'I have difficulty with the hero thing:' Jeff Bauman on Boston Marathon bombing film Stronger

How does it feel to have Jake Gyllenhaal play you in the major new movie?

"Itwassurreal," saysJeffBauman, the real-life inspiration for Gyllenhaal's latest film Stronger.

In theatres Friday, the drama based on Bauman's memoir of the same name tells the story of his recovery after losinghis legs in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. He was standing at the finish line, cheering on his girlfriendErinHurley, when one of the bombs exploded next to him andshatteredboth legs below the knees.

It's a movie with a lot of heart. It's also a movie about a very funny guypartly because it's Bauman's sense of humour that helps get him through the heart-wrenching ordeal, as well as the love and support of Erin (played in the film by Canadian Tatiana Maslany), his mother and his family.

With Baumancracking jokes alongside Gyllenhaalwhile promoting Strongerat the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this month,it's clear thatthe two men have developed a bond based on mutual respect and a shared sense of humour.

Still,Gyllenhaal insists Bauman is funnier.

For instance, after saying working with Gyllenhaal was an honour anddescribing the actor "a cool dude, "a very genuine, nice guy" and "awesome,"Baumanpromptly sparked laughter at the Stronger press conference when he declared: "I've never seen any of his movies."

Grinning widely, Bauman noted he was kiddingand has "probably seen all of his movies"singling out Gyllenhaal'sturn in October Skyas real-life "unsung hero"Homer Hickam. The actor's portrayal of the coal miner's son who became a rocket scientist gave Bauman, who also hails from a working-class family,"real hope as a 13-year-old."

For his part, Gyllenhaal says he was intimidated ahead of meetingBauman for the first time.

"I think there's no way that any of us could really match the reality of what Jeff and Erin and his family went through in this journey," he said.

The Oscar-nominated actor, who producedStrongerunder his new film, TV and theatre company Nine Stories, said he couldn't think of a more relatable story,nor one he'd rather "put his heart and soul into."

As much as Bauman'srecovery meant to the city of Boston after the attack, the filmmakers' goal was to go beyond thenarrative of depicting a survivor of a violent terrorist attack as a brave hero and to tell the human story of his recovery struggles afterward.

Both Erin and Jeff are "immensely humble, immensely down to earth," said Maslany.

"Even with all this attention and this focus on him and this icon that he has become for people...what's so great about the film is that it sort of dismantles that iconand goes 'Who are the actual human beings behind these headlines and behind this hype and behind this significance placed on them? What is their day-to-day life?How are they coping with it?"

Stronger explores 'actual human beings behind the headlines'

7 years ago

Duration 2:05

Boston Marathon bombing survivor Jeff Bauman on the new film Stronger, a biographical drama about his life and recovery starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Tatiana Maslany and Miranda Richardson.

Strongerincorporates real figures into its depiction in fact, with some of Bauman's medical team seen in the film, Gyllenhaal told CBC News.

"The real doctors and nurses who worked with Jeff Dr. Kalish, who amputated Jeff's legs, and Odessa, his nurse, who took him through some of the hardest parts of the initial part of his recoverythey're all in the movie."

Real-life heroes

Baumancame to the world's attention through an Associated Press news photo snapped in the aftermath of the bombing and he came to symbolize survival, American heroism andBostonian pride. However, he struggles with that perception.

"I have difficulty with the hero thing,"Baumansaid, adding thathe views the people around him as the heroes:Erin, his mother, the bystanders who picked him up off the ground, as well as the staff ofthe Boston Medical Center.

Heconsiders his role as one small part of the bigger picture.

"I did help the FBI get a description of Tamerlan[Tsarnaev, one of the bombers] that was really spot on.I had to testify and do all that, which was great," Baumanexplained.

"But other than that, I was focused on the people who saved my lifelike Carlos [Arredondo]and Allan Panzer, the guys who ran into that situation, not knowing if there was another bomb, not knowing what else was laying there and they ran in... Those first responders risked their lives to go in there and take people out: those are my heroes.And, you know, I don't know how to thank them. I think about them every day."

"We want these big ideas of heroes,"Gyllenhaaladded.

"Sometimes, just the person who says'I actually can get up. I'm gonna get up' that's a heroic move for people who are struggling."