Rob Riggle on Playing Lieutenant Colonel Bowers

Harry: “So you play Lieutenant Colonel Bowers, and this is unbelievable, you worked for Lieutenant Colonel Bowers, in real life?” Rob: “Yeah, it’s a crazy little story. I’ll try to give you the ‘Reader’s Digest’ version. Basically, after 9/11, I was here in New York, my reserve unit, I was activated and worked out of Ground Zero on rubble piles and bucket brigade, moving rubble by hand, all that stuff. I was a Captain at that time and I was mad when it was over and so I volunteered to go back on active duty. Central Command picked me up on Nov. 10, Marine Corps birthday of 2001. I reported Nov. 17 and Nov. 30 I was in Afghanistan and when I got there I reported to this very unit, the one that’s in the movie. I reported to Lieutenant Colonel Max Bowers. He was my boss, my direct boss. I briefed him every morning, briefed him every night and now I’m playing him in the movie. It’s crazy.”