Who Played Me in "Saving Private Ryan"? Quiz

Answer: Tom Hanks

Hanks, born on July 9th, 1956 in Concord, California was cast as John Miller. John Miller was a Captain with the U.S. Army and took part in the mission to locate Private James Ryan. There was one scene when Captain Miller heard some German propaganda over a loudspeaker and simply rolled his eyes at what he heard.

In another scene, he and Private Jackson spoke after Private Jackson said he wanted to give his opinion of the mission. He informed Captain Miller that he felt the entire mission was mishandled due to the improper allocation of military resources. Captain Miller took this criticism seriously since he informed his men that the way Private Jackson voiced his concerns was proper.

Despite the concerns, though, the regiment continued to look for Private Ryan even while knowing of Private Jackson's reservations.

In Captain Miller's final scene, he died after some serious wounds sustained in battle. Hanks starred in the movies, "Philadelphia", "The Green Mile" and "Cast Away". In 1999, he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role for "Saving Private Ryan" but lost to Roberto Benigni for "Life is Beautiful".

Other Oscar nominees for Best Actor in a Leading Role that year were Ian McKellen for "Gods and Monsters", Nick Nolte for "Affliction" and Edward Norton for "American History X".

Answer: Tom Sizemore

Sizemore, a native of Detroit, Michigan played Mike Horvath. Mike was a Sergeant for the U.S. Army and known to be very loyal. There was one scene where Mike spoke to Captain Miller that it would be worth it to stay and complete the mission of saving Private Ryan.

He said that doing so would mean they could all look back on it as the one miracle which came out of the hell hole that was their combat mission in World War II. Sergeant Horvath believed that completing the mission was sufficient enough to earn everyone's right to go home.

In another scene, Sergeant Horvath argued with someone for being too talkative and told the person he ought to learn when to shut up. There was another instance where Captain Miller asked Sergeant Horvath if he was alright after he had been shot. Sergeant Horvath assured him he was fine despite feeling as if the wind got knocked out of him. Sizemore guest starred on the TV series', "CSI: Miami", "Southland" and "China Beach".

Answer: Edward Burns

Burns, born in 1968 in Queens, New York portrayed Richard Reiben. Richard was a part of the group looking to rescue Private Ryan, but in one scene questioned what the purpose of it was. He clarified this by stating the mission called for them to rescue one person while risking the lives of eight, hence he was unable to see how the math added up. Someone told Richard that he ought to think about Private Ryan's mother so Richard retorted by stating everyone else had to think about their mothers. In another scene, Richard asked Timothy Upham to clarify for him a saying he heard about God being on their side and Timothy told him what the saying was. Burns had roles in the films, "Sidewalks of New York", "The Brothers McMullen" and "A Sound of Thunder".

Answer: Barry Pepper

Pepper landed the role of Private Daniel Jackson in "Saving Private Ryan". Private Jackson was seen by others in Captain Miller's unit as the guy who did not have much fun and instead liked to quote Bible passages and ensure he shot the bad people's brains out without them noticing him.

There was one instance when Private Jackson said a prayer right as he kissed a crucifix before he went on the hunt for more bad people. In one fight scene, Private Jackson fought alongside a soldier named Parker when he advised Parker to get down.

However, it was too late as the blast from the tank killed both Private Jackson and Parker. Pepper portrayed characters in the movies, "True Grit" (2010), "Seven Pounds" and "We Were Soldiers".

Answer: Adam Goldberg

Goldberg, born on October 25th, 1970 in Santa Monica, California was cast as Stanley Mellish. Mellish was a private in Captain Miller's unit and he spoke to him during one battle about a radio nest. Private Mellish voiced concern as to whether attacking the radio nest would help them accomplish an objective, so Captain Miller informed him the objective was to win the war. Private Mellish considered that a fair response and therefore attacked the radio nest.

In another scene, Private Mellish spoke to Wade when Wade told him one trick to falling asleep was to keep awake. Wade told Private Mellish that his experiences with his mom reinforced to him the notion of how trying to keep awake helped you fall asleep faster. Private Mellish then continued to talk to Wade about this since what Wade told him piqued his curiosity. Goldberg starred in the films, "A Beautiful Mind", "Zodiac" and "Déjà Vu".

