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In the world of blockbuster entertainment and critical success, no one rivals the mastery of Steven Spielberg. Notwithstanding the technical ingenuity of James Cameron and the interstellar scientific imagination of George Lucas, Spielberg stands – to this day – as the only Hollywood director to spread out his wings across (almost) every genre and master it without leaving any room for doubts.

Steven Spielberg at the 2017 SDCC [Photo: Gage Skidmore]

Steven Spielberg at the 2017 SDCC [Photo: Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia Commons]Starting with the aquatic creature horror inJaws,his xenomorphic explorations viaE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,the Nazi-hunting adventurer inIndiana Jones, the World War biopic inSchindlerʼs List, the awe-inspiring age of dinosaurs inJurassic Park, sci-fi dystopia inMinority Report, and musical theater adaptation ofWest Side Story– no one does variety better than Steven Spielberg.

As such, it came as a surprise when the visionary director decided to compose a three-part story stretching over 20 years revolving around those who fought gloriously in World War II. The purpose of such a story was far beyond what anyone could have guessed. However, it was a necessary investment tied to a just cause that helped etch the struggle and loss suffered by the countryʼs bravest soldiers in the annals of history and in the medium that Spielberg knew best how to use.

Dominic Cooper as Jesse Custer in Preacher [Credit: Sony Pictures/AMC]

Dominic Cooper Was Terrified of Steven Spielbergʼs Series

Dominic Coopermay have made his mark on modern pop culture viaMamma Mia!andMamma Mia! Here We Go Againbut one cannot underestimate Cooperʼs star power due to his lack of filmography. With roles spread all over the board, Cooper has accumulated a vast and well-deserved following due to his appearance in MCU as a young Howard Stark and as the titular lead in the DC adaptation ofPreacher.

Dominic Cooper as Jesse Custer inPreacher[Credit: Sony Pictures/AMC]However, even such heavy-handed roles that define an actorʼs career cannot determine how one might serve under pressure. As a newly-minted actor, Dominic Cooperʼs involvement with aSteven Spielbergseries was similarly affected by the stress of scoring his first-ever acting gig and doubts of inadequacy on a competitive set. In a July 2018interview withThe Guardian, Cooper recalled:

“He said I could”: Seth Rogen Almost Played 1 Iconic Role in Unmade Preacher Movie That Was Originally Planned by James Bond Director

I’d never been on a film set and I was terrified. [It was] an incredible project [but I was] very young and very sad. It was all to do with my own insecurities. It was camaraderie, competition and masculinity at its highest level. I just wasn’t ready for it. Luckily I got other work quite quickly. It could have been quite damaging. I could have gone, ‘Nah, this isn’t for me.’

“He said I could”: Seth Rogen Almost Played 1 Iconic Role in Unmade Preacher Movie That Was Originally Planned by James Bond Director

The HBO series went on to launch the careers of such character actors as Michael Fassbender, Tom Hardy, Damian Lewis, James McAvoy, Andrew Scott, Simon Pegg, and Dexter Fletcher. But despite his withdrawal from the opportunity of a lifetime, one cannot completely fault Cooper for stepping out onBand of Brothers, considering he did so to preserve his sense of individuality.

Steven Spielberg Records History in a Three-Part HBO Series

Band of Brothers[Credit: HBO]The master of film, Steven Spielberg, was no stranger to expressing stories of great value and extraordinary imagination and compressing them into a 2-hour story feasible for mass consumption. But when it came to the subject of horror and tragedy, the records spoke a different tale. The narrative was no longer about the surrealism and creativity that made Spielbergʼs films so great.

Masters of the Air Has Already Teased What Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks Need for the Next Band of Brothers Continuation That Can Be a Television Landmark

Instead, it was about the historical accuracy and documentation of real lives slain and the tremendous losses suffered during the Great Wars of the 20th century. Steven Spielbergʼs ability to bring out the horrors and futility of war was expressed masterfully inSaving Private Ryan, and it was the effort of the star of that film, Tom Hanks, that served to further bring out the untold tales of heroism and bravery of soldiers in an age where superheroes hold more credibility than real people.

Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks on the sets ofSaving Private Ryan[Credit: DreamWorks/Paramount Pictures]In time,Tom Hanksand Steven Spielberg constructed a three-part saga told from the perspective of land:Band of Brothers(2001), sea:The Pacific(2010), and air:Masters of the Air(2024). Spread out over 23 years,the stories adapted from biographies and documented eventsgive a peek into the reality of our past and how justice and morality prevailed over violence and persecution.

Band of Brothers [Credit: HBO]

Band ofBrothers,ThePacific, andMasters of the Airare available for watching on Max and Apple TV.

Diya Majumdar

Senior Writer

Articles Published :2410

Diya Majumdar is a Senior Content Writer at FandomWire with over 2000 published articles on the website. Since 2022, she has been working as an entertainment journalist with a special focus on films and pop culture.Among the countless genres and themes of Hollywood, the ones that particularly favor Diya’s tastes include Game of Thrones, DC, and well-aged thrillers and classics.

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Band of BrothersDominic CooperSteven Spielberg

Masters of the Air Has Already Teased What Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks Need for the Next Band of Brothers Continuation That Can Be a Television Landmark