United by their love of the sport and their admiration for the US Olympic Hockey Team, West and his fellow cast mates underwent gruelling training sessions as part of process. Those sessions helped develop the chemistry needed to pull off a 'miracle.'
INTERVIEW WITH NATHAN WEST ('Rob McClanahan'):
How did it feel to be one of the few real actors on the team?
These guys, everybody did a great job. It’s interesting [because since] Gavin [O’Connor] didn’t really want actors, it didn’t really help me at all. He wanted hockey players. I played 17 years of hockey.
That’s a lot of hockey.
A lot of hockey. But I played goalie and in the movie I play forward so I had a lot to learn in a matter of six weeks. I felt like I brought it to the table [and] did a good job.
How was the training camp they put you through? You went through a pretty tough training period.
Yeah, it was definitely tough. I mean, the first day at training camp I remember going up there and we were doing some of the ‘Herbies.’ We did our first Herbie and I got three quarters of the way through it and I walked back.
Herbies?
Herbie. This is known nationwide, by the way. Sometimes it’s called ‘Climbing the Mountain.’ But it’s goal line, blue line, goal line, red line, goal line… That’s called a Herbie. That’s actually known around the nation. Kids call it Herbie all the time. He started one of the worst training things ever (laughing). But by the end of the six-week camp, I was right along with everyone else. We’d done a few hundred of those things – I can’t remember, it felt like that. Everybody was in sync and ready to go.
What kind of research did you do?
This is actually kind of really funny, at least to me. Ron McClanahan, I talked to him like once. He thought he was going to get off real easy. At the same time, I took all this material out of books and then a bunch of documentaries and different tapes and stuff. I came up with this 10-page questionnaire. I sent it over to Rob McClanahan and he’s like, “You want me to answer this?” I said, “Man, if you don’t answer this, I’m moving in. I will come live at your house until we shoot this thing because I want to know everything about you.” I had questions about scars, “How did you get this scar? How long was your hair? What’s your favorite outfit? What sock went on first?” to “What was your relationship with Herb Brooks? How did you get along with the other players? What was it like being on the ice with Jack O’Callahan and living the Olympic dream?” So everything, I covered everything.
Did he answer the questions?
He did – [the] left sock goes on first. He was really cooperative. We did emails and faxes. Every time I needed something, I just called him up.
This really is an ensemble piece of work. Is a movie like this easy for you to put on your resume in terms of distinguishing yourself among all the other young actors who are trying to make it in Hollywood?
You know what? This is a dream come true. Any actor would love to do this. I think even some of your bigger actors, some of your celebrities, these are the kind of movies that they thrive for in their careers. We had a great opportunity to do something like this so early. I’ve been here six years and I consider that early because careers, they take a long time to really build. This is an honor and a blessing in my life. If this is it for me, I could honestly happily walk away from this business now because I’ve achieved something that just took my breath away. It’s awesome.
Did the actors all bond like a team?
Oh my gosh, we are a family. These guys – are you kidding? We talk to them all the time. I think a couple of them just moved out here recently, which is great. But when they would fly out here for something, we would always get together because they know everything going on in our lives. We help each other a lot. We’re like brothers.
PAGE 2: Nathan West on Choreographing the Games and Cutting Loose
ADDITIONAL “MIRACLE” CAST INTERVIEWS:
Kurt Russell / Eddie Cahill and Jim Craig / Billy and Buzz Schneider
Additional “Miracle” Resources:
“Miracle” Photo Gallery
“Miracle” Trailer, Credits, and Websites
