When did you first come in contact with the film’s writer, Mark Boal?
‘I love reportage journalism, and was a big fan of a lot of the writing Mark had done. We met just before his embed with an EOD unit in Baghdad, and when he came back, we started talking about his experiences with characters and, I think it occurred to us simultaneously, that this would be an interesting departure point for a film.’ With the EODs, if feels like these fascinating, unheralded characters have been unearthed. ‘These men are like surgeons. When you’re invited into EOD, you’ve proved you have an incredible motor dexterity and engineering acumen. You’ve got to be able to look at a nest of wires and make a call in seconds. If you’re out there for too long, the enemy will shoot you. Unlike a surgeon, though, if they make a mistake, the patient dies – if you make a mistake, you die.’ The film strikes a good balance between action and character. ‘On one hand, I feel that EODs arguably have the most dangerous job in the world. Yet in the US, it’s an all-volunteer military, so you’
