By Even Grazielly Escocio
Join actor Jon Ewart as he shares the intricacies of bringing Lieutenant William Couch to life in “Masters of the Air,” the highly anticipated Apple TV series set to premiere on January 26th. In this brief yet insightful interview, Jon unveils the challenges, camaraderie, and profound moments that shaped his portrayal. Get ready for an exclusive glimpse into the making of the series and Jon’s deep respect for the heroes of World War II.
How did you prepare yourself to play Lieutenant William Couch in Masters of the Air?
When the audition came through to play Lt. Couch in Masters of the Air, I wasn’t a big fan of war movies. But when the role got confirmed, I became obsessed. I started the preparation watching a lot of movies like The Pacific, Saving Private Ryan, all of Steven Spielberg and Tom Hank’s collaborations together, 1917, Dunkirk. I also started to read Lt. Couch memoirs and watching a lot of footage from the 1940s to help me understand the expectation from those men. I researched heavily for the role and there was a bit of pressure because we’re all portraying real people that fought and died for their country. They’re all heroes.
Did meeting Lt. Couch’s family influence your portrayal of him?
Yes, 100%. Because it was very interesting to know the difference in expectations of young men’s mental health back then. How they had to deal with things like war and things that would be unimaginable today. I found out also that Lt. Couch was an officer from a relatively poor family. And when I first went into this role, I didn’t realise that he was actually very proud to be a part of the 100th Bomb Group.
I knew certain things that he was interested in just from reading his memoirs but talking to them added a bit of extra pressure because I want to make them all proud. So, it definitely influenced my portrayal.
Any another interesting things about the role?
His accent was very hard! I had to spend a lot of time with dialect coaches to try and master that Southern accent of his.
What was your approach to understanding Lt. Couch’s character emotionally?
So, I learned who in my crew he was closest to. For example, I know the navigator on the plane had a really good relationship with him, but then the pilots, who were a bit more sophisticated than him, he didn’t gel with as much. So I tried giving that justice because, once again, these are all real people. What was interesting to know was that, although the missions they had to go on were all very risky and there was a strong likelihood that they wouldn’t make it back, fear wasn’t something that the young men in the war at the time would show emotionally; there was a brotherhood, and they knew they had a job to do. Showing fear wasn’t the norm. So that was something I found very interesting as well because I thought these men would have been frightened. However, they had a lot of fun together, and they all bonded—it was a massive family, is the vibe that I got after speaking to historians and Lt. Couch’s family. They were very proud to be there, and it was a great opportunity for them as well.
Is there any fact that you found out about him that completely surprised you?
What surprised me was that Lt. Couch was a prisoner of war; his son told me that Lt. Couch was very angry at being a prisoner of war at first. He said, to be perfectly honest, he thinks his biggest frustration was thinking about all of the lovely English women that he left behind around the pubs at Fort Abbots, and now being pursued by his replacement.
But in time, he came to realize how lucky he was to just be alive. Because he made it through the whole prisoner of war camp, and when the war was over, he, you know, he was rescued and taken back, and he survived to tell the tale, and a lot of other people he knew didn’t. So what surprised me after speaking to his family was how positive of a man he was throughout the whole war. He didn’t let fear and the things that he’d seen get him down. He was just a positive hero, to be honest. He was a hero to everyone and a role model.
So I was very honoured to tell his story.
I heard you were in a four-week military boot camp, and you were speaking with real veterans. Could you elaborate on the challenges you faced during this training?
I knew fitness was going to be a huge part of the role. They did say that, but I underestimated how fit these men must have been to survive. So, the boot camp was a great way to start the shoot, first and foremost. It enabled us to bond with the cast, so we created a real brotherhood, and we took everything very, very seriously. By the end of the boot camp, we were exhausted, but it was very rewarding. The boot camp helped develop muscle memory, so whenever we put on the costume, we could refer back to the boot camp. We were all very much in character whenever the flight gear went on, and I think that’s because of the boot camp and how strict it was and what we learned. But yeah, I underestimated how much fitness was required to be able to even lug the flight gear and the parachutes around and how to move around these planes without hurting yourself. It’s the most physical role I’ve ever done, for sure.
And how did you manage these physical demands on the shoot?
So we were really, really lucky to have a great team around us, and they made sure we did everything safely. But, as a cast, when we weren’t on set, we would go to the gym together. We’d eat healthy. You needed to get good sleep. You really had to put everything into it to make sure that you survived the shoot, to be honest with you. And not even thinking about what these men must have gone through in the actual war, but on set, it was very demanding and long hours. You needed to make sure that you conserved your energy.
When you spoke with the real veterans, how did it feel?
