After starring in some of the biggest movie franchises of all-time, Australian actor Hugo Weaving has been cast as Andrew Garfield‘s father in Mel Gibson‘s “Hacksaw Ridge,” it was announced Monday.
“Hacksaw Ridge” tells the true story of conscientious objector Desmond Doss (Garfield) who, in Okinawa during the bloodiest battle of World War II, saved 75 men without firing a gun. Believing that the war was just but that killing was nevertheless wrong, he was the only American soldier during the conflict to fight on the front lines without a weapon. As an army medic, Doss single-handedly evacuated the wounded near enemy lines, braved fire while tending to soldiers and was wounded by a grenade and hit by snipers. He was the first conscientious objector to ever win the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Vince Vaughn co-stars alongside Gibson’s fellow Australian actors Sam Worthington, Luke Bracey, Teresa Palmer and Oscar nominee Rachel Griffiths, who plays Garfield’s mother.
Rounding out the cast is a mix of Australian and international talent, including Richard Roxburgh, Luke Pegler, Richard Pyros, Ben Mingay, Firass Dirani, Nico Cortez, Michael Sheasby, Goran Kleut, Jacob Warner, Harry Greenwood, Damien Thomlinson, Ben O’Toole, Benedict Hardie, Robert Morgan, Ori Pfeffer, Milo Gibson and Nathaniel Buzolic. Additional cast members will be announced soon.
“Hacksaw Ridge” is Gibson’s first film as director since the Oscar-nominated “Apocalypto” in 2006. Gibson won two Oscars for directing and producing “Braveheart,” in which he also starred. His follow-up film, “The Passion of The Christ,” earned three Academy Award nominations.
Weaving played Agent Smith in the “Matrix” trilogy and Elron in the “Lord of the Rings” and “Hobbit” franchises. He also played the Red Skull in the first “Captain America” movie and voices Megatron in the “Transformers” series. Most recently, Weaving co-starred alongside Nicole Kidman in “Strangerland” and Kate Winslet in “The Dressmaker.” He’s represented by CAA.