We Are Marshall (2006) - photo copyright © Warner Bros.

Role: Dr. Donald N. Dedmon
Filming: April 3 - June 8, 2006 (Huntington, WV and Atlanta, GA)
U.S. Release: December 22, 2006
Director: Joseph "McG" Nichol

Synopsis: In 1970, a plane crash claims the lives of members of the West Virginia-based Marshall University football team, as well as most of its coaching staff, sports commentators and local boosters. The team's new coach, Jack Lengyel, and his surviving players must try to keep the football program alive.

Cast:
Matthew McConaughey .... Jack Lengyel
David Strathairn .... Dr. Donald N. Dedmon
Matthew Fox .... Red Dawson
Anthony Mackie .... Nate Ruffin
Kate Mara .... Annie Cantrell
Ian McShane .... Paul Griffin
Kimberly Williams-Paisley .... Sandy Lengyel
January Jones .... Carol Dawson
Brian Geraghty .... Tom Bogdan
Arlen Escarpeta .... Reggie Oliver

Notes:
• Filming took place from April 3rd in Huntington, WV and concluded in Atlanta, GA on June 8, 2006.
• The title for the film comes from Marshall University's famed football cheer.
• David portrays the real Dr. Donald N. Dedmon, who was president of Marshall University at the time of the crash and was deeply affected by the tragedy.
• David, Matthew McConaughey, and Matthew Fox will reportedly do a special promo on the town of Huntington for the film's DVD.

Production:
(Excerpts from Warner Bros. Press Release:)

• Meanwhile, amidst the post-crash turmoil and debate over whether or not to proceed with the football program, as well as the practicalities of how to even accomplish such a thing, university president Dedmon continued to carry out his increasingly difficult duties.

David Strathairn, who stars as Donald Dedmon, found few newspaper accounts that mention the late university president, so expanded his research by talking with former school administrators and Huntington residents who knew him, and ultimately formed in his mind a picture of "a man who did his best and tried to put people before policy. It seems there were conflicting opinions about how popular he was at the time, but, in retrospect, Dedmon came to be lauded and highly respected for his involvement and his efforts."

Adds McG, "We feel the fundamental goodness in every choice Dedmon makes."

An outsider like Lengyel, Dedmon was an interim president and an academic with little knowledge of football. Yet, says Strathairn, "He became inextricably entwined in the lives of the community. During his brief tenure he had to make a decision about the future of football at this university and he chose a man whose heart seemed to be in the right place. It was Dedmon's job to find a new coach and he came up with Jack Lengyel."

• "People refer to 'six degrees of separation,' but in Huntington it's more like one or two degrees," says David Strathairn. "We met people everywhere who were connected in some way to these events, who may have lost a parent or a friend or knew someone who had been killed, and they were so forthcoming with their experiences and memories. There was a lot of sadness but moments of celebration too, and some excitement that this story, their story, was going to be told. It provided a kind of energy that we all felt."

Exclusives:
Personal Experiences - Read onset words from Huntington natives and/or extras!

Posters:

Copyright Warner Bros.

Critical Praise & Commentary:

• "Both Ian McShane, playing a dour industrialist who lost a son in the crash, and David Strathairn, as the meek college president who becomes Lengyel's chief ally, give likably offbeat supporting performances." -William Arnold, Seattle Post-Intelligencer

• "Strathairn, once again demonstrating his skill as one of our finest actors, makes us ache for Dedmon's likely decision. Prodded in great part by the grieving movers and shakers who, unable to face even the thought of football, want the program killed--and these are the people to whom he owes his job--Dedmon turns visibly gray as he confronts the few surviving players with the likely news... And so Dedmon--absolutely the last person for such a task, as Strathairn makes gentle sport of this good man's utter lack of football knowledge--attempts the impossible, and tries to attract a new head coach to Marshall... Although the naturally charming McConaughey usually has no trouble dominating the camera, he works hard here, faced with such convincing competition from Fox and Strathairn." -Derrick Bang, Davis Enterprise

• "David Strathairn gives a particularly touching performance as the beleaguered college president, who is low-key, scholarly and even timid but manages under pressure to become something of a hero." -Harper Barnes, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

• "David Strathairn turns in the supporting-actor performance of the year." -The Beacon News

• "Fortunately, McConaughey is backed up by Strathairn and Fox, who manage to ground and make credible any scene they're in. David Strathairn, of course, delivered an Oscar-nominated performance recently in Good Night and Good Luck..." -Molly Bishop, The Trades

• "...David Strathairn nearly surpasses his Oscar-nominated portrayal of Edward R. Murrow in last year's Good Night and Good Luck." -Gary Brown, HoustonCom

• "And it's these seasoned actors (among them David Strathairn and Ian McShane) who best punch across the heavy burden that threatens to crush the spirit of this town." -Matt Brunson, Connect Savannah

• "Lengyel was an outsider from Wooster, Ohio, hired by the university's president, beautifully acted by David Strathairn." -Michael Calleri, Niagara Falls Reporter

• "...David Strathairn is also enjoyable as the well-meaning university principal." -Edward Douglas, ComingSoon.net

• "There are fine performances, fortunately, from reliable veterans like David Strathairn, on hand as the college president who initially wants to erase football from Marshall's repertoire..." -Rossiter Drake, SF Station

• "David Strathairn, who often seems like Barney Fife imitating Abe Lincoln, plays this earnest man with endearingly quiet grace (McG may be a fairly brazen director, but he gets performances)." -David Ellliott, The Paramus Post

