Masters of the Air is a war drama miniseries created by John Shiban and John Orloff. Based on the Donald Miller book of the same name, it serves as a spiritual successor to 2001’s Band of Brothers. The series stars Anthony Boyle as real-life professor and navigator Lt. Harry Crosby. During an interview, Boyle spoke about working on the World War II drama and revealed several insights about its making.
Boyle also revealed the piece of advice the show’s team received directly from Tom Hanks, who is credited as an executive producer on the series. Given the success of the series, it is safe to say that Hanks’ advice was on point and served the team well. Here is what Anthony Boyle had to say about Tom Hanks’ advice for Masters of the Air.
Masters of the Air Star Reveals Tom Hanks’ Advice For the Band of Brothers Successor
Masters of the Air is a companion/successor series to Band of Brothers (2001) and The Pacific (2010). In the series, actor Anthony Boyle stars as Lt. Harry Crosby, alongside Austin Butler, Callum Turner, and Barry Keoghan.
Ahead of the show’s release, Boyle sat down for a conversation with the New York Post, where he discussed various aspects of the war drama in great detail. At the time, Boyle was asked whether he interacted with Tom Hanks regarding the successor series.
I remember before filming began sitting down with Tom and him telling me, Don’t lean into sentimentality or solemnity — these were boys who were just trying to do what was right.
Boyle made the above statement laying out the advice he and his co-stars received from the Academy Award-winning actor. Boyle added that despite the main characters being war heroes, Hanks insisted on focusing on their individuality and morality.
Hanks’ advice seemingly worked as Masters of the Air received mostly positive reviews. It currently holds an 85% critics approval rating on the reviews aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. As per reports, it also became Apple TV+’s most-watched series launch ever, emerging as a major success.
Anthony Boyle Talks Playing a Real-Life War Hero in Masters of the Air Role
During the same interview, Anthony Boyle also spoke about his role as Lt. Harry Crosby in the series and the preparation that went into bringing to life the real-life war hero. Crosby was a professor and navigator who served as an officer of the United States Army Air Forces in World War II, flying a total of 32 combat missions.
Boyle revealed that he extensively studied Crosby’s memoir On a Wing and a Prayer to prepare for his role in the series. The actor explained that while the Donald Miller book Masters of the Air, which serves as the source material for the series is great, it is not written from the perspective of the officers.
I just used that every day as an absolute Bible; there’s bits in it, actual scenes we shot, that he talks about in the book. And he also spoke about himself with such self-deprecating humor.
Boyle made the above statement explaining how Crosby’s memoir helped him prepare for the role and capture the spirit of his character.
The actor added that the book helped him see Crosby in the same light as the latter saw himself. Thus, Boyle’s preparation for the role further aligns with Hanks’ advice of simply portraying the real-life figures as they were.
Masters of the Air is streaming on AppleTV+.
