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"[Barbara Geoghegan] provided me with an incredible biography of Jack, shared her soul on about five pieces of paper. And she loved him," recalls the actor. "It was very, very exciting. I was very nervous...I really wanted her to accept me as Jack. And when she came to set, and I went out and met her, it was brilliant. She just looked at me and she put her hand on my face, and she said, 'I'm really happy that you're playing Jack.'

"Making a movie like this -- portraying someone who deserves to be honored who hasn't been honored -- I kept the pressure on myself to try to do good work. And I was very inspired by that and by their story. I was very touched."

While he missed the "Hollywood Boot Camp" basic training that his elder costars -- Gibson, Greg Kinnear, Sam Elliott and Barry Pepper -- were subjected to (he was filming American Pie 2) to prepare for the role as Geoghegan, Klein worked closely with a military consultant.

"When I first sat down with him he was talking about going to the shooting range and firing guns and going through the obstacle course. And I said, 'What I want to do is for you to teach me how to march, how to stand at ease and at attention, and all those things that soldiers learn...how to salute, how to shake hands, how to make eye contact, how to be a soldier.' Those subtle nuances are what will make the difference between an actor playing a soldier and an actor being a soldier, because I went into this movie without knowing anything about the armed forces at all. So I wanted to learn about the chain of command, I wanted to learn why it is the way it is. I wanted to ask all those questions, I took notes. I spent most of my time sitting listening to him telling me what the military was all about, and the military code and the soldier's code."

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