There are unions and things.” And he finally said, “Fine. I was like, “Senior Chief, we can’t do that. Senior Chief called me the night before and told me he wanted to lock the actor up overnight. It was the interrogation scene where the SEALS drop onto the Cristo character’s yacht.

But I do remember one scene in particular where I remembered how badass they really are and that I’m d_ glad they’re on our team. S: Ha, well I had worked with them filming a “Swcc Boat' piece, so I knew what it was like working with these guys, and what a challenge it was using real equipment and technology. L: Was there a moment where you realized working with real SEALS was a bigger challenge than you anticipated? Watch Scott’s interview with editor Ward Caroll where he elaborates on this story. I’m really happy with how that scene came out. It really opened my eyes to the silent sacrifices the spouses make that we never really think about. She talked about how you hold it together, as long as you can, and then what it feels like the moment the door closes and the reality of what’s possible hits you. They always do it at home, and so that’s where that scene came from. In their case, she never goes to the hangar to see him off. For that scene I talked extensively with Rorke and his wife.

S: You know, I spent time with the spouses, too. How did you capture that moment so accurately? For me personally, since I’m a military spouse, the goodbye scene was pretty poignant. L: The realness is reflected in every detail. That’s when we asked the SEALS to consider actually being in the film. And that’s where the “true story” really emerged and we realized we couldn’t use actors. So we took five real events and we weaved them into one story line. We wanted you to identify with them as people – not military machines. If you notice, the entire first twenty minutes you won’t see a single uniform. That’s what led us to start the movie the way we did. I spent time with their families, and I spent time just watching and interacting with them. So I spent time in Coronado with the SEALS, and I listened to their stories. They said they didn’t have one, they just liked the idea. When they came to me with the idea I asked them about the storyline they had in mind. L: The story is “based on real events.” There’s so much sensitive information when you’re dealing with Special Operations forces. But they must’ve thought I was OK, because they approached me to do the movie and I was like “Um, let me think … hell yeah!” Or I may have used a different word… It’s never comfortable when the SEALS are checking you out. I had been doing action movies and military commercials for the Navy, the Air Force, and the Army, and they apparently checked me out. Scott Waugh: It actually came from one of the SEALS.

Act of valor based on true story