Answer: Vin Diesel

Diesel, a native of New York City, portrayed Adrian Caparzo. Private Caparzo spoke to Captain Miller once when Captain Miller asked him to bring a kid back to a certain location, about how that was not decent. He informed the Captain the most decent thing to do would be to take her to the next town so Captain Miller said they were there to follow orders, not follow decency.

In another scene, Private Caparzo spoke to Corporal Upham and he told him to drop dead. Private Caparzo then reminded the corporal to not always salute the captain as that made him a target for the Germans. Corporal Upham promised Private Caparzo he would no longer salute Captain Miller due to his safety.

There was another instance where Private Caparzo told both Corporal Upham and Private Reiben that he knew where Captain Miller hailed from as he followed details. Diesel had roles in the movies, "The Fast and the Furious", "The Pacifier" and "Pitch Black".

Answer: Giovanni Ribisi

Ribisi, born in 1974 in Los Angeles, California played Irwin Wade. Irwin was a medic for Captain Miller's unit and was often seen tending to their wounds. There was one particular scene where Irwin managed to stop a soldier's bleeding but then became distressed once a bullet hit the soldier in the head. Irwin was shot in the stomach with Captain Miller and Corporal Upham nearby so both of them asked Irwin how they could help him. Irwin suggested they give him some morphine to help alleviate the pain, so Captain Miller instructed Sergeant Horvath to inject some morphine into him.

Unfortunately, their best efforts did not save Irwin Wade and he died. Ribisi guest starred on the TV shows, "Entourage", "Chicago Hope" and "The X-Files".

Answer: Jeremy Davies

Davies landed the role of Corporal Timothy Upham for "Saving Private Ryan". Corporal Upham was an interpreter for Captain Miller's Army unit and he claimed to speak French although he also knew German. During one battle, Corporal Upham was alongside Captain Miller and he quoted to him something said by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Captain Miller responded to him by saying it seemed as if Emerson implied in the cited quote to always look on the bright side.

In one scene, Corporal Upham asked Captain Miller what he did prior to joining the U.S. Army but Captain Miller did not answer him. Shortly after this, Captain Miller advised Corporal Upham to get some sleep, which Corporal Upham did. Davies had guest starring stints on the TV series, "Justified", "Melrose Place" and "The Wonder Years".

Answer: Matt Damon

Damon, born on October 8th, 1970 in Boston, Massachusetts was cast as Private James Ryan. Private Ryan had gone missing after his three brothers were killed and Captain Miller's unit went to look for him and they were successful in locating Private Ryan. Private Ryan had a personal conversation with Captain Miller about one interesting night involving him and his two brothers. Private Ryan said his brothers woke him up in the middle of the night since they had a surprise for him in the barn.

It was in the barn where there was a lot of commotion Private Ryan spoke of and he told Captain Miller that was the last evening he spent with his brothers.

When Private Ryan was told he could go home, he stated that everyone else in the unit also deserved to go home as well. Damon starred in the films, "The Bourne Identity", "Ocean's Eleven" (2001) and "The Talented Mr. Ripley".

In 1998, Damon and Ben Affleck won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the film, "Good Will Hunting". Other Oscar nominees for Best Original Screenplay that year were Mark Andrus and James L. Brooks for "As Good As It Gets", Paul Thomas Anderson for "Boogie Nights", Woody Allen for "Deconstructing Harry" and Simon Beaufoy for "The Full Monty".

Answer: Ted Danson

Danson, a native of San Diego, California portrayed Captain Fred Hamill. Captain Hamill had a memorable scene in the movie when he prevented many of the men in Captain Miller's unit from becoming casualties. He shot many German soldiers dead who otherwise would have killed Captain Miller's men.

In one scene, Captain Hamill and Captain Miller discussed strategy as to how they would help win World War II. Captain Hamill mentioned they had to take Caen prior to taking Saint Lo. Captain Miller then told Captain Hamill that taking Saint Lo would then lead into taking Valognes. Captain Hamill continued the sequence by stating a capturing of Valognes resulted in needing to take Cherbourg. Captain Miller continued by stating after Cherbourg involved capturing Paris when Captain Hamill completed it by stating that after Paris came Berlin. Danson had guest starring stints on the TV shows, "Tucker's Witch" and "Taxi".

He is best known for his portrayal of Sam Malone on the hit primetime series, "Cheers".