Actor-producer Scott Alda Coffey is one of the stars of the upcoming military thriller The Outpost. Based on the bestselling non-fiction book by Jake Tapper, The Outpost follows a small group of courageous US soldiers who battled against hundreds of Taliban fighters in Afghanistan.
One of those soldiers was Scott’s character, Sergeant Michael Scusa, who’s described as the family man that everyone in the unit loved.
Pop Culturalist caught up with Scott to learn more about The Outpost, the pressures he felt to do justice to the story, and the research he did in preparation.
PC: How did you discover your passion for the arts?
Scott: This is what I’ve wanted to do since I was three years old. The summer before I started fourth grade, I decided to be a part of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. As soon as I did that, I never wanted to stop performing; I couldn’t get enough of it. I pretty much have been doing it ever since.
PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Scott: I would say my grandfather, the actor Alan Alda. I feel like I’ve learned so much from him and he’s been so supportive of me and my career. I don’t know if I would be able to do this without him.
PC: What’s one thing that you know now that you wish you knew when you started your career?
Scott: That’s a good question. I would say that it’s okay to fail and that things take time. It’s a process. This isn’t going to happen overnight; it’s going to take time. It’s very easy to forget that sometimes, but it’s important to remind yourself of that.
PC: Tell us about The Outpost, your character, and what drew you to that project.
Scott: The Outpost is a military thriller. It’s based on the New York Times‘ bestselling non-fiction book, The Outpost: The Untold Story of American Valor by Jake Tapper. It’s about a tiny unit of US soldiers who are alone at Combat Outpost Keating, which is located in the Valley of Three Mountains of Afghanistan. They ended up having to defend it against an overwhelming force of Taliban fighters in a coordinated attack.
It was later known as the Battle of Kamdesh, one of the bloodiest American battles of the entire Afghanistan War. I play real-life American hero, Sergeant Michael Scusa. He was someone that everybody liked and got along with. He wanted to be a soldier his entire life. He was also very, very, very much a family man—he loved his family. In fact, he’d get teased by other soldiers sometimes because he talked about his family so much.
When I first read the script, I absolutely loved it, but I was almost embarrassed with myself because I hadn’t heard the story before. I hadn’t heard about the Battle of Kamdesh. I was surprised that I hadn’t heard about it before and I felt like this is such an important story. It’s a story that needs to be told. So, I feel so incredibly lucky to be a part of this project and to tell this story.
PC: What was the preparation like getting ready for the role?
Scott: A lot of what I did was I talked to his wife as well as a lot of the people who knew him to really get a sense of who he was as a person and as a soldier. Everyone said how likable and kind he was. He always had a smile on his face. I found that really helped me. What I tried to do is take what they told me and find that within myself and tap into that as best I could.
PC: When you’re tackling a story that’s based on true events or playing a character that’s a real-life person, does that bring a different weight to the project?
Scott: A hundred percent! We wanted so badly to get this right. We wanted to be able to honor the real people who served at Outpost Keating—all the members of Bravo Troop 3-61 CAV. It’s important to make sure that the story is told well and done right. I completely believe that’s what we did. We were lucky that we had a lot of real veterans in the film. We had military consultants on set, too. It was a priority to everyone that we bring as much authenticity as possible as well as honor who these people were.
PC: This is a breakout role for you. What was the biggest takeaway from this experience?
Scott: Another good question. I would say the biggest takeaway is that we shot a lot of this film in oners. A lot of shots would last a number of minutes. A big takeaway for me is that there’s so much more to it than just my acting. I had to constantly maneuver myself around the camera and hit my mark. There was a lot to figure out, especially when shooting in oners—you have that one shot to do it. That was a learning curve and a valuable one.
PC: Guilty pleasure TV show?
Scott: I’ve been really, really, really enjoying the new season of FX’s What We Do in the Shadows. It’s been a lot of fun.
PC: Guilty pleasure movie?
Scott: I love the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I can watch that any time, any day.
PC: Favorite book?
Scott: I love The Shining.
PC: Favorite play or musical?
Scott: My favorite musical would have to be Next to Normal. I saw it twice on Broadway.
PC: A band or artist that fans would be surprised to learn is on your playlist?
Scott: The Who. I’m a sucker for classic rock.
PC: Who would play you in the story of your life?
Scott: Adrian Grenier
To keep up with Scott, follow him on Instagram. Catch The Outpost on demand and in select theaters on July 3.
Photo Credit: The Riker Brothers
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