Here is your guide to the heroes of Saving Private Ryan, and the talented ensemble that portrays them. Miller is joined by a brave squad that accompanies his critical mission. Department of War feels obliged to spare Ryan’s parents more tragedy, and assigns Captain John Miller ( Tom Hanks) to find their last surviving son.
Saving Private Ryan follows a dangerous mission to rescue the young Private James Francis Ryan ( Matt Damon), whose three brothers were killed in the storming of Omaha Beach that the film had so realistically depicted. The film famously lost Best Picture to Shakespeare in Love in a shocking upset. After taking home Best Picture and Best Director five years prior for Schindler’s List, Spielberg won his second Academy Award for Best Director. Army in 1941 and served as a communications officer and radio operator for the 490th Bomb Squadron. Spielberg dedicated the film to his father Arnold, who had enlisted in the U.S. Praised by veterans for its realism, much of the film’s narrative was inspired by actual stories of heroism. Saving Private Ryan is a World War II classic, and one of the pinnacle achievements of Steven Spielberg’s incredible career.
