Pressure, the film about World War II and D-Day by Anthony Maras, expands its five-star cast a little further.
As France (and the world) celebrated the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings in June 2024, cinema has regularly focused on this major turning point in the Second World War. Between Saving Private Ryan by Steven Spielberg, whose opening sequence has become iconic, the legendary The Longest Day by Darryl Zanuck with his host of stars or even Patton by Franklin Schaffner, the Normandy landings had the right to its masterpieces.
Some filmmakers have even recounted their own experiences, such as Samuel Fuller in 1980 with Beyond Glory. While this will never happen again (unless a veteran suddenly decides to become a filmmaker), the landing remains a fascinating subject for Hollywood. Thus, the film Pressure directed by Anthony Maras is currently in production with an impressive cast including Andrew Scott, Brendan Fraser and Kerry Condon. And precisely, Two more actors have just joined the war film.
Chris Messina et Damian Lewis under Pressure
According to DeadlineChris Messina and Damian Lewis will indeed join the film Pressure. Chris Messina has regularly starred in Ben Affleck’s films (Argo, Live by Night et Air), but he is best known for his roles on the small screen. He has notably played in several seasons of Damages, The Newsroom, Sharp Objects and was most notably nominated for a Critic’s Choice Award in the 2010s for his role in The Mindy Project. Most recently he played the villainous Victor Zsasz in Birds of Prey and he will soon appear in Clint Eastwood’s next film: Juror No 2.
Damian Lewis, for his part, obviously exploded in the eyes of the general public with his role as Marine in the series Homeland. But more fun, he had a role in the Tom Hanks and Spielberg series Band of Brothers which was just returning to… the Landing, already (moreover, Andrew Scott also appeared in it). To be more precise, Chris Messina will play the meteorologist Irving P. Krick in Pressure and Lewis will play Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery.
As a reminder, here is the synopsis of Pressure :
“In the seventy-two hours leading up to D-Day, British chief meteorologist James Stagg is called upon to provide the most important forecast in history so that the Allies can land on the Normandy beaches.”
The film is slated for 2025 at this point, but it doesn’t have an official release date yet. Until then, for history buffs, the huge Netflix-Pathé production De Gaulle by Antonin Baudry should be released in 2025 too and it would not be surprising if he also evokes the landing. The cast will include Simon Abkarian, Niels Schneider, Anamaria Vartolomei, Karim Leklou, Benoit Magimel and Thierry Lhermitte.
