After morphing into a World War II soldier for a new film, a Hollywood actor appears completely unrecognisable.
The new film The Last Rifleman will recount the tale of Artie Crawford, a Northern Irish World War II veteran who resolves to flee his care facility on the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy.
He then goes on a tough but inspiring trip across Ireland and over to France to pay his ultimate respects to his closest friend and find the fortitude to confront his own demons.
It is based on the actual tale of Bernard Jordan, an 89-year-old British World War II Royal Navy veteran who ‘broke out’ of his nursing home in June 2014 to attend the 70th anniversary D-Day commemorations in France.
Sir Michael Caine most recently played Bernie in the film The Great Escaper, and this new production also stars another cinematic icon.
former James Bond, Pierce Brosnan, takes on the lead position this time.
Prosthetics and a balding grey wig have allowed him to age two decades at the age of 70.
New photographs of Pierce in various situations have surfaced ahead of the film’s premiere.
In one scene, he’s suited up in a suit with his battle medals, sitting on a bench after planning his epic adventure, with the actor leaning on a walking stick and his bag next to him.
Another shows him attempting to verify his identification in what looks to be a heated exchange with immigration agents, holding up his passport and pointing at it.
The final image shows him standing up and waving to a crowd as he drives through an army installation, while members of the public cheer and a band plays.
A teaser said: ‘Pierce Brosnan as 92 year old WWII veteran Artie in The Last Rifleman will make you believe in humanity again. Artie’s epic journey to attend the anniversary of the D-Day landings is based on a true story. Coming to soon.’
Lieutenant Jordan of the Royal Navy fled from his care in Brighton after claiming officials he was ‘going out to the shops’ and instead made his way across the English Channel.
A cross-channel search and rescue operation was initiated to find him as he was attending activities with hundreds of other veterans.
His escapades were widely publicised on the front pages of newspapers at the time, earning him the moniker “The Great Escaper.”
He subsequently claimed that he was motivated to be ‘naughty and covert’ in order to pay his respects to comrades who were killed in action.
Bernie died the following January, only a week after his boyhood sweetheart Irene.
Clémence Poésy from Harry Potter, German actor Jürgen Prochnow, John Amos, Claire Rafferty from Derry Girls, and Desmond Eastwood from Normal People all appear in The Last Rifleman.
It will be published later this year.
