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 The dual Academy Award nominee, who is also a producer of the
film, directed by Clint Eastwood, had planned to collaborate
with Kyle to bring his story to the big screen.
But Kyle, a former rodeo rider, survivor of four tours in Iraq
and the most lethal sniper in Navy history, was murdered near
his Texas home by a disgruntled veteran before the two had a
chance to meet.
"It is a movie about what someone like Chris, a soldier, has to
go through and the dilemma and the horror of it and the battle
internally and with the family," Cooper said about the film that
opens on limited release on Christmas day and nationwide on Jan.
16.
Although Cooper never met Kyle, his wife gave the actor access
to personal emails the couple had exchanged during his tours in
Iraq and family videos that he found invaluable in finding the
essence of the man.
"She opened up her life. We didn't have to create anything with
our imagination, literally nothing. All we had to do was soak in
what she gave us," Cooper, a best actor nominee for "American
Hustle" and "Silver Linings Playbook," told a news conference.
The film shifts between battle scenes in Iraq, flashbacks to his
childhood, and difficult homecomings as the couple try to cope
with the impact of Kyle's experiences on their family.
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"It is important to show their relationship, to show the dilemma
that Chris faced. It is his story," said Sienna Miller, who plays
Kyle's wife in the comeback role.
Cooper, currently winning rave reviews on Broadway in a revival of
"The Elephant Man," about the life of a disfigured 19th century
Briton, bulked up for the role and trained with live ammunition to
get into the mindset of Kyle.
He said he hopes the film will open viewers' eyes to the struggles
soldiers face, in battle and when returning home.
"The takeaway will be, for those who can relate to him, will be
healing, to relate to a vet who has gone through similar things that
Chris has gone through, and maybe not feel so alone," he said.
(Reporting by Patricia Reaney; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)
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