Jimmy Stewart traded Hollywood’s highest acting honor for an Army Air Corps uniform, and fellow veteran Rob Riggle doubts many modern stars would follow him.
“I would be surprised if anybody made that same choice today, especially an actor of his status,” actor, comedian and retired US Marine Corps Lt. Col. Rob Riggle told Fox News Digital.
Riggle speaks from uncommon ground. He spent 23 years in the Marine Corps, including deployments to Afghanistan, Albania, Liberia and Kosovo, before retiring as a lieutenant colonel, according to a Marine Corps Association profile. His military career ran alongside hard-won work on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE and THE DAILY SHOW.
Now he brings that experience to JIMMY, the upcoming biographical movie about Stewart. Riggle plays Col. Terrill, a squadron commander and mentor to Stewart, while KJ Apa portrays the beloved actor.
“It wasn’t like he was an up-and-coming actor,” Riggle said of Stewart. “He was an established Academy Award-winning actor before the war.”
The timing sharpens Riggle’s point. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences named Stewart Best Actor for THE PHILADELPHIA STORY on Feb. 27, 1941, and the National Museum of the US Air Force says he entered the service on March 22.
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Stewart already knew his way around an airplane, logging more than 400 hours as a civilian pilot before he earned his military wings. By the fall of 1943, he was commanding a B-24 squadron in England, and he finished the war with 20 combat missions.
“He wanted to put on the uniform and serve where he could be used best,” Riggle said. “And he was a pilot, so he put his hand in the air and went into harm’s way.”
Stewart returned home with the rank of colonel, but his service did not end when the war did. He remained in the Air Force Reserve, became a brigadier general in 1959 and retired in 1968.
The official JIMMY website says the movie follows Stewart from his Oscar triumph through combat and into his difficult homecoming, when the role of George Bailey in IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE helped him find his footing again. Directed by Aaron Burns, JIMMY opens in theaters nationwide Nov. 6.
Riggle said his own military career taught him the mental toughness needed to survive the rejection that comes with entertainment work. It also gave him a lasting respect for anyone willing to put comfort aside for a larger duty.
“The people that put their hand in the air have made that decision in their mind and that decision is to serve something bigger than themselves,” Riggle said. “And I think it’s quite honorable.”
That choice gives JIMMY more than an Old Hollywood glow. Stewart’s example asks viewers to measure greatness not only by what a person achieves, but by what he is willing to surrender in service to others.
“There’s a lot more stories of good guys, you’re just probably not seeing enough of them,” Riggle said. JIMMY aims to put one of those stories back in the spotlight.
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