• "Marshall President Donald Dedmon (played nicely by David Strathairn)... McConaughey and Strathairn offer completely different performances. McConaughey is smiling throughout most of the movie. Strathairn is dismal and dismayed. Their characters are hope and doubt colliding. Hope, the film straightforwardly says, is the stronger force. The relationship between Lengyel and Dedmon, which develops effectually, is representative of the entire film." -Danny Forinash, The State Journal

• "David Strathairn in a fine, affecting performance... Strathairn [is] a thoughtful presence..." -Ted Fry, The Seattle Times

• "His role probably won't be noticed by the Oscar voters, but David Strathairn turns in a flawless performance as the burdened university president. Watch his eyes, his mouth, his body language. One ounce more or less emotion than Strathairn delivers would have made this portrayal less perfect. For my money, it's the best supporting-actor role of the year..." -Dave Gathman, The Beacon News

• "Strathairn is his normal superb self..." -Jack Garner, Press & Sun-Bulletin

• "As the school's uncertain president, who is reluctant to put the team back together until he senses how much the community wants it, David Strathairn suggests indecision as only he can." -John Hartl, MSNBC

• "The university's president (David Strathairn, as graceful and pained as ever)..." -Robert J Hawkins, The Paramus Post

• "Especially since one of the people, Marshall's president, is played by David Strathairn (Goodnight, and Good Luck), who brings gravity and compassion to every scene.

"Director McG seems to have recognized the problem, since he cuts to Strathairn whenever he can: If there's a big play on the football field, McG cuts to Strathairn watching it. If there's an orange plaid blazer screaming its lapels off, McG cuts to Strathairn looking at it. If McConaughey dawdles admiringly over some of his dialogue, McG cuts to Strathairn reacting to it.

"In addition to the Strathairn damage control, We Are Marshall contains some guaranteed lump-in-your-throat stuff (like when an entire campus begs to keep football as a sport)." -Chris Hewitt, St. Paul Pioneer Press

• "Among the low-key pleasures of this film is the odd-couple chemistry between these two actors: Strathairn (who had a career high last year in Good Night, and Good Luck) is uptight, and McConaughey adopts an amusingly geeky style as the earnest coach (think Kurt Russell in Miracle, but with worse posture)." -Robert Horton, HeraldNet

• "...University president Don Dedmon with the far more reserved David Strathairn serving as perhaps the best actor in the movie with his almost deadpan manner of internalizing the grief and difficulties ahead." -Don Houston, DVD Talk

• "Also among the surprisingly solid supporting cast, who manage some dignity despite being saddled with overly simplistic, heart-tugging things to say, are David Strathairn as Marshall's president and Ian McShane as a member of the school's board of directors whose son, the star running back, died in the crash." -Christy Lemire, The Kindred Times

• "...a strong supporting cast, including Fox, Strathairn and Deadwood's McShane..." -Brian Lowry, Variety

• "David Strathairn and Ian McShane give unbelievable performances that I can guarantee will bring even the toughest men to tears." -Summer Moore, Post Independent

• "By far the best actor in the cast, Strathairn (an Oscar nominee as Edward R. Murrow in Good Night, and Good Luck) brings enormous depth to the meek college president with minimal screen time." -Larry Ratliff, San Antonio Express-News

• "Meanwhile, Marshall president Dedmon (David Strathairn in a quietly humorous turn) is befuddled by the whole situation." -Jessica Reaves, Metromix

• "David Strathairn (Good Night, and Good Luck), in the role of Marshall University's president, is also a standout. Though Strathairn faces a great deal of criticism for continuing the football program, he stands by what he considers to be the desire of the student body." -Jessica Rothenberg, The Harvard Crimson

• "Also adding a welcome dose of intelligent acting is David Strathairn, fresh off last year's Oscar nomination..." -Christopher Schobert, Buffalo News

• "The cast is great led by Matthew Fox, Ian McShane and the always good and underrated David Strathairn." -Keith Van Sickle, 49 ABC News

• "...President Dedmon (David Strathairn, excellent as always)..." -Betty Jo Tucker, Reel Talk

• "Strathairn, Mackie and Matthew Fox make We Are Marshall a movie worth seeing on the big screen. Strathairn is perfect as the tweedy, nervous, nerdy, goodhearted president who desperately wants to do the right thing for the university..." -Willie Waffle, WaffleMovies.com

• "Best actor nominee David Strathairn is perfect as interim Marshall president Donald Dedmon, an administrator with little or no knowledge of football, who steps up in his dealings with the 'NC-2-A.'" -Mike West, The Murfreesboro Post

(David On His Role:)
• "We're actors--we're conduits. I don't look anything like the man. ...It's really more about being the spirit of the man." -David Strathairn, 2006

• "...he [Dr. Donald Dedmond] honored the sentiment in the community. It was important for the families to get together and grieve. It might have been just too raw a moment to have a football game." -David Strathairn, 2006

• "I've tried to find evidence in my life and in others lives that they've stepped up to a task that was thrown in their lap." -David Strathairn, 2006

• [on director McG] "I think McG is going to run for mayor!" -David Strathairn, 2006

(McG On David:)
• "He only selects pictures that are of the highest quality. And that's how he feels about your story." - McG, director

(Ian McShane On David:)
• "I enjoyed working with David Strathairn." -Ian McShane, 2006

Related Links:
Official U.S. Site (off site)
Marshall University - We Are Marshall (off site)
The Marshall Plane Crash (off site)