WEST HOLLYWOOD — Chris Hemsworth knows plenty about superheroes, and with Friday’s “12 Strong,” he learned about real ones as well.
Spotlighting a Special Forces unit that went to Afghanistan soon after 9/11 to hunt and destroy al-Qaeda, “12 Strong” follows this dirty dozen led by Hemsworth’s “Capt. Mitch Nelson,” a pseudonym.
The soldiers team with an Afghan tribal chief, Gen. Dostum (Navid Negahban, “Homeland”), and enter mountainous enemy territory on horseback.
“I’ve done a lot of stuff in the comic book world and fantasy, and that’s a lot of fun, but I desperately wanted to do something with more heart,” Hemsworth, 34, said at a London Hotel press conference.
“Then this script came along few years ago, and I couldn’t believe it was a true story. I knew a lot about this war, but not about this mission.
“I was fascinated by the details and spoke with the real guys, who have such honesty and lack of ego or dramatization as they recount these events. It was an honor to be asked to play this character, but I felt the weight.”
Author Doug Stanton, whose book is the basis for “12 Strong,” explained, “Special Forces soldiers are diplomats on the ground. People drop behind enemy lines to foment resistance. They are almost Jedi knights trying to do a mind meld.
“So Chris’ relationship with Navid is important. This is America working best to affect social change. It’s an interesting, complex movie that way.”
Hemsworth noted, “The way these soldiers were able to adapt to this world and work with the local people and not against them, and the brotherhood among the soldiers and the Afghan people is something that was evident and inspiring.
“A big thing I took away from this experience — this from the real guys — was how important it was when they got there, for their survival, to tell the local people they weren’t there to occupy but fight against the same enemy.”
Similarly, when Hemsworth was filming in Albuquerque, “People who were Afghan refugees working on the movie in New Mexico came up to me and said, ‘It’s important to know we’re on the same side. I fought against the Taliban, and everybody here thinks I’m a terrorist.’
“That was something the soldiers on this mission were intent on doing: collaboration.”
