From writers, directors and actors to the gifted technical team, The Pacific is brought to life by top-flight talent, but what the viewers see on screen has to be believable for everything to work.
That's where Capt. Dale Dye, USMC (Ret.), comes in. Dye, who runs the production support company Warriors Inc., served as senior military advisor on the miniseries, just as he had on 2001's Band of Brothers.
He was awarded with the Bronze Star for his service in Vietnam, in addition to three Purple Hearts.
One of Capt. Dye's specialties is putting the actors through a rigorous simulated boot camp to make the production more realistic, something he's been doing since Oliver Stone's 1986 film Platoon.
Explains Dye, "As a true gesture of respect to the men who fought in the brutal Pacific campaign, we needed to get it right. So the featured performers and what we call the special ability extras underwent a rigorous period of training.
It was designed to give them some inkling of what was endured by the people they were portraying."
James Badge Dale, who plays PFC Robert Leckie, says, "Boot camp was different than what I was expecting. It was nine days of being pushed emotionally, physically and spiritually.
"Nine days is not a long time, but somewhere around the third day, your brain and your body would start to mess with you, and you'd feel like you were being driven into the ground.
"Then the trainers would very carefully pick us back up again. It's hard to explain to other people, but it was an invaluable experience and after it we went straight into work."
According to Joe Mazzello, who portrays PFC Eugene Sledge, "Boot camp was
probably the most intense experience of my life. As the days go by, you think, 'Oh, it
wasn't so bad,' but it was!" he laughs.
Mazzello continues, "But that was the point, going through it and not knowing what was to come next. It was a really emotional experience and a really physical experience.
"Captain Dye gave us so much to work with. Directors, producers and writers can only tell you so much. When you talk to a man like that, who has actually experienced war, you get something completely different."
Jon Seda, who plays Sgt. John Basilone, recalls boot camp as a special time, saying, "There was a point in boot camp where we were out on a mission and I just stopped and said to myself, 'Am I in training for a movie, or are we really going to war?'
"None of us were focusing on the acting side of it, we were becoming the characters we were going to be on film.
"In boot camp there also were times for us to sit together and share our individual
strengths and weaknesses, and we would lift each other up. To me, that time of learning
to understand each other was the best time."
Lt. Mike Stokey, USMC (Ret.), an executive officer with Capt. Dye's Warriors Inc., explains, "It's quite an experience for the actors. What they go through is very similar to what Dale and I experienced first-hand when we bonded in the Marines fortysomething years ago. It's a rite of passage."
Concludes Dye, "These guys have been terrific. They went through a brutal period of training, and their spirit would make the Marines from World War II proud.
And we damn sure intend to make them proud. As long as that spirit remains in their hearts, it will come through on the screen."
The Pacific began on Sky Movies 5th April.
Tagged in The Pacific