Scott Eastwood says his WWII drama “Lucky Strike,” inspired by the Battle of the Bulge, was both physically demanding and deeply rewarding as he starred in and produced the film with Colin Hanks.
NEW YORK — Scott Eastwood isn’t new to war stories, and when director Rod Davis Lurie called him about another one, Eastwood says he first declined.
He had a reason: his first credited film was 2006’s “Flags of Our Fathers,” directed by Clint Eastwood. He later worked on war films including 2014’s “Fury,” starring Brad Pitt, and 2020’s “The Outpost.” Eastwood had also collaborated with Lurie on “Outpost.”
But after his agent stayed persistent and Eastwood read the script, he signed on to star in and produce “Lucky Strike,” which opens in theaters Friday.
“I’m really glad I reconsidered because getting to make movies like this, although tough, they’re always more meaningful,” Eastwood, 40, said. “You get to tell a true story, you get to honor our veterans, you get to do something that means something.”
“Lucky Strike,” which takes its name in part from the cigarette brand, draws inspiration from the Battle of the Bulge in World War II. Eastwood plays Captain Jack Castle, whose unit is wiped out and who finds himself alone behind enemy lines.
The film also stars Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor and Colin Hanks, the son of Tom Hanks. Eastwood said he and Hanks hadn’t met until “Lucky Strike,” even though the actors’ fathers worked together on the 2016 film “Sully.”
The work came with a brutal routine. Eastwood said production took place in Eastern Europe, with commutes that meant an hour drive each way on narrow roads. Filming days were typically 12 hours, with the cast and crew battling Bulgaria’s cold weather.
For Eastwood and Hanks, that meant long stretches of physical strain, not much time for nostalgia or talk about what it’s like to grow up around famous parents.
“We didn’t intellectualize too much about that,” Eastwood said. “I met [Colin’s] father. He comes from good stock, a guy who is just hardworking, kind of like my dad.”
Even so, Eastwood said his background research helped keep the experience in perspective. Across his career—he has done research about war and met veterans over the last two decades—he says his hardest days on set didn’t compare to what soldiers faced.
He still learned things about World War II, he said, including details he didn’t know before.
“Without giving out too much away about the film, there’s some espionage that went on during World War II,” he said. “I knew there was spy stuff going on, but there were German soldiers posing as Americans, and I didn’t know too much about that.”
Ahead of the film’s release, “Lucky Strike” was screened at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. The event’s guest of honor was Colonel Herbert Stern. At 107 years old. Stern is the oldest living graduate of West Point. and he was awarded a Silver Star Medal for his actions in the Battle of the Bulge.
Eastwood said the encounter made the project feel bigger than the production schedule. “He held my hand and told me that we got this one right, and that was extremely powerful,” Eastwood recalled. “Getting to listen to him speak, getting to hear his experience made it all worth it.”
The sequence of Eastwood’s decisions—first turning down Lurie’s call. then reversing course after reading the script—maps to a recurring theme in how he describes the work: war films can be tough. but he frames them as a chance to tell a true story. honor veterans. and take the audience to places where history still has living echoes.
Scott Eastwood Lucky Strike Rod Davis Lurie Colin Hanks WWII drama Battle of the Bulge National Archives Herbert Stern Silver Star