Veteran's Debut
It's no surprise that Col. Greg Gadson was not intimidated by his first feature film role, as a wounded veteran in the recently released summer blockbuster, Battleship. The former West Point linebacker has, after all, participated in every major U.S. combat operation of the last two decades. In 2008, a year after he lost both his legs above the knee in Iraq when an improvised explosive device detonated beneath his vehicle, he served as an honorary captain for the Giants during New York's run to victory in Super Bowl XLII. (He received his second championship ring, for the Giants' win in Super Bowl XLVI, on May 16.) Two years later he took over as the director of the U.S. Army Wounded Warrior Program, which provides aid and assistance to injured and ill soldiers and veterans. He works with generals. He has met presidents. "I wasn't starstruck," says Gadson, 46, who played most of his scenes opposite former SI swimsuit model Brooklyn Decker. "I mean, this was only Brooklyn's second film."
Reviewers have noted the parallels between Gadson and Harold Russell, who lost both his hands in a training accident during World War II and went on to win two Academy Awards in 1947 for his portrayal of an emotionally scarred Navy vet in The Best Years of Our Lives. Nobody is predicting an Oscar for Gadson, but his performance, which includes a gnarly fight with an alien invader—a scene for which he did most of his own stunt work—has been praised as authentic and inspiring.
So will there be more movies to come? Gadson, who took leave from his duties to make Battleship, says he's not sure. He is due to take command of the garrison at Fort Belvoir, Va., in June. He did enjoy acting, he says, though he admits to being less comfortable with the emotional side of the job. "Like in sports, you can only do what you have to do," he says, "and you can't control what everybody else is doing."
THEY SAID IT
"I've had enough."
BOB BAFFERT
Trainer of Bodemeister, explaining his decision not to run his colt in the Belmont Stakes, after Bodemeister was narrowly beaten out for victories in stretch runs at both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness by Triple Crown hopeful I'll Have Another
NASCAR
BURNING BUSCH
The big news from last Saturday's NASCAR All-Star Race at Charlotte? Jimmie Johnson won, earning $1.1 million, and Kurt Busch did not blow a gasket and get himself fined—as he did the week before at Darlington. Busch did remark, however, that his May 12 run-in with driver Ryan Newman was "WWE-type action" and "good for our sport." By that measure, Busch has been a glorious boon to the circuit over the last 12 years.
March 24, 2002
Wins first Cup race at Bristol by bumping leader Jimmy Spencer out of the way
Aug. 17, 2003
Gets punched by Spencer at Michigan
Nov. 21, 2004
Finishes fifth at Homestead to clinch first Cup
Nov. 13, 2005
Suspended for season's final two races and fired by Roush Racing two days after being cited by police in Phoenix for reckless driving. "We're officially retiring as Kurt Busch's apologists," says Roush president Geoff Smith
June 4, 2007
Crashes with Tony Stewart at Dover, then runs into Stewart's car on pit road, narrowly missing his jackman
Feb. 8, 2008
Pushed into the wall by Stewart in practice at Daytona; retaliates by ramming Stewart's car three times on way to garage
Nov. 20, 2011
Suffers engine problems at Homestead and makes obscene gesture in garage, then verbally abuses ESPN's Dr. Jerry Punch. Leaves Penske Racing
May 12, 2012
After tangling with Newman at Darlington, drives through Newman's pit stall, then rams Newman on pit road, prompting near brawl between crews. Fined $50,000 and put on two months' probation by NASCAR
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BILL FRAKES
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FRANK MASI/©UNIVERSAL PICTURES
SUPPORTING PLAYER Gadson was an honorary captain for Manning (10) and New York before costarring with Decker (above, right).
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MIKE GROLL/AP
[See caption above]
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GEOFF BURKE/GETTY IMAGES FOR NASCAR
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ROB SWEETEN/AP
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TERRY RENNA/AP