'Avatar' actor Stephen Lang greets vets before 'Beyond Glory' show at Fox Cities PAC

GRAND CHUTE - Stephen Lang might not have served in the military — but he's made a career out of portraying those who have.

In "Avatar," the record-breaking blockbuster from 2009, Lang played Col. Miles Quaritch. In "Gods and Generals," he was the famous Gen. Stonewall Jackson. In "Gettysburg," he was Maj. Gen. George E. Pickett. And in "Don't Breathe," he was, well, an unnamed Army vet whose house you really don't want to try to rob. 

The 66-year-old actor, in the Fox Cities Thursday for an evening performance of his one-man-show "Beyond Glory," was a special guest at the annual Honoring Veterans Luncheon at Fox Valley Technical College. 

Born and raised in New York, Lang's an accomplished actor of both the stage and screen. He's been nominated for a Tony Award, and "Beyond Glory" has had runs on Broadway, on multiple tours and has been staged for active military personnel all over the world. 

"Everywhere from Guam to Guantanamo, the DMZ in Korea to forward bases in Afghanistan, from the hangar deck of the USS Carl Vinson to Fort Bragg and 100 other places," he said. "The troops are always delighted to see it and to see me. The reason that they are is they just appreciate the fact that somebody's taken the time and to say that they give a damn about 'em."

The annual luncheon, which included a free buffet for veterans, came three days before Sunday's Veterans Day holiday. 

Walter Zerrenner, a Vietnam veteran from Appleton who volunteers with the Fox Valley Veterans Council, was happy to have the Fox Cities PAC link up with the annual luncheon. 

"I think it's great," he said. "I think it's the first time the PAC has really reached out to do something like this. There are other theaters all over the country who are reaching out to veterans and giving the veterans an opportunity to express themselves through performances. It's part of the healing process for them."

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"Beyond Glory" is based on the nonfiction book "Beyond Glory: Medal of Honor Heroes in Their Own Words," by Lang's pal Larry Smith. Lang adapted it into a stage show and debuted it at the theater "literally at the gates of Arlington National Cemetery." 

"Nobody came," he said, "until the reviews appeared in the Washington Post, and then lots of people came." 

At Thursday's event, Lang spoke to the few dozen veterans and family members about how the show got its start and Wisconsin's history of Medal of Honor recipients. He said more than 60 people from the state have earned the nation's highest honor for valor, including six from Vietnam, five from the Korean War, 16 during World War II, two during World War I and a whopping 22 during the Civil War — the conflict from which the Medal of Honor was created. 

An 80-minute show, "Beyond Glory" tells the story of eight of the recipients of the Medal of Honor. There are stories representing heroes from three American wars, with various backgrounds. 

"You get real insight into the character of eight very extraordinary, and yet in many ways very ordinary, American citizens," Lang said.

A history buff who grew up on the war films of the 1950s and '60s (think "The Bridge on the River Kwai"), Lang said after 14 years he still finds his show stirring and relevant, calling it "both timeless and timely." That's a reason he took it back on the road after a few years off. 

When not on tour, Lang's been hard at work on the multiple "Avatar" sequels James Cameron has in production. The first of them will be out in 2020. So the world's going to get even more of Col. Miles Quaritch, which means more of Lang portraying a member of the armed forces. 

"I'm 66," he said. "If, at this point in my career, I am typecast as some hard-ass military guy, there's worse things in life. I can deal with that."