Taylor Kitsch is Lt. Murphy in ‘Lone Survivor’

MANILA, Philippines- Taylor Kitsch will welcome 2014 with the film “Lone Survivor.”

Kitsch will play  Lt. Michael Murphy in the movie, which was  based on the New York Times bestselling true story of a Navy man.

The story revolves around t Lieutenant “Murph” as he was popularly known, the on-ground leader of Operation Red Wings. He’s been noted for being the Navy SEAL who stood up protecting his men until the end.

Lt. Murph and his three men were sent on a covert mission to neutralize high-level Al-Qaeda operatives , but they were ambushed by the enemy in the mountains of Afghanistan.

With all the odds they have to face, having almost no help and being around an area surrounded by war-ready Talibans, Lt. Murph’s team sticks together and fights until the end of the mission.

Portraying a character with such bravery and heroism, Kitsch felt the pressure  to give justice to his role.

“It doesn’t go away, and I’m sure the rest of the guys will say that, too.  You just try and do everything possible to do it justice.”

“It’s a beautiful, true story that needs to be told right.  It’s gutting, intense and encompasses why they do what they do, which is for each other—first and foremost.”

With the author of the novel, Marcus Luttrell, watching them on the set, Kitsch felt confident that they will be more capable of retelling the story well.

But then, what really matters for him is the value of Murph’s loved ones reaction to their film.

“When you take on something like this, you think, ‘How will Luttrell and Murph’s family react?’” he said. “You’re playing his best mate and their son, so those are the people that you want to come up to you and say, ‘Thank you,’ more than anyone else.”

“Lone Survivor,” the reunion film of Kitsch and director Peter Berg, will be in cinemas January 8, 2014.