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He has since appeared in scores of other films and worked on them as the
technical advisor and it is our great pleasure to be able to interview him
in connection with the release of this DVD.
I'm Captain Dale Dye, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret'd), 22 years active
service; retired in 1984 and went into the film business. Born 8th Oct 1944
in Cape Girardeau, Missouri USA.
2. What made you get involved with Platoon?
Was always a big fan of war movies... naturally... but found that most
of them angered or upset me because they did not reflect what I knew to be
the reality of military service and combat from my own experience. I
decided someone had to fix that... and that someone should be me.
3. How long had you known Oliver Stone before Platoon began filming?
Just a few weeks actually. I discovered from reading the "trade
papers" that he was going to do a film based on his own experience in
Vietnam and I wanted to be involved as a test of my theories about how to
make realistic films on the subject. I called him one Sunday and introduced
myself and told him I thought I knew how to do it better than Hollywood had
done it in the past. He listened, decided he liked what he heard and we set
up a meeting. Given our common experience as combat soldiers, he saw the
value of my theories and we got on with it.
4. What is favourite recollection of work on that film and with
Oliver Stone?
I have many fond memories... but perhaps the most touching for me
personally is when we were filming the village scene in which Tom Berenger's
character interrogates a village woman and subsequently executes her. We
used genuine Vietnamese refugees and they naturally spoke Vietnamese to each
other on the set. There was something about hearing that language... those
voices... in that setting... that sent both Oliver and I right back to
Vietnam. We glanced at each other and then quietly walked off the set. We
sat down on a rice paddy dyke... and I put my arm around his shoulders.
Nothing was said... or needed to be said. We just understood what was
happening in each other's minds at that point. We shared the pain and the
memories. It was one of the experiences that made us fast friends. We
remain that way to this day.
5. You've appeared in many films. How did you first get started in
this industry?
Part of the answer to this question is referred to in your second
question. When I retired from active service, I had virtually no civilian
skills, so I looked around for something to do that would combine both my
interest and my passion. War movies seemed to fit the bill, so I headed for
Hollywood with a half-baked idea in mind that I knew how to make better war
films. The major studios were - naturally - not very interested in hearing
my pitch since they'd been making successful war films for many years
without my methods. When I managed to meet Oliver, he understood what I
wanted to do and gave me a chance. I believe good acting is about telling
the truth... or at least convincing an audience that you're telling the
truth.
To do that - in my opinion - an actor needs to have some nodding
acquaintance with what the truth is. So, I strip them of their Show
Business personalities and introduce them via full-immersion to the life of
a combat infantryman. This involves totally isolating them, reducing them
to a lowest common denominator and forcing them to live life in the
rough... with all that entails. It's much the same as a young recruit from
the UK or US gets when he joins the Marines or some other elite
regiment.
6. Which has been your favourite film-making experience and why?
I have two particular favorites among the 40 or so films I've done -
other than Platoon. The first is
Saving Private Ryan (right),
because I think in
that project we raised the standard of pictorially representing what combat
is like in a full-blown amphibious assault. It required me to sort of play
General Eisenhower, running upwards of 1,000 men on the beach, 7 ships at
sea, 6 armored vehicles and a whole company of German defenders. I made all
that work using five radios from the high ground behind the beach. It was a
significant command and control challenge... but we did it.
Secondly, I'm very proud of the new TV series Band of Brothers which is on HBO in the
States and will be on BBC2 here in UK. This series - which took us a year
to make - provides a full 10 hours of TV time to tell the story of one
American airborne infantry unit and their part in WW II from D-Day to VE
Day. It's rare when you get an opportunity to stay with a story and a cast
of characters that long. It's also satisfying that my training of the
actors was sufficient to keep them in their roles and soldiering (not
acting) for an entire year.
7. You've largely played colonels, captains, generals and other
members of military personnel. What are your feelings about being typecast?
It's the nature of my own professional beast, I'm afraid. I love it
when I get the rare opportunity to play a doctor, politician or lawyer
(villains are particularly fun), but I understand that I'm not the leading
man type. What I do in military roles helps me with my overall
agenda... which is to help change the stereotypes and misapprehensions about
professional soldiers. And it keeps me working.
8. You wrote the story and co-produced Wings of the Apache,
originally known as "Fire Birds". Have you any plans to continue in this
side of the film business?
I'm slowly moving into writing, producing... and hopefully,
directing. As I get older, the acting roles become more limited and there
are only so many war films made in a given period, so I like to keep my eggs
spread around in several baskets. I've got some personal stories that I
want to get told... and as I move into producing, it's more and more likely
that I'll have the clout to get them done.
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This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
Captain Dale Dye played Company Commander
Captain Harris in the classic Oliver Stone Vietnam war film
