Apollo 13 is one of the most celebrated movies of all time, telling the story of the life-or-death struggle on board the third attempted lunar landing following an explosion in space. With a stellar cast, including noted space fan Tom Hanks as Commander Jim Lovell, the film has enjoyed continued success in the years since its 1995 release. Even now, many a visitor finds this blog while looking for information on the movie with Google.

I am a huge fan of Apollo 13, as it is the film that sparked my Apollo obsession – leaving me with an unquenchable desire to know more. Yet I acknowledge it is not perfect, so what follows are an Apollo fans’ eye view musings on the casting and characterisation of the film. All opinions are that and nothing more, and are entirely subjective.

Tom Hanks and the real Jim Lovell.

Character: Jim Lovell, Commander.
Played by: Tom Hanks

I am a huge fan of Hanks even outside of his space-related ventures, an admiration that began with this very movie.

From what I know of Lovell, through reading many books and watching many documentaries, Hanks’ portrayal is close to the mark. Lovell was one of the more amiable astronauts in terms of personality, and was extremely good at the PR side of astronaut life. Hanks managed to capture this without making Lovell appear as a gentle and witty buffoon, which would have been an easy mistake to make. Instead, Lovell comes across as a man with a good heart as well as professional capability.

Looks wise, Lovell and Hanks have little in common – everything from their hair to their body types differs, but I consider this largely unimportant. This was Hanks’ pet project, and he naturally wanted to play the Commander.

The only slight error, if you can call it that, is during a section in the film where Lovell yells at his two crewmates to calm down. All of the Apollo 13 crew kept very cool heads during their mission, despite the danger, and it is difficult to imagine Lovell snapping like this. However, the words used – something to the effect of “we can go bouncing off the walls for 10 minutes and end up in exactly the same place” – are extremely similar to those I have heard Lovell himself say when asked about crew morale during the mission. The only difference is the context; Lovell says it to explain the lack of tension between the crew, whereas the movie uses it as something Lovell actively said and yelled during the mission. I consider this a deliberate mistake for film effect, and therefore easily forgive it.

Gary Sinise and the real Ken Mattingly.

Character: Ken Mattingly, one-time CMP of the mission.
Played By: Gary Sinise

In terms of looks, there are definitive similarities between Sinise and Mattingly himself – both are dark haired (though Sinise does have more of it!), and are of a similar height and build.

For me, Sinise gives the outstanding performance of the movie – yet, bizarrely, it is the one I struggle the most with in terms of squaring it to the actual man himself. Everything I ever read or see about Mattingly talks of his quiet efficacy and dedication to his job. While stung by the decision to remove him from the crew, I have yet to see anything that portrays such bitterness as the film character does – however, that isn’t to say it does not exist, only that the real Mattingly is as good an actor as his on-screen counterpart.

Mattingly’s role in the film is elevated, again for dramatic effect. While he did play a huge part in the effort to bring the astronauts home, he was not the sole participant working in simulators – something I am sure the film makers were aware of, but it made more sense, a bitter sense of irony laced with sweetness, to elevate Mattingly to the role of sole savior. It is a palatable change, however, and one that does not excessively bother me. Mattingly was a dedicated and capable astronaut, and he was involved in the attempts to bring Apollo 13 home – the rest is trivial, surely?

Sinise’s portrayal makes the audience instantly sympathise with the rejected Mattingly. In the voiceover at the end, Tom Hanks – speaking as Lovell – mentions that Mattingly went on to be Command Module Pilot of Apollo 16 and flew the space shuttle. A nicely done end wrapping up the character storyline – how beautiful that it also happens to be true!

Bill Paxton and the real Fred Haise.

Character: Fred Haise, LMP
Played By: Bill Paxton

With Paxton’s portrayal, Haise comes across as the heart of the mission – the most lighthearted of the three astronauts, but also the most emotionally available. It is Haise (in film) alone who comes close to outright accusing Jack Swigert of causing the explosion.

