One Man's Hero
Encyclopedia
One Man's Hero is a 1999 film starring Tom Berenger
and directed by Lance Hool. The film has the distinction of being the last one released by Orion Pictures
.
The film tells the story of Jon Riley
and the Saint Patrick's Battalion
, a group of Irish Catholic
immigrants who desert from the mostly Protestant U.S. Army
to the mostly Catholic Mexican side during the Mexican-American War of 1846 to 1848. The story centers around Riley and a couple men in his U.S. Battalion who are whipped for "desertion" when they travel to the Mexican side of the border to attend Mass
. They escape to Mexico to hopefully find a ship back to Ireland only to find out that the U.S. and Mexico are now at war and if they are captured they could be hanged.
Prince Albert of Monaco
, using the stage name of Kelly (his mother's maiden name), had a cameo appearance in the movie. He has a connection to Mexico through his grandfather, Prince Pierre, Duke of Valentinois, whose mother, Susana María de la Torre y Mier was a member of the Mexican nobility
.
Tom Berenger
Tom Berenger is an American actor known mainly for his roles in action films.-Early life:Berenger was born as Thomas Michael Moore in Chicago to an Irish Catholic family. Berenger's father was a printer for the Chicago Sun-Times. Berenger has a sister, Susan...
and directed by Lance Hool. The film has the distinction of being the last one released by Orion Pictures
Orion Pictures
Orion Pictures Corporation was an American independent production company that produced movies from 1978 until 1998. It was formed in 1978 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. and three former top-level executives of United Artists. Although it was never a large motion picture producer, Orion...
.
The film tells the story of Jon Riley
Jon Riley
Jon Patrick Riley , also known as John Patrick O'Riley, , a United States Army private, was one of the several hundred immigrant Catholic Irishmen who defected from the US Army and formed the Saint Patrick's Battalion to fight for Mexico in the 1846-48 Mexican-American War...
and the Saint Patrick's Battalion
Saint Patrick's Battalion
The Saint Patrick's Battalion , formed and led by Jon Riley, was a unit of 175 to several hundred immigrants and expatriates of European descent who fought as part of the Mexican Army against the United States in the Mexican-American War of 1846 to 1848. Most of the battalion's members had...
, a group of Irish Catholic
Irish Catholic
Irish Catholic is a term used to describe people who are both Roman Catholic and Irish .Note: the term is not used to describe a variant of Catholicism. More particularly, it is not a separate creed or sect in the sense that "Anglo-Catholic", "Old Catholic", "Eastern Orthodox Catholic" might be...
immigrants who desert from the mostly Protestant U.S. Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
to the mostly Catholic Mexican side during the Mexican-American War of 1846 to 1848. The story centers around Riley and a couple men in his U.S. Battalion who are whipped for "desertion" when they travel to the Mexican side of the border to attend Mass
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
. They escape to Mexico to hopefully find a ship back to Ireland only to find out that the U.S. and Mexico are now at war and if they are captured they could be hanged.
Cast
- Tom BerengerTom BerengerTom Berenger is an American actor known mainly for his roles in action films.-Early life:Berenger was born as Thomas Michael Moore in Chicago to an Irish Catholic family. Berenger's father was a printer for the Chicago Sun-Times. Berenger has a sister, Susan...
as Sergeant / Lieutenant / Captain John Riley - Joaquim de AlmeidaJoaquim de AlmeidaJoaquim António Portugal Baptista de Almeida is a Portuguese-born American actor. He began his acting doing some theater. During the 1980s, he started his film career appearing on the 1982 action film The Soldier, and later achieved recognition for playing Andrea Bonanno in the 1987 Italian film...
as Cortina - Daniela RomoDaniela RomoDaniela Romo is a Mexican singer, actress and TV host. Daniela Romo was born Teresita Presmanes Corona in Mexico City to Teresa Corona. Her parents never married, and Daniela and her sister Patricia were raised by their grandmother...
as Marta - Mark MosesMark MosesMark W. Moses is an American actor, known for his roles of Paul Young on Desperate Housewives and Herman "Duck" Phillips on the AMC series Mad Men.-Life and career:...
