10 More War Movie Actors Who Were Actually There

10. Jerry Della Salla - Green Zone

Jerry Della Salla might not be the most prolific actor going, but he did have a notable role in Paul Greengrass' underrated Iraq War thriller, Green Zone, which co-starred Matt Damon. Set during the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of the country, Green Zone focuses on the botched intel regarding Saddam Hussein's suspected Weapons of Mass Destruction program, which served as a key pretext for military action.

Della Salla starred in Green Zone as Platoon Sergeant Wilkins, a member of Damon's CBRN unit stationed in Baghdad during and in the immediate aftermath of the initial coalition invasion. Della Salla had trained as an actor in the 1990s and starred in several independent films, but decided to enlist in the United States Army following the September 11 attacks. He first saw combat in Iraq, most notably in the Battle of Abu Ghraib, before eventually he returned to the U.S. and resumed his acting career, working as both a technical advisor and as an actor on multiple productions.

Of these, Green Zone is arguably the one that has landed closest to Della Salla's wartime record. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter in 2018, the former sergeant spoke candidly of his experience shooting Green Zone, recalling exchanges with crewmembers who were oblivious to his service, as well as shooting sequences that hit close to home:

"On the set it was a hodgepodge of looting and things imploding all around you, and it sounded like real artillery fire... “It was a challenge to deal with all of that again, and I’m thankful as an actor I was able to get through it. It was surreal, restorative and therapeutic.”