That’s when it became quite real. I took note of a couple of names, but it was quite hard to grasp because of where we are now and the things people talk about these days. Learning about struggles they wouldn’t have been able to speak about and understanding historical events. So the crew earned the title of the bloody hundredth, essentially. Every mission was so risky that they knew they might not come back. In one mission, for example, a hundred aircraft went out, and they lost 60 of them. They would make friends, and then the next day, they wouldn’t be there. And as I said before, from a lot of the stories, I know people would have been scared of what they were experiencing, but it wasn’t an emotion that these men would show. They had a job to do, but realistically, they were in the sky, just sitting ducks. Learning things like that and the conditions they were in, it would drill home that, although yeah you’re actors on a set, you’re telling such an important story here and there’s things that you need to know. So it was a history lesson as well as being an actor, and I’m now completely in awe of what these men did for us.
Was there anything specific that helped with playing this role?
Well, I’ll tell you one big name who made sure that this whole thing went smoothly: Captain Dale Dye. This guy’s a decorated Marine vet from the Vietnam War, and he made sure we were always on point. If we weren’t doing things right, he’d humorously tell us “you guys look like a ham sandwich” – he loved saying that. With experience from the original Band of Brothers and Saving Private Ryan (Tom Hanks brought him in for good reason), he’s a pro at bringing history to life on screen. Throughout the boot camp, he took charge, and during the entire shoot, he was there on set. Conversations with him, along with other veterans and historians, provided us with a wealth of knowledge. We learned the ropes – how to navigate planes, handle guns, endure the extreme temperatures up there, and other things we actors wouldn’t naturally know. It was crucial to quickly pick up these skills to ensure we did justice to the story.
That’s so interesting! Did you find it easy to turn yourself on to play this character?
Absolutely. Yeah, it clicked for me pretty quickly. It was all thanks to the fantastic cast and the freedom we had to explore. We were lucky to have ample rehearsal time and dig into the backstories of our characters. So, whenever we suited up in that flight gear, getting into character was a breeze. I’d say everyone was fully immersed as soon as those costumes and flight gear were on.
And to be honest with you, the scale of the show enabled it to be very easy. Very easy. I’ll never forget the first time I went on set and I got dropped off on location and it was like being transported back into the 1940s. An entire army base had been built, complete with hundreds of supporting artists marching down the street, military vehicles, and tents scattered everywhere. It was so immersive; switching on and feeling I was really there wasn’t difficult at all.
Do you have another memorable moment or interaction on the set?
Yes, sure. Working alongside actors like Callum Turner, Barry Keoghan, and Austin Butler was a real highlight. I’ll always remember just watching them do their thing. But what really sticks with me is the strong bond we built. But a lot of the things that I remember from being on set was just the bond. I think I made friends for life on the job. After a day on set, we’d head to the pubs in Oxford, share some laughs, and unwind. I remember during the summer when filming got delayed, guitars came out, we set up a paddling pool, and we created a laid-back vibe, telling jokes and enjoying the moment. So one of the main memories would just be that the difference in this job is that we all became very good friends and I think it’s because we all knew that we were part of something a lot bigger than us.
What was the easiest part of playing this role?
The cast made it easy. The production, the crew, directors, assistant directors, the second AD units—everything was of such high standard. That made it a breeze.
The wardrobe, the costume, made it very, very easy. Also, the time they gave us—it didn’t feel rushed. I’ve been on other productions where you have a deadline, or they’d say ‘this needs to be done here’ – and it sometimes eliminates room for you to be able to play. But the easiest thing about this job was that we were given the opportunity by the directors to just play and make sure that we got to a place that we needed to, to portray the performance.
Speaking of direction, working with Cary Fukunaga from James Bond films, must have been a very exciting experience. So what insights did you gain from his directorial style?
Cary was amazing. One thing that I figured out was that he just wanted it to be real. Whether that meant changing something or providing feedback, he wouldn’t sugarcoat it. There was a job that needed to be done, and he would make sure that he got it done. Once again, Cary provided all of the actors with the opportunity to play, which is quite rare to find. He was definitely an actor’s director, and he’s very cool.
He would make you think about things that maybe you didn’t think about. He would ask you questions. He would get you to move around. He enabled thoughts when you were in character that you may have not thought of. And like I say, an actor’s director these days is something to honour. He knew that these were real people, and he wouldn’t let you get away with not giving it your all, which is great. And just from a technical standpoint, he knew how to find shots – with the cameras that were being used on set, he would play with it; you’d have a call sheet, but it was very flexible. If people had ideas, he would take them on board. He wasn’t scared of improvisation either. If you were very much in character and it was a big emotional scene, he would take your offer on what you wanted to do.
Is there any piece of advice that you received in your early career that proved valuable right now?
Yeah, plenty. One of the big ones would be to give it your all. Whether you get what you want or you don’t get what you want, you’re never going to look back and wonder what if. So just give it your all. And then from an acting perspective, one of my acting coaches, especially in theater, it’s just two words: be vulnerable.
People can relate to vulnerability, and every other day, people are afraid to be vulnerable. People don’t want to speak. And I think it’s important to talk to people. But as an actor on screen, you need to be vulnerable and just accept an offer.
