Philly Actor Stars in Controversial Iraq Film

Dressed in a baggy hip hop shirt draped over his lanky frame and showing off pictures of himself posing with various rap stars, Elliot Ruiz defied expectations - or stereotypes - as he spoke to students this morning at Edison High School in North Philadelphia.

Ruiz, 23, is an ex-Marine who nearly lost a leg in Iraq and who is now the star of a controversial new movie that depicts a massacre of Iraqi civilians by Marines in 2005.

The North Philadelphia native - raised at Second and Dauphin Streets and a 2002 graduate of Edison - is the lead actor in British filmmaker Nick Broomfield's "Battle for Haditha," which premieres in the United States in May.

(Tonight at 9, Ruiz will be at Miami Cafe at 429 South St. to promote the movie. There will be a Philadelphia premiere on May 17.)

Ruiz went to Edison to motivate students about how hard work and education will lead to a better life, but also cautioning that the glamour they see on TV is often faked. He wasn't there to pound home opinions about the war.

But he didn't avoid the subject, and expressed great pride at being a part of the war movie.

Broomfield, known for provocative documentaries, decided to film a fictionalized account of the Nov. 19, 2005 incident in which a Marine patrol, after having lost a fellow Marine to a roadside bomb, went on to kill 24 Iraqi men, women and children.

In real life, eight Marines were charged in connection with the incident. So far, charges against five have been dropped. Charges against the remaining three are pending.

For Ruiz, the movie is more about conveying the reality of being in the middle of the war.

"We're not trying to sugar-coat anything," he said in an interview. "We're not picking sides. We're just putting it out there."

As for what the audiences should believe about the Haditha killings, Ruiz said. "We're giving them a glimpse of what may have happened that day."

Ruiz, who now lives in Sherman Oaks, Calif., responded to a casting call for ex-military personnel and eventually was selected to play the part of Ramirez, the platoon leader.

Using a documentary style, Broomfield asked the actors to improvise their lines and actions based on an outline of the story. Variety magazine said "the line between performance and experience is blurred to a fascinating degree with emotionally galvanizing results."

This is all serious and heady stuff for a North Philly guy, who described himself to the 200-something students at Edison like this:

"I was one of y'all couple years ago, just sitting in the auditorium. Matter of fact, I'm gonna keep it funky with y'all. I wasn't even allowed in the auditorium. I was kicked out of every assembly, period. To be honest, I didn't really know what I was gonna do with my life."

Well, he sort of knew which way he was headed.

He signed up for the Marines in December, 2001. He graduated on June, 20, 2002. He went to Parris Island for bootcamp three days later. He was just 17.

Ruiz was part of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, but he wasn't there for long. On April 14, 2003, as he and fellow Marines were preparing for a mission to rescue American POWs, an Iraqi vehicle ran a checkpoint he was guarding and wrapped barbed wire around his leg, nearly ripping it apart.

That was the end of the war for Ruiz and the beginning of a painful recovery that has included 14 surgeries.

The rehab has been painful, but Ruiz has pushed hard for success.

He has a hip hop clothing line called "Hustlers Union," has appeared in rap music videos and commercials and print advertisements for Honda automobiles and Crest toothpaste.

Information about the clothes and the movie, including a vdeio preview, are available at:

www.myspace.com/

hustlersunion215.

In an ironic way, the injury may have been one of the best things that could've happened to Ruiz, said his father, George Burgos, 60, an ex-Marine himself who served in Vietnam.

If not for the injury, "I don't think he would be where he is right now," Burgos said. "He might be on his second tour, his third tour of Iraq and God knows what could've happened."