MEMORIES O F CHADWICK
“His last text to me was telling me to keep going”
MISCHA WEBLEY (ABOVE, FAR LEFT; DIRECTOR, THE KILL HOLE)
I FIRST MET Chadwick on a casting call for The Kill Hole . We saw dozens of actors for the two lead roles, but it was very clear when we walked away that he had to be in the film, one way or the other. What really stood out about Chadwick is that he was committed in a way that’s rare. He will completely absorb the character; everything from how they talk, to a lot of subtext that you’ll never actually see, all the way up to the physical training.
We shot mountain scenes in the Pacific Northwest. Most of the crew and cast would go and stay at a nearby town, but my DoP and camera guy camped out to get some cool shots of sunsets and sunrises. I remember Chadwick wanted to camp a night or two, but we didn’t let him because we wanted him to be better rested! He wasn’t a pampered actor. He was friends with everyone, from the production assistants to the grips.
We shot group therapy scenes with real veterans and Chadwick really became one of the guys. There was a point, not in the film, where he apologised to them for just being an actor and pretending to be one of them, considering the intensity of their experience. It was really emotional. He really felt that he had a duty to do them justice, as he did. But the vulnerability he showed them allowed all these other guys’ vulnerability to show, too, so they could talk about what was really going on for them. That was one of his gifts — his warmth and
