EXCLUSIVE | 68 Whiskey’s Nicholas Coombe teases Petrocelli’s ‘really fun arc’ from ‘gullible kid to a warrior’
Fresh-faced Nicholas Coombe plays Private Anthony Petrocelli, the rookie soldier who is naive enough to think the spirit of Buckley, the soldier who died tragically at the start of Episode 1, is trapped in the goat, Boz. In an exclusive interview with MEA WorldWide (MEAWW), Coombe spoke about getting compared to Radar of M*A*S*H and acting opposite a goat. What he liked most about Petrocelli was his "innocence".
"He’s only 17. Petrocelli is a fresh-faced kid who recently joined the army, so he’s coming at it from a young and clueless perspective. He really just wants to be the best soldier he can be. The writers were clever in finding ways to throw him into the middle of intense situations and see how he reacts. And basically, he reacts as any civilian would," Coombe said. Since Afghanistan is a whole new world for his character, he feels the audience discovers things with Petrocelli: "That’s what I love about playing him. He learns and grows in every episode, but still has this loveable and gullible attitude towards it all."
Not surprisingly, fans of the show have already been drawing comparisons between Petrocelli and Radar of M*A*S*H. "It’s really quite an honor that people are comparing our show to 'M*A*S*H'. But '68 Whiskey' is definitely a new idea and is telling its own stories. The characters and scenarios are all super unique and I hope everyone will fall in love with '68 Whiskey' as much as they did with 'M*A*S*H'," Coombe said.
He commends the writers for making each character stand out based on their personalities. "As humans, we all react differently to scenarios in life. So, when you see these characters thrown into traumatic situations, they also react differently. And sometimes laughing through the pain is the best way to survive. Seeing Petrocelli react to something will be very different to how Roback reacts, for example, because Petrocelli is so young and fresh and Roback has been there for a while. You see these moments throughout the series, and I think the audience will be able to relate to all the characters and how they deal with each situation," he added.
Speaking about his character's journey, Coombe teased he has a "really fun arc" in season 1. "You see him go from this young, gullible kid to a warrior. At the start of the show, he’s a stickler for the rules, but as the opportunity arises to join Roback and Davis on a secret mission, he jumps on-board right away. He really looks up to the older guys on the base and the opportunity to go outside the wire with them is something Petrocelli always dreamt of—even if it means breaking the rules slightly," he explained.
And of course, a key part of his arc at the start of the season is Boz, the goat, who also features prominently in the show's promotional material. "What a great time we had. I love that goat. We had two different goat actors on set -- Margie and Maggie. They hit their mark every time and rarely messed up a shot. They’re both super friendly goats and it was almost like having a therapy dog on set. The crew always lit up when they saw 'Boz' arrive," said Coombe.
Instead of dreading acting with an animal, Coombe was excited when he saw the scenes he had, saying, "I loved it. I found it so funny. The idea of a goat being such a huge part of the first few episodes was really entertaining to me mainly because of the human aspect. Petrocelli really believes that Boz has his battle buddy Buckley’s spirit in it. So, he does everything he can to protect Boz and make sure he’s safe."
However, goat-related hijinks aside, portraying a soldier is a serious business. There was a responsibility towards accuracy that Coombe was well aware of and so he put in his homework by "watching as many documentaries and films as I could in my own time".
But what made his job easier were the experts hired in every department on set. "From wardrobe to props to our writers, we had veterans who were there to support us. If we ever had questions or were unsure about anything they would jump in and show us the correct etiquette."
He describes the set as "so realistic". He tells us how there were hundreds of background performers moving alongside tanks and cars and helicopters. "It truly gives you goosebumps. And because of how incredible the sets are, it creates this realistic environment that you can jump into and feel the scenes come alive," said Coombe, reminiscing about his on-set experience.
'68 Whiskey' airs on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET/ PT on Paramount Network.