After taking the reins of Keanu Reeves’ part as Johnny Utah, The November Man star Luke Bracey will follow up his role in Warner Bros.’ Point Break remake by starring in Mel Gibson’s war drama, Hacksaw Ridge.
Deadline has the casting scoop, with a report that reveals Bracey will assume the role of Smitty, a character described as “the hard-nosed alpha dog” of his platoon. He’ll star opposite Vince Vaughn, Sam Worthington and Andrew Garfield in the wartime actioner, following the true story of Corporal Demond Doss (Garfield), the first conscientious objector to receive the decorated Medal of Honor. A pacifist through and through, Doss openly refused to carry a weapon into combat, leading the US army to station him as a medic.
Doss still earned his stripes regardless, particularly across the gruelling three-month military assault known as the Battle of Okinawa circa 1945. It is here that Garfield’s character will strike up a friendship with Bracey’s Smitty, even if the pair butt heads more often than not on the frontlines.
As Gibson’s first directorial effort since Apocalypto nearly a decade ago, there’s already an air of interest swirling around Hacksaw Ridge. Assembling his fellow creative cohorts from yesteryear, Gibson has drafted in Braveheart and We Were Soldiers scribe Randall Wallace, who co-wrote the drama alongside Robert Schenkkan.
Hacksaw Ridge will commence filming Down Under this Autumn ahead of a planned release in 2016. Luke Bracey can next be seen in Warner’s Point Break remake, itself due on December 25, 2015.
