David ellison flyboys, David Ellison is the son of Oracle founder Larry Ellison and a successful aerobatics pilot, having first taken to the air at the age of 13. Now that he's turned his attention to Hollywood, he looks set for a similarly high-flying career as an actor, writer and producer. His latest film Flyboys sees him playing an American pilot fighting in World War I - a character whose exploits are based on several real-life heroes. He tells BBC Movies why the role felt like a dream come true...
It's been 75 years since there's been a film about the exploits of the Lafayette Escadrille in World War I. Why do you think that is?
Firstly, I don't think World War I is as well known, or at least we're not as educated about it. And until present day, you couldn't really put someone in the cockpit the way you can now. I mean, Howard Hughes was the person who did it most effectively and three pilots actually died in the filming of that movie [Hell's Angels]. I don't think that was something that anyone ever wanted to repeat. But now CGI really allows you to get the airplanes as close as they were in the air and to really depict what the battles actually looked like.
Given your background as an aerobatics pilot, how thrilling was it to actually be able to fly some of those First World War planes?
It was unbelievable. I started flying when I was 13-years-old but there's very few of these machines that actually fly left in the world. You pretty much can't get your hands on them. So to be able to go up in an airplane like that and literally be a part of flying history was a dream come true. I can't get a ride in a World War II airplane, let alone World War I. So I absolutely loved it.
Did it also give you a first-hand appreciation of just how skilled those guys had to be?
The airplane I usually fly has 450 horse power and it's all made out of carbon fibre - you can't break it; your body will break before the airplane does. Those airplanes were wood and fabric. If you put your foot on the wrong part of the wing it'd go right through. These guys were literally pushing these airplanes further than they were ever meant to go. I have just an incredible amount of respect for the heroes that flew them. If you look back at technology, this was really the birth of aviation. They were the first ones to use them in the air as war machines.
What kind of research did you do into your character?
I based a lot of of my research on a book that [director] Tony Bill gave me that had a biography on every single member of the Lafayatte Escradrille. It was really a case of going through that and learning the history. Another book contained letters home from the pilots themselves and it really helped in getting to understand the mentality of what they were thinking and how it felt. The fact that it was written by their own hand was really helpful.
How often do you fly yourself?
Before the movie I was a sponsored air show pilot, so I was flying literally two flights a day, six days a week. I was touring the country. When I was 20, I was the youngest acrobatic pilot to ever fly the Oshkosh Air Show, the Superbowl of Aviation events, which was a real honour.
So you learned to fly before you could drive....
Yeah [laughs] and a very, very embarrassing story is that on my 16th birthday I got up in the morning, went and took my written test and then went to the DNV that afternoon and flat out failed my drive test. So I'm a better pilot than I am a driver!
How do you think you'll find a balance between flying and acting now that you're doing more within the film industry?
I've really stepped aside from doing competitive aerobatics. It's a full-time thing to do safely. You have to do it every day otherwise you shouldn't be doing it. When you're flying 300 miles an hour, 15 feet off the ground, if it's not your profession you have absolutely no business being there. I still fly for fun but it's something that will be a hobby from here on in.
It's been 75 years since there's been a film about the exploits of the Lafayette Escadrille in World War I. Why do you think that is?
Firstly, I don't think World War I is as well known, or at least we're not as educated about it. And until present day, you couldn't really put someone in the cockpit the way you can now. I mean, Howard Hughes was the person who did it most effectively and three pilots actually died in the filming of that movie [Hell's Angels]. I don't think that was something that anyone ever wanted to repeat. But now CGI really allows you to get the airplanes as close as they were in the air and to really depict what the battles actually looked like.
Given your background as an aerobatics pilot, how thrilling was it to actually be able to fly some of those First World War planes?
It was unbelievable. I started flying when I was 13-years-old but there's very few of these machines that actually fly left in the world. You pretty much can't get your hands on them. So to be able to go up in an airplane like that and literally be a part of flying history was a dream come true. I can't get a ride in a World War II airplane, let alone World War I. So I absolutely loved it.
Did it also give you a first-hand appreciation of just how skilled those guys had to be?
The airplane I usually fly has 450 horse power and it's all made out of carbon fibre - you can't break it; your body will break before the airplane does. Those airplanes were wood and fabric. If you put your foot on the wrong part of the wing it'd go right through. These guys were literally pushing these airplanes further than they were ever meant to go. I have just an incredible amount of respect for the heroes that flew them. If you look back at technology, this was really the birth of aviation. They were the first ones to use them in the air as war machines.
What kind of research did you do into your character?
I based a lot of of my research on a book that [director] Tony Bill gave me that had a biography on every single member of the Lafayatte Escradrille. It was really a case of going through that and learning the history. Another book contained letters home from the pilots themselves and it really helped in getting to understand the mentality of what they were thinking and how it felt. The fact that it was written by their own hand was really helpful.
How often do you fly yourself?
Before the movie I was a sponsored air show pilot, so I was flying literally two flights a day, six days a week. I was touring the country. When I was 20, I was the youngest acrobatic pilot to ever fly the Oshkosh Air Show, the Superbowl of Aviation events, which was a real honour.
So you learned to fly before you could drive....
Yeah [laughs] and a very, very embarrassing story is that on my 16th birthday I got up in the morning, went and took my written test and then went to the DNV that afternoon and flat out failed my drive test. So I'm a better pilot than I am a driver!
How do you think you'll find a balance between flying and acting now that you're doing more within the film industry?
I've really stepped aside from doing competitive aerobatics. It's a full-time thing to do safely. You have to do it every day otherwise you shouldn't be doing it. When you're flying 300 miles an hour, 15 feet off the ground, if it's not your profession you have absolutely no business being there. I still fly for fun but it's something that will be a hobby from here on in.
