In one scene in the movie, Kitsch's character can be seen taking pictures. In real life, MacKenzie took pictures and video on a handheld camera the day of the fire. Taylor Kitsch as Chris MacKenzie, a member of the crew.James Badge Dale as Jesse Steed, the crew's captain and one of its longest-serving members.He was posted as a lookout away from the rest of the crew on the day of the fire. Miles Teller as Brendan McDonough, the only surviving hotshot.Josh Brolin as Eric Marsh, the leader of the hotshot crew.The real Granite Mountain Hotshots and others are played one-for-one by actors including: The Wildland Firefighter Guardian Institute, a group founded by three surviving relatives of real-life hotshots - the widow and the mother of hotshot Andrew Ashcraft and the widow of hotshot William Warneke - issued a statement challenging the film's historical accuracy. In other parts of the story, it's hit or miss.Įven before the movie's debut, some of the family members of the firefighters raised concerns about the film's depiction of events. The depiction of the crew's final day together matches the records from the fire investigation, interviews with some of the people involved and a book by the fire crew's sole survivor, Brendan McDonough (played by Miles Teller).

When it comes to what counts - the events of the Yarnell Hill Fire itself - 'Only the Brave' sticks to the facts. But if you're hoping to avoid learning about specific plot twists in 'Only the Brave,' proceed with caution. The hotshots' fate was well documented at the time. The film's ending probably doesn't require a spoiler alert. It is, as the trailer says, 'based on true events.'īut how accurate is the movie about the Yarnell Hill Fire and what happened before it? 'Only the Brave,' the movie starring Josh Brolin, Jeff Bridges and Miles Teller, tells the story - one version of it, anyway - of Arizona's Granite Mountain Hotshots.

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