Alleghany County resident Tracy Moxley lands role in movie

By NICOLE BLEVINS
Staff

In this day and time, it is not likely that you would run into a Revolutionary War hero.

However, through the magic of Hollywood, Tracy Moxley of Sparta got the chance to participate in America's fight for freedom from the British.

Moxley was featured as a colonial soldier in the movie "The Patriot," which was filmed in Braisonville, S.C. Moxley, who has been an amputee for most of his life, said he first heard about the auditions for the movie when he was at a doctor's office in Charlotte where they make artificial legs. The auditions for amputees in the area and a phone number to call were being sent out on flyers.

Moxley stated that his wife, Sue, urged him to call the number on their way home from Charlotte. "I told her she was absolutely crazy,' he said, "there was no way they would consider me." By the time they reached home, she had convinced him to give the phone number a try.

The casting office was interested in Moxley and asked him to come down for an audition in Rock Hill, S.C. "I told them I would do anything they wanted me to do but take the Lord's name in vain," Moxley stated. Moxley said the interviewer told him to start letting his hair grow out and that they would call him.

Tracy Moxley pauses for a photo with a fellow cast member during shooting
of the movie, "The Patriot." The movie was recently released on video and
is available for rental in Sparta.

Moxley said that after a few weeks he decided that they were not going to call and asked his wife to cut his hair. A week after that he received the call to come down there for another interview. The interviewer that had interviewed him previously said that the statement that he made stuck out in his mind. Out of 50 amputees who auditioned, Moxley became one of the 10 picked to participate in the film.

The drive to Braisonville took three hours for Moxley and his family - wife Sue, son Jesse and daughter Nikki. Moxley stated that he made several trips in an attempt to cast his part, all the while maintaining a full-time job with Independence Lumber, which he had just started at the time. "They were very good about letting me off work," Moxley said, "They were as excited as I was."

The filming took place in September and October of 1999 and Moxley got to play a soldier for two weeks.

All of the extras, Moxley included, were transferred in a tractor trailer to the filming location. "They taught us how to march and carry the 10-pound muskets," he said. He also stated that the training for the film was difficult in the 90 degree heat. "They had us running 50- to 75-yard sprints," he stated, "People were having heat strokes and passing out."

Moxley also said that if someone fell down like they had been shot, they ran the risk of being run over by a horse. All of the extras were not allowed to wash their uniforms or their hair to make the movie look as realistic as possible.

Moxley said that he spent a lot of time in a large camper with other extras. The camper consisted of a television, a VCR, a deck of playing cards with which they played spades and lots of snacks to try and beat out the hot temperatures outside while waiting to be called for a part. Meals were served in large tents to feed the 400 extras of the film. Moxley said that they fed the cast very well and served them food such as prime rib. "I got to have lunch with the guy who played the villain, Tavington, one day," he said.

"It is so amazing how they make the movies," he stated. "I learned how they did all of the special effects. What was so amazing was how they had 400 people with horses and cannons out in the field and when they yelled 'Quiet on the set!' you could hear a pin drop." He said that it actually was so quiet that after they said "film's up" you could hear the projector rolling from way out in the field. He said that they weren't allowed to talk to Mel Gibson on the set because the producers feared that he would lose concentration on his next lines. "In one tent scene that I was in, Mel rode close by on a horse and it was hard to resist saying anything to him," he said.

Moxley got to experience being treated like a star when he was asked to do a scene in the final battle of the movie. "They let me sit in a chair and get pampered," said Moxley. Make-up girls were bringing him whatever he needed. In this scene Moxley got his leg blown off by a cannon ball. To do this, Moxley said that the special effects people made a mold casting of his artificial leg and attached blood packs rigged with explosives.

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