The ‘Masters of the Air’ actor reveals how he aced his audition and rose to the role of ‘Lt. Harry Crosby’.
Apple TV’s mini-series Masters of the Air has certainly taken off. With an 85% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and three nominations for the upcoming Primetime Emmy Awards, audiences were clearly gripped by the dangers faced and relationships forged between the 100th Bombardment Group during their airborne missions in World War II.
Anthony Boyle (Shardlake, Say Nothing, and recently announced to be joining the cast of House of Guinness) played ‘Lt. Harry Crosby’ – based on the real-life US officer who flew 32 combat missions.
At the CDG Awards 2024, we had the chance to ask Anthony about his audition for Masters of the Air, what drew him to the role, and how he prepared for it. Here’s what he shared:
Hi Anthony! Can you tell us more about the audition process for ‘Masters of the Air’?
They had seen me in a show I’d done called The Plot Against America a few years previously, and I played this cocky Jewish kid and they asked me to do a random role in the show. I sent over the tape and it was like a bad James Dean impression. And then they sent me a clip of the character ‘Crosby’, who I ended up playing, and I just fell in love with him as soon as I saw him.
[In] this clip of him speaking – a 10 minute clip – he seemed so unique, he seemed so bizarre. It seemed like every other character on the page was in Band of Brothers and Crosby was in an Adam Sandler movie. He was nervous, he was throwing up on people. So I really wanted to play him.
How did you prepare for the role of ‘Lt. Harry Crosby’?
He had written a book called ‘On a Wing and a Prayer’, which is like a memoir of him in war. I just read that constantly. I had clips of him speaking.
We’d done a three-week bootcamp where we had an old army general call us maggots every day and make us do push-ups. So he got us into shape and got us into the mental space that we needed to be there to play these brave men.
Thank you, Anthony, for your insight into this fantastic role and series! ‘Masters of the Air’ is available to watch in the UK on Apple TV+.
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