Skipper Of “The Last Ship” Looks To Help Families Of The Fallen
TNT's "The Last Ship" was a surprise hit last year, earning the loyalty of civilians and service members alike with a mix of great characters, intriguing plots, and technical accuracy. The last element, of course, is the one that always seems to trip up the military crowd because Hollywood is notorious for taking creative license with technical details and plot lines in the pursuit of "entertainment." And while "The Last Ship" is no "Das Boot," the series does pride itself on accuracy.
To whatever degree TNT's "The Last Ship" is able to "get it right" real Navy-wise, veteran actor Eric Dane, who plays Commander Tom Chandler, the commanding officer of the USS Nathan James (DDG 151), credits the close working relationship between the show's writers and the Navy officials in LA and at the Pentagon who are charged with making sure the sea service is well and accurately represented.
"There is no tension between the two camps," Dane said from the podium in the Pentagon's press briefing room. "If the Navy doesn't like something we change it."
That sort of cooperation is unusual if not unprecedented. Hollywood is motivated by commercial success, the thing that keeps the lights on around Century City and Burbank. The Department of Defense has other goals in mind.
"We judge the efforts we'll support by two main criteria," said Phil Strub, DoD's director of entertainment media. "Whether they'll paint the U.S. military in a fair light, and whether they'll help recruiting."
The tension between those two motivations historically has been an issue in that Hollywood has a tendency to find technical accuracy superfluous and boring and the Pentagon finds Hollywood's fictions insulting. However in recent months that tension has seemed to mitigate in the face of commercial success like that of "American Sniper," a movie that prides itself on accuracy and, more so, presenting military service in a more honest, apolitical, light.
"The goal of 'The Last Ship' is to show what the Navy does each and every day," Dane said. "It's my honor to go to the set and put on my blue digi-cams and play Commander Tom Chandler."
Dane also allowed that – even in an era of computer-generated imagery – "The Last Ship" needs the U.S. Navy to succeed. "We need a real destroyer," he said.
Beyond the hardware there are myriad details to nail down. "I thought the medical world had a lot of acronyms and jargon," Dane said, referring to his popular role as Dr. Mark 'McSteamy' Sloan in the hit TV show 'Grey's Anatomy. "The military has a lot more."
"The Last Ship" has been popular enough to earn a second season, which is scheduled to air on TNT in June.
Dane's recent visit to the Pentagon was to thank the DoD public affairs officials for their work that has informed the show's success. He was also there to announce that he is throwing his celebrity weight behind the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), the national organization for all of those grieving the loss of a fallen service member.
Dane knows how it feels to lose a family member to military service. When he was seven his father was killed while serving in the Navy.
"I lost my military dad at a very young age," Dane said. "Dealing with that loss has been a very big part of my life."
"TAPS has been blessed with an effective network over the years, including the voices of Hollywood," director and founder Bonnie Carroll said. "We're very happy to be connected with Eric Dane who takes his role as Commander Tom Chandler very seriously. He portrays the Navy in the absolute best light."
"Bonnie has been there for over 13 years," said Rene Carbone Bardorf, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Community and Public Outreach. "When the funerals for the fallen are over and life stands still for the survivors TAPS has been very effective in giving them a sense of purpose and helping them make it though. Eric's involvement is a great example of that. We are all a part of one military family, that one percent."
Both Carroll and Dane admitted they haven't quite figured out what form the actor's support of TAPS will take, but if his impact with the crowd in the Pentagon's briefing room was any indication, it will be effective whatever it is.
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