Lone Survivor cast and character guide: Who plays whom in the action war movie

Lone Survivor is an action war film that was released by Universal Pictures on December 25, 2013, after its premiere at the AFI Film Festival. It's written and directed by Peter Berg, who is also the co-producer along with Mark Wahlberg, Vitaly Grigoriants, Sarah Aubrey, Randall Emmett, Akiva Goldman, Stephen Levinson, and Barry Spikings. Here's the official synopsis as per Letterboxd:

Four Navy SEALs on a covert mission to neutralize a high-level Taliban operative must make an impossible moral decision in the mountains of Afghanistan that leads them into an enemy ambush. As they confront unthinkable odds, the SEALs must find reserves of strength and resilience to fight to the finish.

Let's look at its cast and character guide.

Lone Survivor cast and character guide

1) Mark Wahlberg as Hospital Corpsman First Class Marcus Luttrell

A still from Lone Survivor | Image via Universal Pictures

Mark Wahlberg takes on the role of Marcus Luttrell, a Navy SEAL medic serving in Afghanistan, in a performance inspired by the real-life Luttrell, who has since retired from service. Beyond this role, Wahlberg is known for his work in acclaimed films such as The Departed, Boogie Nights, and The Fighter.

2) Taylor Kitsch as Lieutenant Michael P. Murphy, aka Murph

Kitsch portrays Michael P. Murphy in Lone Survivor, who was killed in 2005 during Operation Red Wings. Murphy was bestowed with the Medal of Honor for his work in Afghanistan. Kitsch has appeared in titles like X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The Grand Seduction, and True Detective.

3) Emile Hirsch as Gunner's Mate Second Class Danny Dietz

Hirsch portrays Danny Dietz, who was a second-class Gunner's mate during the operation. Dietz was injured initially during the attack and was not able to walk. He eventually died after a bullet hit his head. He was given a Purple Heart and Navy Cross. Hirsch has done films like The Girl Next Door and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

4) Other cast members of the film

Ben Foster as Sonar technician Second Class Matthew Axelson, aka Axe
Eric Bana as Lieutenant Commander Erik S. Kristensen
Ali Suliman as Mohammad Gulab
Alexander Ludwig as Shane Patton
Yousuf Azami as Ahmad Shah
Sammy Sheik as Taraq
Rich Ting as PO2 James Suh

More about Lone Survivor

Upon its release, Lone Survivor met with mostly positive critical response and grossed $154.8 million. It was also nominated in the categories of Best Sound Mixing and Best Sound Editing for the Oscars. The film was also listed in the top ten list of the National Board of Review.

After its release, Wahlberg gave an interview to Collider where he spoke about the film.

"When I first heard about the idea and Pete asked me to do it, I thought, selfishly as an actor, what a great opportunity to play a kind of showy part. And then, when I read it, I realized what it really entailed and what it was about, my perspective changed. It never was about me after that again. It was really about the guys that we were portraying and every single person both in front of and behind the camera who felt that same thing."

Lone Survivor can be watched on Prime Video.