The True Story Behind American Sniper

Clint Eastwood's American Sniper has been making a splash at the box office, scoring six Oscar nominations and rousing its fair share of controversy. It's an intensely thought-provoking movie, due in part to being based on a true story. Bradley Cooper plays Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, who is widely recognized as the deadliest sniper in American history. His story is documented on tribute websites, his foundation's site, and in several books, including his autobiography, American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History. It should be noted that Kyle has been accused of fabricating facts in his book, such as a fistfight with Jesse Ventura, though Eastwood abstained from certain parts of Kyle's life in American Sniper, instead focusing on his time in the field and with his family. Here are the facts about Kyle and how the film portrays them — obviously, film spoilers ensue.

Chris Kyle was born in Odessa, TX, in 1974. As a child, he hunted deer and birds with his father before joining his high school's baseball and football teams. As the movie shows, he became a professional bronco rider in the rodeo after graduating. While the film showcases Chris's desire to protect his country, it doesn't include the fact that he actually quit the rodeo because of a severe arm injury. After his arm healed, he tried to sign up for the US Marine Corps, but he was rejected because of the pins in his arm. He was also initially rejected from the Navy SEALS but was accepted in 1999.

He went on four tours of duty, the first of which was to Fallujah, Iraq. The movie takes some creative liberties showing his first kill, but according to his autobiography, he shot a woman who was holding a toddler in one hand and a grenade in the other. Over the course of his duty, he garnered 160 confirmed kills, plus another 95 probable kills. His colleagues nicknamed him "Legend," for his steady hand and his perseverance through two serious injuries. One of his most notable shots was taken on his last deployment, in Sadr City in 2008. He killed a man from 2,100 yards away — that's over a mile. The shot is included in the movie, but the target is dramatized to be a sniper who had killed Kyle's friend.

As for his personal life, Kyle met his future wife Taya (played by Sienna Miller in the movie) at a San Diego bar in 2001. They had two children, and Kyle's career, as shown in the movie, was very difficult on their marriage. Though he struggled with quitting the service, he ultimately chose to be with his family. He was honorably discharged in 2009 after earning several medals, including Bronze and Silver Stars. He settled down with his family and became the president of Craft International, a tactical consulting and training company for the military and law enforcement organizations. American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History was published in 2012, and Kyle began work on a second book called American Gun: A History of the U.S. in Ten Firearms. That same year, he appeared on an NBC reality show called Stars Earn Stripes, training celebrities in combat.

Sadly, Chris Kyle was killed on Feb. 2, 2013. Since returning to the States for good, he had begun working with veterans struggling with PTSD. One such veteran was Eddie Ray Routh, a former Marine whom Kyle was taking to the gun range. Routh, who has a history of mental illness, fatally shot Kyle and his friend, Chad Littlefield. It's not shown in the film, but it is explained in the written epilogue. Routh is scheduled to go on trial for the murders in February, though American Sniper's popularity might complicate his chances at a fair trial.

To read more about Chris Kyle, you can go to the Chris Kyle Frog Foundation's website.