Jack Huston plays a “ball-busting sergeant” commanding Tye Sheridan in Alexander Moors’ Iraq War film “The Yellow Birds.” He says he now understands why people who act out go to war initially.
“When you’ve been deployed and done three tours and lost your guys, who you’ve developed quite an intimate relationship with, how do you show it? How do you express it? It affects everyone,” Huston told TheWrap’s Umberto Gonzales at the Sundance Film Festival.
“It’s very much a look at the ramifications of war and why we go there initially, and I think the amazing thing is a lot of these guys sign up for war because it’s something to do.”
“The Yellow Birds” is written by David Lowery and R.F.I. Porto based on a novel by Kevin Powers. It’s the story of two young soldiers, Bartle (21) and Murph (18), who navigate the terrors of the Iraq war under the command of the older, troubled Sergeant Sterling (Huston). All the while, Bartle is tortured by a promise he made to Murph’s mother before their deployment.
Sheridan, who plays Murph, said his character represents the naïveté and innocence of many of the young soldiers fighting oversees.
“It’s a view we don’t often get to see in film,” he said. “It’s just really honest and shows you what the effect of war can do to your mental state.”
“The Yellow Birds” also stars Alden Ehrenreich, Jennifer Aniston, Toni Collette and Jason Patric.
Watch TheWrap’s full interview above.