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US trio who stopped Amsterdam-Paris train attack play selves in movie

Three young American men –Anthony Sadler, Alek Skarlatos and Spencer Stone – who overpowered a 25-year-old Moroccan national armed with an assault rifle on a Paris-bound Thalys high-speed train in August 2015 have been cast by Clint Eastwood to play themselves in a film about the events.

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Anthony Sadler, Alek Skarlatos and Spencer Stone will play themselves in the upcoming movie about their experience thwarting a terrorist attack, reports The Hollywood Reporter.

As of late, Clint Eastwood has been in the business of turning laymen heroes into big-screen fodder with his movies Sully and American Sniper.

The director has always called on big Hollywood talent to play his heroes, as opposed to the heroes themselves. But, for his next film, The 15:17 to Paris, Eastwood has opted to cast the real-life heroes on which the film is based.

Anthony Sadler, Alek Skarlatos and Spencer Stone will play themselves in Eastwood's upcoming movie about their experience thwarting a terrorist attack. 

While traveling in Europe, the trio stopped an attempted attack on a train from Brussels to Paris by overpowering the man, who was armed with an AK-47. The story was heavily covered on cable news, where the friends, one of whom was in the Oregon National Guard and another in the US Air Force, were lauded for their bravery. 

Read more of this report from The Hollywood Reporter.