Buck compton book professional#

Two weeks later an administrative assistant tracked her down for me.

All I could say was, “You’re so tall.” All she said was, “And you’re American.” We talked for awhile, but the next day I was off to boot camp. She was doing PR for various clubs and just happened to be working the door for guest lists. She stood 6’3” tall and wore this black leather coat from head to heels. The first day we were out at a pub and I noticed an incredibly beautiful South African woman. Any time I start touting my own horn, I can literally feel Buck at my shoulder saying: “What are you doing?”Ī few months after I met Buck I flew over to London to start filming Band of Brothers. If you do something great, that doesn’t mean you’re great-that’s one thing I take from Buck. Yet Buck excelled in every way and shrugged off his accomplishments like they were no big deal. People always want to be noticed for any above-average act. Nowadays, my goodness, people celebrate mediocrity to death-any little accomplishment is met with huge self-applause. Over and over again, he said he just did his job. He shook hands with me with these huge hands of his, just the size of canned hams, and ordered a five-egg omelet, his appetite for breakfast reflective of his appetite for life. I had never seen a picture of him, yet when he walked into the restaurant, instantly I knew it was him. He had already eaten, he said, but he’d have another. He offered to meet in a restaurant for breakfast. I arrived in the morning and called Buck. I wanted to meet Buck in person, so I flew up to Washington State where he lives. The first thing I did was phone my dad to tell him the good news: “I got Band of Brothers.” Two months later I received the call of a lifetime. Tom asked me to come back the next day and read for the role of Buck. Tom Hanks read with me and immediately diffused any nervousness I was feeling. Initially, I auditioned for a much smaller part than the role of Buck Compton-I don’t even remember what it was. Maybe I should take up that.Ī friend of mine called me to audition for Band of Brothers. In early 2000, I decided to move from Hollywood back to Cape Cod, MA, where I grew up.

Buck compton book professional#

To explain: before I did Band of Brothers, I had been acting in professional roles for about a decade but hadn’t done anything major, just independent films and smaller roles on TV. My life is exceedingly blessed today, and Buck has played a large role in that. Also, I would never have met my wife, Ruvé Robertson, with whom I have two wonderful children, Morgan and Catherine, if it hadn’t been for Buck. Portraying him marked my big break as an actor. When you consider the scope of what he’s done-college sports star, paratrooper, detective, attorney, judge-if a person does just one of those things, you’d say it’s an accomplishment. Not only did he serve his country well in the war, but he went on to do exemplary things in life. Buck never likes being called a hero, but that’s what he is to me. It was an absolute honor to portray him in Band of Brothers, and that’s an understatement. I would do anything in the world for Buck Compton. I'll let you know when I get my copy.īut more amazing is the epilogue written by the actor who played Buck in BoB.