Strakan Film Casting

Captain Charles McVay
Age: 47

McVay is a good-looking career navy man. Quite suave and poised on ship, some describe him as aloof. Others found him affable. In his early days he dated Hollywood starlets and a Hawaiian princess. 

He swims hard to safety before finding a raft that he spends the next five days on and around. Doesn’t need to dive but should be a good swimmer if possible. Look and acting ability is more important.

McVay keeps the men on his raft organised and disciplined. He has moments of regret and wonders if he should have gone down with the ship. He fears rescue as much as death. He knows the Navy will blame him for the sinking – and he is proven right. They stitch him up. 

The actor who plays McVay needs to be able to deliver pieces of his testimony in a debriefing scene. Confident as if he is remembering being there.

Giles McCoy (Marine)
Age: 19 /20 (Looks older in photos I’ve seen from the time)
From: St Louis Missouri

Quite cocky and tough. From his photo he looks like he’s been around the block a bit; likeably streetwise. Actually he is fastidious and competitive but even he has moments in the water when he thinks about giving up. Then he thinks about his mother’s pumpkin pie and decides to hold on. (Honest!)

Took part in marine assault in Peleliu, dead bodies everywhere, vicious fighting, some hand to hand – he survived and made it on board the Indianapolis.

‘sharp eyes of a boy, but the quick grimace of a man’. 

Some diving preferable – he has a scene where he is sucked underwater and then rises back up surrounded by air bubbles. Fit and lean.

Again McCoy will also have debriefing scene.

Commander Lewis Haynes (Doctor)
Age: 33
From Chelsea, Mass.

He has no raft and bobs around in a life jacket for five days! A tough call for a caring popular guy who is not as fit as some of the younger men. He tries to look after the men in the water but ends up just being a coroner. Buries so many men he now can’t hear the Lord’s Prayer without crying. Not a complete softy though, can be quite dry and practical.

Harlan Twible (Young Officer)
Age: 23
From Michigan City, IN.

Fit, strong and smart, Twible is fresh out of officer school and suddenly finds himself in a group of men in the water in need of discipline. He tries to give them that based on his short Navy training. He tries to instil order, threatens men with court martial for selfishly hoarding supplies. Has limited success but grows in character during the ordeal. Some of the guys he’s with in the water think he’s a bit hard work, but Twible is one of the few who hold it together throughout the five days. He doesn’t sleep but prays a lot privately. He orders men to keep a shark watch but is as terrified as everyone else when they are attacked.

Spends most of his time on or near a raft but needs to be quite confident in the water.

He features heavily in the debrief so needs to be able to learn short pieces. Or improvise around the script.

Woody James
Age: 23
From: Mobile Alabama

An affable man with several years experience in the Navy. He and his buddy Newhall see themselves as slightly older hands. When a younger guy can’t jump off the sinking ship – they throw him. Woody sees a lot of carnage and shark attacks. When men start to hallucinate he manages to shake it off. By the end he is very weak.

Woody’s experience in the water revolves around his relationship with his buddy Jim Newhall. They go over the side together and spend most of the time in the water together.

No raft action until the very end so needs to be a swimmer – does have a life jacket though.

Woody features in the debrief so needs to be able to sit and deliver.

Jim Newhall
Age: 22
From: Phoenix AZ

Jim is the tougher part of the double act with Woody. He’s slightly younger but plays the older brother. 

Jim is a strong swimmer, even at the end when he forces his way onto a raft and makes the occupants row over and save Woody.

Newhall features in the debrief so needs to be able to sit and deliver.

Cozell Smith
Age: 20/1 (looks older)
From: Eufaula, OK

Smith looks like a blond shaven headed member of a boy band but he is tough and very fit. And clever. His testimony is very good.

When the ship sinks Smith has to support a boy called Dronet who cannot swim. They both almost drown until they find a life jacket.

Smith is in a group of men on a floater net. He needs to be able to swim well and dive experience would be good. (Again look and acting ability most important though).

A shark takes Smith underwater by his left hand. Smith goes down about fifteen feet. Eventually he uses his right hand to poke the shark in the eye. He is released and makes it back to the net, but his comrades kick, punch and stab him away. They don’t want his injuries attracting sharks.

Jack Miner
Age: 19
From: Glencoe, IL

Radio technician. At the moment quite a small part, but he is the man in the radio room when the SOS message is sent. Tries to reassure men that message has gone.

Physically he’s dark haired with a strange looking goatee that may not be regulation! Will check to see when he grew it.

LD Cox
Age: 19
From: Comanche, Texas

Cox doesn’t have a big role but the interview he gave 6 years ago is lively. We’ll give the actor playing Cox some of his actual testimony to perform in the debriefing room. 

You could see down twenty feet in that clear water. And their old eyes were lazy and they were just slow, and then they were just like lightning, they’d come up. And hit somebody and tear ‘em, tear 'em down. And uh, they d scream an awful, awful cry. And then blood'd, be, water d be red. You know?

Cox spent the entire time in the water with just a life jacket so some swimming would be good.

Dronet
Age 18
From: Lousiana / Texas

Gives testimony about floating like a plank to avoid being attacked by sharks. Thought through his survival tactics well. He held on to Cozell Smith after the sinking because he (Dronet) couldn’t swim.

Interviewer
Age: 30s or 40s? Could be anybody

Fictional character to ask questions of Indianapolis crew in debriefing.

THE ABOVE ARE THE MAIN SPEAKING ROLES. THERE ARE A FEW OTHERS BUT MOST OF THEIR DIALOGUE WILL PROBABLY BE IMPROVISED WITH ACTION IN THE WATER.

We’re also looking for men as supporting artists – maybe thirty or forty on one or two days.