Whether or not this is true…  almost no one can know. No one besides the two surviving men of Apollo 13 knows if they argued during the flight, though both Lovell and Haise state outright they did not. From the mission transcripts, it is easy to believe them.

In the film, Haise is used as a device, asking the questions the audience are naturally wondering; after all, if Swigert was the last to touch the controls, surely he caused the problem? It is easy to sympathise with the character, and from what I know of the man, nothing strays too far from the truth.

My only issue is that Haise expertise with the lunar module is overlooked somewhat. If an explosion was going to happen, and one needed to wring every last drop out of the lunar module, then Haise is the guy you would have wanted on board with you. The only mention in the film of Haise working the LM is when he miscalculates the oxygen supply for two men rather than three. While he did genuinely do this, he also worked around the clock to keep the LM healthy. I would have preferred a nod to his ability and contribution to saving the mission as well as the mention of this error.

The relationship between Haise and Lovell, in the film, is endearing – one almost feels awkward for Swigert, as he is clearly the outsider at some points. Whether this was actually the case is another that only a few men can answer, but it is nevertheless an enjoyable side plot which adds tension.

I also felt Paxton coped with Haise’s illness, a urinary tract infection, in the final days of the flight, very well.

Kevin Bacon and the real Jack Swigert.

Character: Jack Swigert, replacement CMP
Played by: Kevin Bacon

“A difficult role, acted brilliantly” is probably the best way to describe Bacon’s version of Swigert.

Unlike Paxton, Sinise and Hanks, Kevin Bacon did not have the luxury of being able to meet the man he was going to be attempting to portray (Swigert died of cancer in 1981). It is difficult for an outsider to garner much of an impression of Swigert’s character, but Bacon no doubt learnt from those who had known Swigert and there are no glaring errors in the overall perception. Swigert’s popularity with women, an absolute truth, is nodded to at several points in the film – a nice touch.

As it is Swigert who stirs the oxygen tanks which subsequently leads to the explosion, Bacon had the uneviable task of having to convince the audience he had not caused the problem without going overboard. He succeeds in this absolutely. The odd relationship that develops between Mattingly and Swigert in the film is mirrored somewhat in real life – with Swigert expressing that he wishes Mattingly were there – and is a human touch that the film benefits from.

Physically, Swigert and Bacon are the best match of the astronaut actors.

The Swigert that appears on film is somewhat nervous but remains competent – and most of the nerves were added for dramatic effect. Overall, an extremely good job.

Ed Harris and the real Gene Kranz.

Character: Gene Kranz, Flight Director
Played by: Ed Harris

There can be absolutely no critique or criticism here; everything is absolutely, 100% on the money.

For a start, Harris looks like Kranz – even going to the extent of cutting his hair into Kranz’s recognisable crew cut for the role. They are both well built, blonde and pale, and when looking for pictures for the above images it was easy to mistake one for the other at first glance.

Kranz himself has written a beautiful book, Failure Is Not An Option, based on his time in Mission Control. Many of the incidents, moments and personal reflections of Kranz as a character are taken straight from the words of Kranz the human being. Everything from Kranz’s steely determination that the service module engine should not be used following the explosion, right through to his tearful moments when Apollo 13 landed in the ocean – all are documented by Kranz in his autobiography, and portrayed effortlessly brilliantly by Harris.

It is difficult to enthuse any more. The acting, the characterisation is all so good, it’s impossible to say much beyond “this was a performance and a character worthy of the recognition achieved. Sublime.”

Other characters:

Marilyn Lovell (Kathleen Quinlan) – Scripted from many of Marilyn’s own reflections on the mission, a wonderful character played by a superb actress.

John Aaron (Loren Dean) – The engineering genius who saved the day on two different Apollo missions receives due care and attention. I particularly like how Kranz readily turns to Aaron for advice and accepts it without question. The character also has lines that are virtually identical to things I have seen the real John Aaron say in documentaries.