, “Your body doesn’t necessarily know whether you’re acting or not, right? Whether that was having blanks firing outside of the door at all times or explosions hitting you in the face.”All of these details have me very excited to see the movie. It's sure to be intense and I think it's being made for a beautiful reason. Let me know what you think in the comments.

Apr 2, 2025 - 00:41

How The 'Warfare' Cast Bonded Shaving Each Other's Heads

One of the movies I'm most excited about this year is Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza's Warfare. It's a touching tribute to Mendoza's squadron of SEALs, who went through a pretty hairy situation during the battle of Ramadi in 2006.

His platoon member was injured and has no memory of the events of that day, so this movie is Mendoza's tribute to him and what happened there.

In order to make a movie that important, what occurs on screen has to be real, and the actors playing the roles have to experience real emotions.

Mendoza is no stranger to blending the military and Hollywood. He served as a consultant on Act of Valor and Lone Survivor.

And he wanted to make sure his stars would deliver.

The ensemble includes D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai as Mendoza, with Will Poulter, Cosmo Jarvis, Joseph Quinn, Kit Connor, Finn Bennett, Taylor John Smith, Michael Gandolfini, Adain Bradley, Noah Centineo, Evan Holtzman, Henry Zaga, and Charles Melton.

So, how do you get this group of actors to bond as a group so they behave as a cohesive unit while filming these intense scenes?

In a Q&A after the film, Connor said, “I know that we all wanted to create this brotherhood and create this bond because that would make our jobs a lot easier.”

Connor continued, “So the first thing that we did on our first night was shave each other’s heads, which was something that excited us all and it felt slightly ritualistic. We suddenly felt like we were immediately vulnerable with each other and it just felt like we had each other’s backs. And yeah, we trained. We ate together. We would do everything together. We practically lived in each other’s pockets for about two months. I think it really does come across in the film. There’s a real love between us all.”

The guys also did a three-week special force training together, where they hoofed sixty-pound packs and completed grueling tasks. That way, when the cameras were rolling, the acting came easy.

“The bond that developed naturally through the training and the emotional side of things was taken care of.”

Poulter continued, “There was very little acting required because when I looked down and saw Joe Quinn [injured], I didn’t have to imagine that I cared for him at that moment. I’d spent every waking minute with him for the couple of months prior.”

How The 'Warfare' Cast Bonded Shaving Each Other's Heads 'Warfare'CREDIT: A24

I really think this stuff is important with actors, because your job as a director is to make them comfortable in the role and the situation. You have specific emotions you want from people, and you will only get them if there's enough prep.

Woon-A-Tai expanded on this thought, saying, “It would be a lot harder to bring out these tough emotions for seeing somebody I barely know.”

He continued, “But it was not at all like that because it was, in a sense, too emotional sometimes seeing a lot of our brothers, we feel, in those positions. Even though it was fake and we know it’s fake, sometimes your brain just tricks yourself. So you see a lot of blood and your brain thinks it’s real.”

Gandolfini added, “Your body doesn’t necessarily know whether you’re acting or not, right? Whether that was having blanks firing outside of the door at all times or explosions hitting you in the face.”

All of these details have me very excited to see the movie. It's sure to be intense and I think it's being made for a beautiful reason.

Let me know what you think in the comments.