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After losing close friends and being wounded in a mortar attack during his tour of duty in Iraq, Jerry Della Salla felt that his acting ambitions seemed trivial by comparison. He was also deeply troubled by media portrayals of soldiers as bloodthirsty and wasn't sure he'd be willing to play a military part. Though not an advocate of war, "I do want to communicate the soldier's experience," he told Back Stage in July 2007 ("Theatre of War"). "It's especially important in the entertainment industry, where snap judgments are made. I hope to go back to acting at some point—but not now. I'd rather come in as a military consultant."Time has passed, but Della Salla says his views on that topic have not changed, which explains his initial reluctance to play an American soldier in "Green Zone," an action thriller set in Iraq during the early years of the war.

British native Paul Greengrass' rewarding career of directing small dramatic productions soon exploded when he helmed the 2002 drama Bloody Sunday. The documentary style he chose for his depiction of Northern Irish anti-internment activists was surprisingly realistic and made a successful transition to the action genre when he stepped in as Doug Liman's replacement to helm The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum. The success of those sequels turned the original Bourne film into a franchise and made Greengrass a household name. In between productions he directed the first major film about 9/11, United 93 and his style became both acclaimed and controversial. Greengrass steps away from popcorn entertainment with his new thriller Green Zone which tells the true life story of an American Army officer seraching for Wmd's as well as answers during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Though the film reteams him with Matt Damon, it is not a...