The inspiring story behind Guy Ritchie's film "The Covenant" has a personal connection to its lead actor, Jake Gyllenhaal.
Gyllenhaal stars as Sgt. John Kinley, a U.S. Army veteran who returns to Afghanistan to rescue his former interpreter from the Taliban, after the Afghani had previously saved his life. Gyllenhaal revealed he was motivated to take the role in the fictional tale because of his longtime friend and Marine Zachary Iscol's own amazing true story.
Iscol served two tours in Iraq and is now the Emergency Management Commissioner for New York City. He shared with the New York Post his personal story fighting to secure a U.S. visa for Iraqi translator Khalid Abood, who served alongside him in the Iraq War, after his life was threatened.
Abood and Iscol had developed a lasting bond during the Second Battle of Fallujah in 2004, the Post reported.
After terrorists left a decapitated dog's head on Abood's doorstep one day with the threat, "You're next," Iscol told his friend to get out of Iraq.
"Interpreters were being hunted, and were prime targets for insurgent and terrorist groups," he told the Post.
But after Abood and his family fled to Jordan, they had to wait for months to reach safety.
Iscol testified before Congress, pleading for the U.S. to protect Abood and other allies who stood by American troops in the war.
"He wore the Marine Corps uniform in combat," Iscol said of Abood.
In June 2007, Abood and his family landed on U.S. soil after a "lengthy battle," the Post reported.
"I owed my life to him," Iscol told the outlet. "And I believe that came with an obligation to make sure we were taking care of him. Because he, quite simply, took care of us."
Gyllenhaal said his friend's "extraordinary" story moved him to take the role in the Ritchie film.
"Through Zach’s relationship with Abood and his family, I understood the extraordinary and important work accomplished and sacrifice made by interpreters for our country," Gyllenhaal said.
The duo showcases the relationship many service members had with their life-saving Afghan counterparts, and the angst they felt when many were left behind amid the chaotic exit back in August 2021.
According to a 2022 Association of Wartime Allies report, the U.S. has issued over 23,000 visas to Afghans since Congress created the Special Immigrant Visa in 2006. However, at least 78,000 Afghan visa applicants are "left behind."
The actor said the film was "absolutely" informed by the real-life events of the U.S. troops exiting Afghanistan and the interpreters left behind. He said the Taliban has killed 300 Afghan interpreters since 2001.
While the film is more dramatic than Iscol's story, the film honors the bravery and sacrifice interpreters showed to help U.S. forces.
"There was something about this story that was just, it was a parable… It was about doing good, reluctantly," Gyllenhaal told Fox News. "I feel like America is made up of heroes and sometimes reluctant ones, but that is our fabric."
"That is who we are, and I felt that when I read it, I felt like it made me proud to be an American, and in that way I wanted to be a part of it," he said.
Fox News' Bailee Hill and Amanda Cappelli contributed to this report.