as Colonel Benton Lacy - Stuart GrahamStuart GrahamStuart Graham was a British former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He was the son of the 1949 500cc world champion, Leslie Graham. His best season was in 1967 when he won two Grand Prix races and finished the year in third place in both the 50cc and the 125cc world championships.-References:*...
as Corporal Kenneally - Gregg FitzgeraldGregg FitzgeraldGregg Fitzgerald is an Irish actor, who appeared in a number of films in the 1990s including War of the Buttons , The Butcher Boy , and One Man's Hero,...
as Paddy Noonan - Don WycherleyDon WycherleyDon Wycherley is an Irish actor who is well known for the portrayal of Father Cyril McDuff in the comedy Father Ted. Don is the brother of Gordon Wycherley. Other roles include Raymond in Bachelors Walk and Fr...
as Brian Athlone - Wolf MuserWolf MuserWolf Muser is a German actor most notably recognized for his role as Marcello Armonti on NBC's soap opera Santa Barbara. He portrayed the role in 1985. Prior to joining the show, he also appeared as Kurt Voightlander on CBS' drama Capitol in 1983...
as Corporal Schultz - Luke HaydenLuke HaydenLuke Patrick Hayden was an Irish nationalist politician and MP in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and as a member of the Irish Parliamentary Party represented South Leitrim from 1885 to 1892 and South Roscommon from 1892 until his death in 1897.He was the...
as Seamus McDougherty - Ilia VolokIlia VolokIlia Volok or Ilia Volokh is a notable Russian-born television and movie actor. Volok appeared in more than ninety films and TV shows.-Life and career:Volok was born in Kiev where he graduated from a high school and became a professional athlete...
as Daniel Grzbalski - Patrick BerginPatrick BerginPatrick Connolly Bergin is an Irish actor and singer. He may be best-known internationally for playing the menacing husband of Julia Roberts' character in the thriller Sleeping with the Enemy and is also known for his role as Irish terrorist Kevin O'Donnell in the film adaption of Patriot Games....
as General Winfield ScottWinfield ScottWinfield Scott was a United States Army general, and unsuccessful presidential candidate of the Whig Party in 1852.... - James GammonJames GammonJames Richard Gammon was an American actor, known for playing grizzled "good ol' boy" types in numerous films and television series.-Early life:...
as General Zachary TaylorZachary TaylorZachary Taylor was the 12th President of the United States and an American military leader. Initially uninterested in politics, Taylor nonetheless ran as a Whig in the 1848 presidential election, defeating Lewis Cass... - Carlos Carrasco as Dominguez
- Stephen TobolowskyStephen TobolowskyStephen Harold Tobolowsky is an American actor. He is well known for his role as Ned Ryerson in Groundhog Day, as well as portraying Commissioner Hugo Jarry in Deadwood for nine episodes and Bob Bishop in Heroes for eleven episodes over the second and third seasons...
as Captain Gaine
Prince Albert of Monaco
Albert II, Prince of Monaco
Albert II, Sovereign Prince of Monaco is the head of the House of Grimaldi and the ruler of the Principality of Monaco. He is the son of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, and the American actress Grace Kelly...
, using the stage name of Kelly (his mother's maiden name), had a cameo appearance in the movie. He has a connection to Mexico through his grandfather, Prince Pierre, Duke of Valentinois, whose mother, Susana María de la Torre y Mier was a member of the Mexican nobility
Mexican nobility
Mexican nobility refers to the titled nobles and untitled gentry families of Mexico. Most of the descendants of these families still live in Mexico today, but some can be found in Europe and other countries....
.
Awards
| Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 ALMA Award Alma Award The American Latino Media Arts Award, or ALMA Award is a distinction awarded to Latino performers who promote positive portrayals of Latinos in the entertainment field... |
Outstanding Director of a Feature Film | Lance Hool | rowspan="4" |
| 1999 Sundance Film Festival | Exposé Award | One Man's Hero | |
| Human Rights Award | |||
| Peace Award | |||