MICHAEL PENA PRESSURED TO PLAY PORT AUTHORITY COP

Michael Pena stars as rookie Port Authority cop Will Jimeno in World Trade Center who against all odds survived the collapse of the twin towers. The star of Crash says he felt pressure to play someone who was so beloved and wanted to do him justice in portraying him on screen.

Michael says Jimeno was able to withstand his internal injuries from a concrete slab pinning him down through sheer will and determination to see his loved ones again and to be strong for Sergeant John McLoughlin as well.

“And in meeting the guy since he’s bigger than life that was an added pressure because I was like, ‘wow how could this guy do it?’ And this guy has a great sense of humor. He’s great with kids. Everybody loves the guy and there’s great empathy for him having to deal with this. He’s just all around a great guy. All this stuff that gets written on a piece of paper. How am I gonna come up with this guy? I spent a lot of time with him.”

Allison Jimeno was pregnant during her husband’s ordeal, and was played by mother to be Maggie Gyllenhaal. rn

“I think if it was up to him and he was stuck by himself, I think he would’ve accepted death a little easier. But he wanted to get his Sergeant John (McLoughlin) out of it as much as he wanted to get himself out of it. I think that definitely egged him on to stay alive and obviously his family; his true love for Olivia, Bianca and his wife Alison really kept him alive and the care and love that he had for those people. The connection that he didn’t want to let go of is what kept him alive.”