It's rare for a television miniseries to carry as much weight and anticipation as masters of the air does. When the Apple TV+ series premieres on Friday, January 26, it will fly after not only its two classic predecessors, but also the true story it represents. Which makes it the perfect project for ConsequenceThe first Hollywood-based cover story, Masters of the air: The brothers of the bloody number 100.
Both Brothers band and The Pacific, the earlier World War II epics from executive producers Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman, became launching pads for numerous future Hollywood stars. The first gave rise to Damian Lewis, Michael Fassbender, Scott Grimes, Tom Hardy, Colin Hanks, James McAvoy, Neal McDonough and even Simon Pegg; the latter had the likes of Rami Malek, Jon Bernthal, Joseph Mazzello and Josh Helman. As masters of the air As star Barry Keoghan says, every time a “new generation of actors” gets their chance on a project like this, “it feels like a moment.”
Capitalizing on that moment this time alongside Keoghan are the likes of Austin Butler, Callum Turner, Nate Mann, Anthony Boyle, Rafferty Law, Ncuti Gatwa and others. Some of those names have already been favorites for some time, but many of them are young talents who have been eager for an opportunity like masters of the air. We wanted to know what it was like for these men, many of whom grew up in the industry influenced by Brothers band – to be part of something so huge, with so many expectations, so early in their careers.
What we learned was that while it was about the opportunity to put “I worked with Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg” on their resumes, it was about honoring the real-life heroes they were playing. The series is based on the book by Donald L. Miller. Masters of the Air: The American Bombers Who Fought in the Air War Against Nazi Germany, and the word “children” has a lot of meaning. We think that wars are fought by men, but as Hanks said in the Teachers premiere, “Think of them like children.” They were 17 and 18 year old boys, sent abroad to risk their lives, watch their friends die, grow up faster than anyone should, all for a cause that was bigger than themselves.
There's no real comparison between the pressure on actors and the real soldiers they play, but the idea of these individuals joining in the service of something greater has parallels. For the soldiers, it was about fighting evil and protecting the values they held above all else. For the actors, it was about properly honoring the ideals and sacrifices of those soldiers.
Read how the cast approached that responsibility by reading Masters of the air: The brothers of the bloody number 100. You can also see the Consequence Cover the war boys below and keep your eyes on the Consequence social platforms for more exclusive videos and photos.
masters of the air debuts Friday, January 26 on Apple TV+.
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