French terror attack heroes to act in Clint Eastwood's movie

Three real-life heroes from California will act themselves in Clint Eastwood's upcoming film "The 15:17 to Paris", a story about their own experience of thwarting a terrorist attack on a Paris-bound train with about 500 passengers in 2015.

The film has been adapted from the book "The 15:17 to Paris: The True Story of a Terrorist, a Train, and Three American Heroes" by veteran journalist Jeffrey E. Stern and the three persons, Xinhua news agency quoted the Hollywood reporter as saying on Tuesday.

When Anthony Sadler (a college student), Alek Skarlatos (an Oregon National Guardsman) and Spencer Stone (a US Air Force Airman) travelled by train from Brussels to Paris in 2015, they found a man armed with an AK47 and a knife attempting to attack.

They tackled the terrorist and saved about 500 lives on board. However, Stone was injured in the knife fight.

The experience of the three got a massive media coverage at that time, and they were lauded for the bravery.

They all were awarded with French Legion of Honour medals, the country's highest honour, and met former US President Barack Obama, who appraised them as the "best of America".

Apart from the three brave men, the other casts of the film will include Jenna Fischer, Judy Greer and Ray Corasani.

Paul-Mikel Williams, Max Ivutin, Bryce Gheisar, Cole Eichenberger and William Jennings will play the younger version of the heroes.

Eastwood is a famous American actor and director. For his work in the Western film "Unforgiven" (1992) and the sports drama "Million Dollar Baby" (2004), Eastwood won Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Picture, as well as receiving nominations for Best Actor.

He has been in the business of turning laymen heroes into big-screen fodder with his movies "Sully" and "American Sniper".

--IANS

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