Andrew Scott reveals why he still has pride over his tiny appearance in Saving Private Ryan
The Fleabag and Ripley star has reflected on his tiny role in Steven Spielberg’s acclaimed war epic while promoting his new second world war drama Pressure.
Andrew Scott stills feels proud of his tiny appearance in Saving Private Ryan.
The Irish actor, 49, made the remark as he spoke about his early career role during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, recalling how he appeared briefly as “Soldier on the Beach” in Steven Spielberg’s Oscar-winning 1998 war epic and revealing his pride in being part of a sequence that “went down in movie history”.
Andrew said: “I had one line or something, and Tom Hanks rolled over me, and I was very happy to be there.”
He added: “It was an extraordinary thing — it was my first time being on a set of that enormity, and I feel very proud that I got to be a tiny part of that.
“It’s a sequence that’s gone down in movie history.”
Andrew, who has since become internationally recognised through roles in Fleabag, Sherlock, All of Us Strangers and Ripley, appeared during Saving Private Ryan’s famous D-Day landing sequence at Omaha Beach alongside Tom Hanks.
The actor’s comments come as he stars in another Second World War drama, Pressure, centred on the tense days leading up to the Normandy landings.
Andrew has recently attracted widespread acclaim for his emotionally charged performances across film and television, particularly following the success of Netflix thriller Ripley and the critical response to All of Us Strangers opposite Paul Mescal.
Saving Private Ryan is widely regarded as one of the most influential modern war films ever made.
Inspired partly by the story of brothers Edward Niland, Preston Niland, Robert Niland and Frederick ‘Fritz’ Niland during the second world war, the film followed Captain John H. Miller, played by Tom, as he led a mission to retrieve Private James Francis Ryan, portrayed by Matt Damon, after Ryan’s brothers were believed to have been killed in combat.
Andrew is now starring in Pressure, based on David Haig’s 2014 stage play about the final hours before D-Day.
The film focuses on the debates between General Dwight D. Eisenhower and meteorologist Captain James Stagg over whether weather conditions would allow the Allied invasion of Normandy to proceed.
In the film, Andrew portrays Stagg, the British Met Office meteorologist attached to the Royal Air Force who was tasked with delivering weather forecasts critical to the invasion’s success.
Speaking separately to People, Andrew said strong scripts remained the deciding factor when choosing projects.
He said: “You know, I don’t think you can make a great movie if you’ve got a mediocre script.
“I just don’t think it’s likely for me in some ways.”
Andrew continued: “So I’ve been doing lots of very different stuff, and that’s kind of the name of the game for me.”
The actor has enjoyed a major rise in international popularity over the past decade after first gaining attention as Moriarty in BBC drama Sherlock opposite Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman.
He later became a breakout star through Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag, in which his performance as the “Hot Priest” became a defining pop culture moment.
More recently, Andrew earned award nominations for his role in romantic fantasy drama All of Us Strangers and generated acclaim for his portrayal of con artist serial killer Tom Ripley in Netflix’s black-and-white adaptation of Ripley.
