Lovely actress Sienna Miller (“G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra”) provides the strong female perspective in Warner Bros. Pictures’ war drama “American Sniper,” the true story of Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, considered to be the most lethal sniper in U.S. History.
“There is a lot of intense action,” director Clint Eastwood says, “but the soul of the film and what drives the story are the relationships: between Chris and his brothers in arms and, in particular, between Chris and his wife Taya, which is the most important relationship in the picture. Chris was obviously crazy about her, but, by the same token, he was committed to fulfilling the demands his country was placing upon him.”
Sienna Miller, who portrays Taya Kyle, offers, “At its essence, this is a human story between two people: one of whom is doing these extraordinary, unimaginable things so far from home and the other who is trying to hold her family together. Chris’s sense of duty was so immeasurably strong because of who he inherently was. He believed if he was home with his family more people would die, and that’s a tremendous moral dilemma to be faced with. As hard as it was for her, I think Taya understood his plight and was trying to be patient and supportive of her husband, but that can be a hard thing to navigate when children are involved and, inside, you’re imploding. It made it a fascinating and poignant story to be part of and, having met Taya, I felt a responsibility to do it justice.”
In the film, U.S. Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper) is sent to Iraq with only one mission: to protect his brothers-in-arms. His pinpoint accuracy saves countless lives on the battlefield and, as stories of his courageous exploits spread, he earns the nickname “Legend.” However, his reputation is also growing behind enemy lines, putting a price on his head and making him a prime target of insurgents.
Despite the danger, as well as the toll on his family at home, Chris serves through four harrowing tours of duty in Iraq, personifying the spirit of the SEAL creed to “leave no one behind.” But upon returning to his wife, Taya, and kids, Chris finds that it is the war he can’t leave behind.
Sienna Miller’s upcoming projects include “Black Mass,” a biopic about infamous Boston gangster Whitey Bulger, starring with Johnny Depp and Benedict Cumberbatch.
Born in New York, Miller was educated in England and then studied drama at the Lee Strasberg Institute in New York. She first gained the attention of critics and audiences when she played the love interest of Daniel Craig’s character in Matthew Vaughn’s “Layer Cake,” earning an Empire Award nomination for Best Newcomer.
She has since received a number of other accolades for her film work, including an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Female Lead for her role in the 2007 film “Interview,” and a British Independent Film Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in 2008’s “The Edge of Love,” for which she also garnered a BAFTA Orange Rising Star Award nomination.
Miller’s film credits also include “Factory Girl,” “Casanova,” and “GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra,” which was a huge international box office hit in 2009. Miller played the role of The Baroness, for which she was named Supporting Actress of the Year at NATO’s CinemaCon.
In 2013, Miller was nominated for both a BAFTA TV Award and a Golden Globe, in the Best Actress in a Mini-Series or TV movie category, for her role in the acclaimed HBO original movie “The Girl.” The film explored the relationship between Tippi Hedren, played by Miller, and Alfred Hitchcock (Toby Jones), during the making of the classic “The Birds.”
Opening across the Philippines on January 21, 2015, “American Sniper” is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.