“There have been many ideas brought forth in the last few months of what Texas is, or what it should become. I’d like each of you men to think of what it is you value so highly that you are willing to fight and possibly die for it. We will call that Texas.” – Lt. Col. William B. Travis
“For Travis, becoming the commander of the Alamo was something he didn’t expect,” offers bigscreen newcomer Patrick Wilson (HBO’s “Angels in America”), who plays the steadfast 26-year-old commanding officer, Lt. Col. William Barret Travis. “I don’t like the words ‘heroes’ and ‘legend.’ Anybody who says they’re a hero usually isn’t. That’s not what makes a leader. This was a man faced with a situation while becoming a man, too. There were legends created out of this event. What this movie tries to do is show the humanity of it. I was not trying to play a legend. I’m just playing a guy.”
“William Travis was the leader by law, but Bowie was the leader by the men,” Wilson elaborates. “Bowie’s the guy they want to hang out with. Travis wishes he could be that guy, but doesn’t know how to be that guy. He’s just a little bit too uptight and plays by the rules. Bowie and I have a very specific moment where we finally come to terms with the fact that we’re both going to die.”
“Bowie was the natural leader,” states actor Jason Patric in describing the contentious and confrontational relationship he shared with Travis. “People were attracted to him, rough edges and all. Travis was someone looking to cotton Bowie’s favor, and Bowie hadn’t much time for Travis.”
To which Patric adds, “Bowie, whose physical powers started to go, making him a shell of the strong man he was, realizes that Travis was going to have to lead this group. Not only did he relinquish his command, he believed Travis could become a good, even great, man.”
Wilson describes his character as “one whose life was well-documented. He was a lawyer. He ran his own paper when he was nineteen. He was very active in the military. He was called a dandy, among other things. But, he was a fighter and would gladly die for what he believed in, which he did.
“He left his wife and kid when he was 21,” Wilson continues. “He died at 26, a very young man just trying to make his way in the world, to start anew, have a new beginning in Texas. From his perspective, it’s a coming-of-age story. I saw that in the script.”
“When I met Patrick, I thought it a great opportunity to have someone relatively unknown make a huge splash,” Hancock continues. “On top of that, Patrick is a fantastic actor, and I cannot imagine anyone else playing Travis. I think the audience is going to embrace this guy.”
“Because he died a martyr, he was very much a legend. He’s painted as this big, swashbuckling kind of hero, but Travis didn’t consider himself a hero,” Wilson says. “He was a cavalry man who came to Texas much against his will. He was sent to Bexar to guard this old mission. He wanted to be active and fighting, and this was not why he signed up to be in the military. For Travis, he always thought a leader was someone who puts on fancy clothes. He finally figures out who he is in his last days. It was the same for a lot of these men at the Alamo.”
Movie Database
In Theaters
