Never-before-seen photos from behind the scenes of Saving Private Ryan have been unearthed almost 30 years after filming wrapped up – along with revelations about the blockbuster cast.
Tom Hanks and director Steven Spielberg feature in the time-capsule pictures taken by an extra on set at the Hatfield Aerodrome in Hertfordshire.
Mike Drew, from Dalston, east London, worked as a background actor in the 1998 Oscar-winning World War Two film, and until now has kept his album private.
He snuck a small Olympus camera inside his German soldier’s helmet, and took a dozen photos of stunts, explosions and candid moments on set.
Mike also reveals the onset habits of the actors, how each of them treated the extras, and which star was perpetually ‘moody’.
Spielberg’s epic tale – tracking Captain John H Miller, played by Tom Hanks, who leads a squad to rescue Private Ryan after his three brothers were killed – is widely considered one of the greatest war films of all time.
The main actors all completed a week-long boot camp to help them understand the soldier’s experience, and the opening scene depicting the Omaha beach assault is renowned for its likeness to the reality of war.
Hundreds of extras were used in the production, and each had to prove they had experience handling weapons.
Tom Hanks, right, posing for a photo with Mike on his last day of filming
Director Steven Spielberg in the editing tent with his Second Unit Director Sergio Mimica
Mike standing with his arms folded, front right, just before filming the final battle of the film
Mike portrayed one of German soldiers in the scene where Private Ryan, played by a 27-year-old Matt Damon, is finally found by his comrades, fiercely defending a bridge against the Nazis.
He fit the bill perfectly, having previously served in the Royal Green Jackets, 1st Battalion, in the British Army.
His friend persuaded him to attend the auditions at the intelligence corps in Holborn, central London, and he got the job on the spot.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Mike said: ‘When we got to the set in 1997, we were told no cameras allowed, and anyone caught with one would be kicked out.
‘They promised there would be a chance for photos at the end so everyone did as they were asked – but it never happened in the end, so I’m glad I had my Olympus.
‘Everyday I was filming I had it, but I was confident I wouldn’t get caught. They were mainly checking that people didn’t take the props home.’
Reflecting on meeting Hollywood royalty, Mike revealed that many of the actors were ‘down to Earth’.
He said: ‘I spoke with Matt Damon quite a few times.
‘I told him he would win an Oscar for this, and he replied: “I’d like to think so!”
Two of Mike’s fellow extras in front of a replica German Tiger Tank
Extras posing with false heads that were blown up for special effects
Extras by the set of a wrecked Ramelle – the fictional French town where the climactic battle unfolds
‘It was really interesting because Spielberg kept telling everyone the film was going to be historic.’
Matt Damon might have been chipper, but one cast member seemed ‘upset’ the whole time, Mike recalled.
‘I’ll be honest, the only one who was really upset was Vin Diesel – he acted like he didn’t want to be there.
‘He was quite moody on set, while else seemed happy.
‘I think it was because he’d just finished filming Strays (1997) and so wanted a bigger part in the film – but he got shot early on.
‘Tom [Hanks] was great, he would often joke about our Nazi uniforms before telling us: ‘I hate you Germans.’
‘Tom was never flash or stuck up. I found him incredibly polite and witty as a person.
‘He was quite laid-back and he would often sleep during some of the takes. But it was amazing really because he would wake up and go straight to work.
‘He would just click into gear and get back to it like he hadn’t had a break.’
One thing, however, stuck out to Mike about the Forrest Gump star, then 41.
Mike said: ‘I was most surprised by how much he ate. He was always eating throughout the day.
A stuntman midair practicing a move
Director Steven Spielberg, centre, in a cap, talking to the wife of actor Tom Sizemore, who played Sergeant Mike Horvath
Mike’s friend Andy standing with a rifle
‘We all shared the mess tent and there weren’t any separate tables – everyone sat together.
‘The first time I saw him in the food marquee, he had three plates piled high with food. I think he ate his salary worth in food.
The Hollywood actor generously posed for a picture with Mike on his last day of filming.
Mike also managed to chat with Steven Spielberg himself as he was walking back to his ‘huge trailer home’.
He was good-natured and became ‘quite excitable’ when talking about his past creations, Mike said.
While the specific characters in Spielberg’s film are fictitious, the events of the war portrayed are absolutely real.
It also draws inspiration from the story of a real-life family of soldiers – the Niland brothers.
The four brothers from New York fought in the Second World War and, initially, only one was believed to have survived, though it later emerged another lived on in a Japanese prisoner of par camp.
Screenwriter Robert Rodat was further inspired by Stephen Ambrose’s nonfiction retrospective D-Day: June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of World War II.
This exclusive set of images shows crucial elements of the film – including the bridge where Hanks’ character is eventually shot dead.
Mike captured a shots of Spielberg beavering away in the editing tent with staff, and the special effects technicians working on fake heads that were to be blown up.
Andy, right, with fellow extra Ryan Hills
An action shot of a special effects explosion on a crane, made to look like a tower being blown off a church in the final cut
Mike described his time on set as the ‘ultimate adrenaline rush’
He said: ‘It was a gruesome film and I managed to grab some pictures of the fake heads used in the film when one of the tanks explodes.
‘In the same scene, I got permission from the stunt coordinator to take some photographs of the explosion and fire.’
Mike waited until his final day of filming to ask for a picture with Tom Hanks.
He said: ‘I asked someone to take a picture of Tom and I, before asking the guy if he knew how to use the camera.
‘Tom laughed before informing me that it was actually the assistant director, Sergio Mimica, taking our picture, and I felt like such a fool.
‘He burst out laughing, shook my hand and we both parted ways.’
The film was nominated for an impressive 11 Oscars, and went on to win in five of the categories: Best Cinematography, Best Sound, Best Sound Effects Editing, Best Film Editing, and Best Director for Spielberg.
Tom Hanks was nominated for Best Actor, but was pipped by Roberto Benigni for his role as Guido Orefice in Life Is Beautiful, another WW2 film.
Mike spent roughly two months working on the private airfield from July 1997, and looks back on it as the ‘ultimate adrenaline rush’.
He said: ‘You’d be getting up at around 6am, get a bit of light breakfast, then star filming at 10am. But you’re sat around for four or five hours between takes.
‘In that time we got on with one another and larked about playing cards – just chilling out.
‘I brought a football onto set one day, a frisbee the next. We would play football vs the American lot during takes.
‘It was a bit of a laugh playing a Nazi – someone that everyone hates so much.
‘Before filming, they showed us a video of the Nazis heading into Russia to get us into the right mindset.
‘It was the ultimate adrenaline rush – but an honour to be part of a proper Hollywood blockbuster.
‘I went to the cinema quite a few times just to rewatch it.’
