"Love the Imperial War Museum…it’s brilliant, it’s so good."

George Mackay: We did loads of research. I think like first and foremost day any character or at least for myself I think you kind of understand it via it yourself and then it's about filling your brain and everything else with the context around it to kind of work out how you how you would act in that or they would act in that world. So we came to the Imperial War Museum we were there's so much amazing literature. We went to the war sites and graves and monuments, and museums in France and we went to eat in Belgium. We did military training every day so because we were rehearsing the film for about six months before we started and the beginning of each day was with our military advisers, pulpitis and the armory team, Jason, Joss and just getting our hands around all the gear. So it was a kind of constant gradual you know a gradual, just bit-by-bit just piecing it together constantly. The war poets was a way into it because the situation was so surreal I think, there's just there's so much that you can that you can learn and not just saying but the Imperial War Museum, it's the best place to start,

Dean-Charles Chapman: That's the first place I went. Literally, wake up, found out I got the part, went straight there, and I've never been there before so I was always excited to go and in that First World War section as well really, I went there the other day again like when we was there yesterday, so loved the Imperial War Museum. So good, you know, and I read a book called the Western Front Diaries, which is snippets of diary entries of the soldiers, and I actually found that my great-great-grandfather had a diary entry in that book, so I read that.

Dennis Gassner the production designer, who created the sets of the film, and you know Sam, the director, had a very clear vision of what the story we were telling. and you know it was very immersive on set. let alone watching it. and everything felt real you know none of it felt like a movie set or plastic you know. They were real trenches actually dug into the floor, you know and then when you put extras in costume and fill the trench up with hundreds of men and you look down that trench and it's raining and the atmosphere is how it would have been, the conditions are terrible, it touches you, it gives you a bit of a reality check, and you know you realize how good you've got it today. Yeah but you know once you put the gear on and you'd step in the trench, you instantly just were in that mindset, it was easy to switch it on.

[Music]

George Mackay: Trying to understand the experience personally, via kind of personal accounts, listening and reading personal accounts, and then playing these soldiers ourselves, it puts into perspective the scale of the loss of life, because once you sort of start to understand it on a more personal level, you then, when you consider it was millions, that's that has kind of has never hit home quite in the same way. I think I've been shocked by the numbers but it's been a number, it's not been, I've not attached it, I've not had an understanding or insight into the personal loss, so that was a real kind of awakening.

Film: "They're walking into a trap. Your orders are to deliver a message calling off tomorrow morning's attack".

Dean-Charles Chapman: I mean first I think it's important to sort of learn from you know, human history and you know correct ourselves as we go along in history and learn from the mistakes and the good things and the bad things but, you know, those men that fought in that war literally sacrificed everything. They had and you know the more you look into the First World War it just makes you want to cry, just talking about it you know, and I think that's one thing I hope people take away from watching the film is that I hope it sort of inspires them to look at their own ancestors' history.

Learning about the personal stories of those who fought in the First World War and visiting IWM London’s First World War Galleries helped actors Dean-Charles Chapman and George MacKay prepare for their roles as soldiers in the new film 1917.

The pair play Lance Corporals sent to deliver an urgent message in April 1917, . Although fictional, the film draws upon stories told to director Sam Mendes by his grandfather and the personal accounts of others who were involved in the war, including those held in IWM’s collections. They also visited the museum in person to learn more.

‘That’s the first place I went, literally. The week I found out I got the part, I went straight there….it’s brilliant, it’s so good,’ Chapman said.

Find out more

First World War Galleries
© IWM
Permanent Gallery
IWM London

First World War Galleries

Permanent
Krysty Wilson-Cairns on writing 1917 Thumbnail
First World War

Krysty Wilson-Cairns on writing 1917

Watch our interview with Krysty to learn more about her research process and why we should learn the stories of what happened during the First World War. 

The making of 1917 Thumbnail
First World War

The making of 1917

Hear actors Mark Strong (Captain Smith), Daniel Mays (Sgt Sanders) and Andrew Scott (Lieut. Leslie) describe how they prepared for their roles in the film – and how film can help us connect with a conflict that took place more than 100 years ago.