Band of Brothers star Alex Sabga-Brady, of Walsham-le-Willows, to retrace Easy Company’s steps with fellow actors in ‘Currahee to Normandy’ documentary

A Suffolk resident who starred in a critically-acclaimed war drama will fly to America next week as part of a documentary retracing the footsteps of his character.

Alex Sabga-Brady, 45, of Walsham-le-Willows, near Bury St Edmunds, played Francis Mellet in the Emmy and Golden Globe-winning 2001 miniseries Band of Brothers, which followed the story of Easy Company.

Alongside eight of his castmates, he will head to Camp Toccoa, in Georgia, to train as their characters did and ‘gain their wings’.

They will then take part in the 80th anniversary D-Day commemorations in Normandy, in June, by jumping from a plane into the Cotentin Peninsula.

The whole process will be filmed to create a documentary ‘Currahee to Normandy’, with proceeds donated to veterans’ charities and foundations.

“We fly out to Atlanta on March 22 and move from there to Camp Toccoa, which is the camp Easy Company used to train in 1942,” Alex said.

“We will be trained out there by people from the All Airborne Battalion and the plane we will be jumping out of is an original C47 that flew the original paratroopers to Normandy.

“It was a brainchild between myself and a few of the other actors and we only started getting this together last year so it’s been quite a quick turnaround.”

Alex and his castmates visit Normandy every year to pay tribute. It is a place he says is very special to him and his fellow actors.

While training at Camp Toccoa, the group will also under take a ‘three miles up and three miles down’ run on Currahee Mountain for charity, an exercise which formed part of the original Easy Company’s training.

They will also meet veterans and the families of their characters while in Georgia.

Alex, a graphic designer, joined the show as a ‘special ability’ cast member, having previously had cadet training as a child. After being picked up on camera several times he was asked by show creators Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg to audition for the part of Francis Mellet.

Alex said: “It was unlike any other acting job I’ve had. We had a two-week bootcamp which was a big leveller.

“I was suddenly in the this room with the likes of Donnie Wahlberg and Damian Lewis, people that are pretty awe-inspiring. Our skipper, Captain Dale Dye (who also starred in the show) was incredible. He broke us down very quickly into what was initially chaos, but then quickly became a brotherhood.

“After two weeks of training at Longmoor we were then released into the first episode. He had created something among us which still stands strong today. It was an incredible experience and we did really become a Band of Brothers.”

None of the people taking part in the documentary are being paid. The group would like to sell the documentary to a network to then pass the funds on to their charities, but if it does not get picked up they will produce it themselves.

Walk Among Heroes and All Airborne Battalion will be supported by the challenge.

Alex said he was slightly nervous about learning to jump, but that the experience as a whole would bring things into sharper focus.

“Well I’m already quite nervous,” he said. “But I think it’s going to be an incredible experience to set foot in the camp they trained in.

“A lot of the things we’re going to do are going to be quite emotional. That’s one of the pulls to it. It’s not about the conflict, but about the bond between people past and present.

“So I’ll see what I’m like when I’m standing out that door.”