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'13 Hours' Star David Denman Reveals Co-Stars' Nicknames for Each Other

'13 Hours' Star David Denman Reveals Co-Stars' Nicknames for Each Other

4:41·By Gemma G
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Actor David Denman drops by the YH Studio to fill us in on his experience filming the true life story '13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi', including intensive boot camp and weapons training and working with director Michael Bay. He also tells us about some on-set injuries sustained by himself and others, plus he reveals some of the nicknames the actors gave each other and the meanings behind them!

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Young Hollywood

There's an enormous responsibility and it's an honor to tell their story, but, you know, there's a lot of pressure to make sure you you do you do them, you know, service.

Young Hollywood

I'm Oliver Cha here on the Young Hollywood sofa, joined by this talented man, David Denman, how are you?

David Denman

I'm good, man. How are you doing?

Young Hollywood

I'm good, I'm good. It's good to see you.

David Denman

It's good to see you, too.

Young Hollywood

Wonderful. Back from Dallas.

David Denman

Back from Dallas.

Young Hollywood

Back from Dallas. Crazy premiere.

David Denman

Before you guys went and it's uh 30,000 people a premiere. Yeah, they they invited 15,000, well, they invited 30,000 thinking 15,000 would show up and 35 to 40 showed up. It's crazy. So, uh, they just kept filling the rafters and it was like, it was madness.

David Denman

None of you have to go. But we are the only help they have.

Young Hollywood

And you played you played Boon.

David Denman

I played Boon. You played Boon. Pablo played Tanto, who was a more of the the guy that makes the joke in the situation. Yeah, I I I play Boon. He's the very quiet, introspective, you know, he uh, he is the complete opposite of Tanto and they're and they're best friends, you know, they've been those guys have done a lot a number of deployments together and uh, you know, he's very uh, they call him the Zen Master and the holder of Tanto's leash, you know, and it's just like a perfect example of, you know, Tanto's there to to mouth off and give his opinion about everything in the world and uh, Boon kind of is the only one that can shut him up and quiet him down if need be.

Young Hollywood

Perfect for you. I'd describe you as a Zen Master. David Denman, the Zen Master.

David Denman

Master of the leash. Master of the leash. So that's right. I'll take it.

Young Hollywood

And you guys, you know, the the chemistry, I mean you you come across like a a small family on on screen. It's a must have been close.

David Denman

Yeah. We did. We bonded, you know. I from the from the moment we all got hired, we went away to a a boot camp, like training, and we did a lot of weapons training so we could fire all the you know, weapons we used in the movie and we also learned how to tactically move through rooms and go down streets and stuff, which all came in handy because there's scenes in the movie like uh, like there's a a scene early in the movie where we're trying to get to the top of this building so we can see the advantage point. And uh, we get there, it's like our second day of filming and Michael's like, let's go, go, go, just do it. And I'm like, what? I'm trying to walk through the building to see where I'm going to walk and he's like, no, no, what are you doing? I said, I'm I'm just figuring out where I'm going to go. And he's like, no, no. We're just going to film it. Get in there, there's cameras everywhere, so we're like rushing into this building, busting down doors, breaking glass, and he's like, yes, it's exactly what I want. I wanted it dirty and rough and so thank God we had that little training we did otherwise we would have been Right. You know, in trouble.

Young Hollywood

There were some injuries on set. Well, yeah. Did you get any yourself?

David Denman

I I uh, I hurt my wrist a little bit towards the end, but it was just minor. I mean, Pablo got beat up pretty bad. He did. Yeah, I was pretty sure. He had his ribs and uh, I that thanks to me, he was on the back of the car and I drove too fast, he fell off and Yeah. Okay. It wasn't good.

Young Hollywood

And didn't you guys give yourselves nicknames as well?

David Denman

Uh, yeah. Yeah, you heard about all that too, huh?

Young Hollywood

Sweetbeard. Am I right?

David Denman

Sweetbeard and notes we called him because he always he's constantly trying to to make the script better every day and uh, um Yeah, I don't know. Some of these are I kind of made me out these guys. Yeah, you'd go. Well, I'll just say, uh, I can tell you Pablo's uh was his nickname is Butt-rope because he uh, he

Young Hollywood

Yeah. Explain that one.

David Denman

I will explain that one. He uh pulled a muscle in his butt. Um, there's if it came out of him explaining how his back was hurting. Okay. Because he was doing all these deadlifts and he was, you know, bulking up and putting on like 20 pounds of muscle before we started filming. And then all of a sudden his back was out. I'm like, what the heck happened? And he's like, well, there's this you know, there's this uh, this muscle that's kind of like a rope goes across your butt and uh, and it's just totally torn and uh and I was like like a like a butt-rope. He's just like, yeah, yeah, like a like a butt-rope. So he became Butt-rope.

Young Hollywood

Okay. So it was Butt-rope and the boys.

David Denman

Okay. That's right.

Young Hollywood

What was yours? Did you have one? Can you tell us?

David Denman

Uh, mine was a little lamb.

Young Hollywood

Oh, David. David the little lamb. Okay. I like that. I like that. Well, check Little Lamb out in 13 hours. It's a it's a great movie and an amazing story and uh, these guys did a did an amazing job. Thank you so much.

David Denman

Thank you.

Timestamps are approximate — click one to jump the player.

PEOPLE MENTIONED

  • David Denman

    Featured actor, discussing his role and experiences.

  • Oliver Cha

    The Young Hollywood host interviewing David Denman.

  • Pablo Schreiber

    Co-star mentioned playing Tanto and receiving the nickname 'Butt-rope'.

  • Michael Bay

    Director of '13 Hours' discussed by David Denman.

FAQ

Who does David Denman play in '13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi'?+
David Denman plays the character Boon in the movie '13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi'.
What training did the cast of '13 Hours' undergo?+
The cast underwent intensive boot camp, weapons training, and learned tactical movements through rooms and streets for the film.
What was Pablo Schreiber's nickname on the set of '13 Hours'?+
Pablo Schreiber's nickname on set was 'Butt-rope,' originating from an injury where he pulled a muscle in his butt.
How did director Michael Bay film scenes in '13 Hours'?+
Michael Bay filmed scenes with a raw, immediate approach, often telling actors to 'go, go, go' and capturing unscripted action as it happened.
Did David Denman sustain any injuries during the filming of '13 Hours'?+
David Denman hurt his wrist a little bit towards the end of filming, though he considered it minor compared to others.
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