Making a movie is a difficult task for all involved, and it takes many people to bring even the simplest scenes to life. On the set, things should run smoothly, but sometimes things can go wrong. Accidents happen, stars have issues, and sometimes, clashes happen. This, mind you, comes after months of intense preparation.

Saving Private Ryan is one of the best films of its era, and the preparation for the movie was incredibly difficult. The preparation, however, also used as a tool to get the cast of the film to resent one of its stars to help their performances.

Let’s take a look at the preparation that went into making Saving Private Ryan and the resentment that it caused towards Matt Damon.

Everyone But Damon Had To Go To Boot Camp

Saving Private Ryan Cast
Via mentalfloss.com

It is not unusual to see actors undergoing serious preparation for tough movie roles, and sometimes, actors wind up having to do things that push them to their limits. In the case of Saving Private Ryan, the cast had to spend time in boot camp as if they were their own actual military unit. However, Matt Damon was intentionally excluded from having to undergo the training.

Captain Dale Dye, who was in charge of training the guys, said, “It’s all been turned into housing now, but at the time it had a huge backlot and very dense woods, so we went back there a kilometre or two and established an area where we could bivouac. They did physical training hard every day and I ran them through the same sort of syllabus that would have been given to basic infantrymen back in 1943/4. Because I had to compress of all that into three or four days, they worked day and night.”

When speaking about the experience, Adam Goldberg said, “We were forced to be ‘method’, whether we wanted to or not. The only way I could get through it was to shut myself down and become this soldier.”

It was a rough go for the actors, aside from Damon, who was noticeably absent. Turns out, this was done on purpose.

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This Built Resentment Towards Damon

Saving Private Ryan Matt Damon
Via looper.com

In order to build some genuine resentment towards Damon’s character in the most method way possible, director Steven Spielberg let Damon live in comfort instead of going to boot camp. This little trick wound up working for the director, and it showed on the big screen.

When speaking about his fellow co-stars, Damon noted that “they started to harbor that kernel of resentment, ’cause I wasn’t there. These guys are lying facedown in the mud, and I’m, you know, in a bubble bath in America. When I showed up on set, a lot of that resentment just translated right onto the screen.”

Vin Diesel even opened up about the experience, saying, “The idea was for us to resent being there just like a soldier would resent being in the war.”

The experience was rough on everyone, and eventually, a mutiny broke out. Thankfully, Tom Hanks was the voice of reason and was able to keep his men going when things got bad. After successfully completing boot camp and filming, it was time for the men to see how their work translated to the big screen.

Related: How Michael Fassbender Prepared For His Role In '12 Years A Slave'

The Film Was A Huge Success

Saving Private Ryan Movie
Via thecinemaholic.com

Released back in 1998, Saving Private Ryan was a monumental success that took the genre to an entirely new level. It is difficult to make a war movie that can earn critical acclaim an catch on with audiences, but Spielberg and the gang made it look like another day at the office with their incredible work on the movie.

After making over $480 million at the box office, it was clear that Saving Private Ryan was no ordinary film. Couple its box office haul with the rave reviews that it earned from critics and fans alike, and it was clear that this movie was going to be a major player during awards season. Low and behold, it would be nominated for a number of Academy Awards, including Best Picture. It wound up winning Oscars for Best Director, Best Cinematography, and a few more.

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At this point, Saving Private Ryan is not only considered one of the best films of the 90s, but genuinely one of the best war films of all time. The preparation that went into making the movie paid dividends in the end, even if it meant putting the actors through a rough experience that had them resenting Matt Damon.

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