6 Days is a 2017 action thriller film based on the real events of April 1980 when armed gunmen (including Fantastic Four star Jamie Bell) launched an attack on the Iranian Embassy in London, which led to the hostage-taking of 26 individuals.
It’s satisfying to see Jamie Bell in Toa Fraser’s movie, who has transformed from his previous man-child roles to a mature character. He portrays a SAS soldier leading a team prepared for a hostage situation. But he wasn’t comfortable with the amount of “machismo” for his character in the film.
Fantastic Four Star Jamie Bell was Uncomfortable with the Exaggerated Masculinity of his Character in 6 Days
In an interview with the Guardian, Jamie Bell talked about his training to play the leader of the SAS team in a new thriller based on the 1980 Iranian embassy siege. When an interviewer asked Bell, “Was it fun to play a hardman with a handlebar mustache?” the actor replied, “Not really,” because he was uncomfortable with the exaggerated masculinity. Look what he said:
“Not really. That isn’t my world at all, machismo; that isn’t where I feel comfortable. I liked the human elements: they were in there for six days, ready to go and blow stuff up, but they were just drinking tea and watching snooker. So that’s insane: what kind of training have you had that you’re so disassociated from the thing you’re about to do?”
No doubt, there’s a reason why Bell felt uncomfortable, and whatever he said has a strong point. The Without Remorse star had also endured intense training for Toa Fraser’s film that left him deeply traumatized — to the point where he felt “terrified” to his core.
Fantastic Four Star Jamie Bell Had to Undergo Intense Training to Prepare for His Character in 6 Days
In an interview with Time Out, Jamie Bell said that he has never been in a fight, even as a kid. He has always avoided conflict throughout his life. But while making the film, he spent five days training with the SAS. In the same conversation with the Guardian, he said:
“We did five days of running through buildings with people shooting at us. They’d make us do a bunch of pull-ups on a bar before we ate food. They would shout at us and tell us to do it faster, and have us run a circuit in the amount of time it took them to clear the building. I was terrified, I was like: “Stop firing those fucking guns at me.” It was intense. I mean, I say it was intense – to be fair, it wasn’t even like a real boot camp.”
While training at the end, the SAS advisor in the film said to Bell: “You’re the team leader, you tell them what to do.” The actor then started thinking: “I’m not a leader, I’m an actor. I don’t know how to tell people what to do, I’m always told what to do.”
Indeed, though it wasn’t his style (the character he played in 6 Days), Bell still did hard work and underwent intense training to play his role. Alongside all the physical training, he also took the initiative to mentally prepare for his role. He went to speak with the real Rusty (the person he played) to know about his experience and what he took away from it.
Watch 6 Days on Netflix.
