We talk to the real warriors of Michael Bay's 13 Hours!

We talk to the real warriors of Michael Bay’s 13 Hours!

January 15th 2016, 12:07am

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Working for and running this site has afforded me many excellent opportunites, from set visits to exclusive debuts to celebrity interviews, and so much more. Believe it or not, it's tough work, but it's never lost on me how lucky I am to be able to contribute to this field. It's a blast. However, every so often things pop up that go beyond entertainment, which is anything to do with how the military, including Veterans, are portrayed in film and television. As a combat Veteran, it's a deeply personal thing for me, especially when filmmakers are telling stories that represent you, the men and women you've served with, and those that continue to serve. So, when the opportunity came to talk to the real-world Veterans that put their lives on the line in Benghazi, Libya on September 11th, 2012 and pushed to have their account turned into a film with 13 HOURS: THE SECRET SOLDIERS OF BENGHAZI, I jumped at the chance.

Although I talked to stars like John Krasinski and James Badge Dale, as well as director Michael Bay, it was far more harrowing to sit down with the real men from the GRS team. To me and many others, they and the men that paid the ultimate price are true heroes and it was an absolute honor to get even 5 minutes to chat with them and shake their hands. Kris "Tanto" Paranto, Mark "Oz" Geist, and John "Tig" Tiegen relaxed my nerves and talked openly and frankly about the film, working with Michael Bay, working with the actors that portrayed them, and how they felt about seeing the final film. Love or hate the film, I'm happy that people are still trying to tell our stories and having the real heroes on hand to make sure it's told right makes all the difference.