Matthew Fox, known to millions of Lost fans as Dr Jack Shepard, will soon be seen on the big screen as one of the stars of Warner Bros Pictures? inspirational film, We Are Marshall. Based on true events, the film focuses on the story of how a town and its college rebuilt their community after the devastatingly tragic loss of 75 people killed in a plane crash on November 14, 1970 while returning home from a football game against East Carolina University.

The crash of the chartered twin-engine DC-9 has been labeled one of the worst air disasters in American sports history. Onboard the flight were members of the Marshall University football team, its coaches, and fans. As fate would have it, one member of the coaching squad - Red Dawson (Fox) - skipped the flight, opting instead to drive himself home from the game. That seemingly simple decision saved Dawson's life.

Following the tragic loss of his close friends and players, Dawson stayed on with the program for one more year and helped the new head coach, Jack Lengyel (played by Matthew McConaughey), rebuild the team.

Matthew Fox took time off from working on Lost to discuss why he chose to be involved in We Are Marshall and the importance of faithfully honoring the real people affected by the tragedy.

What was the appeal of We Are Marshall?
?Well, it was the script. Lost does take up a huge chunk of my year and I am reticent to fill my hiatus with other work unless it?s something that I?m obviously, you know, incredibly passionate about and [feel] almost like I have to do it.

That?s the way I felt about the story. I felt very, very moved and it affected [me]. The way I choose things is always sort of a nebulous sort of vague process, and ultimately just comes down to the sense inside yourself that it?s really important for you to do this part and be a part of this project."

How much did you actually get to talk with Red Dawson and what did you learn from him that really helped you get into the character?
?I actually got to spend four, five days with him. I was shooting the finale of Lost last spring and I couldn?t leave the island. So I asked Red, I called him and asked him if he would be interested in coming out of Hawaii. I fully anticipated him? That is [not to want] to do that because he hasn?t done a lot of flying in the past 35 years. And I was, you know, pleasantly surprised when he took me up on the offer. He came out and spent about four days just hanging out with me on set, and spent some time with my family.

It was just an incredible experience. I mean, obviously, I thought that was absolutely crucial to have some time with him and to ask him about his [experiences] that year of 1970, and what it was like and what some of his memories were of it. I also anticipated him being reticent to talk about it. He hasn?t been really open about that. He?s not that kind of man. He sort of carries all this internally, and so it was just an amazing experience. The specifics of that are I think, you know, pretty private to him, and so I wouldn?t want to go into those. But he certainly was open with me. It was difficult. We had some tough moments and he?s just an amazing man. We?ve become very, very good friends.?

Besides being able to talk to Red Dawson, how much other research did you get to do on the story itself?
?Well, I didn?t know this event until I read the script and then, that was McG. I felt like I had a whole lot of catching up to do, obviously. And, you know, aside from my discussions with Red, I immediately asked McG for all of his research materials. He sent me just gobs and gobs of stuff that he had collected over his preparation. I went through that as much as I could, just to sort of get caught up on the facts and really get to know the story and what happened. I spent quite a bit of time with that.

Most of my time was really consumed with trying to empathize with Red?s position. And anytime I had really deep questions about that, I would call him and we would sort of go through that process and we?re trying to figure out how he felt. It was an amazing experience.?

Page 2:Matthew Fox on McG, Getting the Story Right, and Working with Matthew McConaughey