Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Edward Snowden: See the First Photo!

"I feel so sincerely privileged that he asked me to play this part," the actor wrote on Facebook of director Oliver Stone

By Alyssa Toomey Mar 03, 2015 5:18 PMTags
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, SNOWDENJURGEN OLCZYK/OPEN ROAD FILMS

In November, Joseph Gordon-Levitt was officially confirmed to play Edward Snowden—the former CIA agent and NSA whisteblower who leaked classified documents to the media—and now, we have our first look at the 34-year-old actor in what is sure to be a memorable (and presumably, critically acclaimed) role. 

The Dark Knight Rises star posted the image, which sees Gordon-Levitt wearing a stoic expression while dressed in army gear, to his Facebook page on Tuesday before detailing his experience during the first day of shooting the Oliver Stone-directed film, titled Snowden.  

"I was surprised when I first learned this about Snowden--that he enlisted in the US Army in 2004," the Don Jon star wrote. "He wanted to go fight in Iraq, but during basic training at Fort Benning, he broke both of his legs and received an administrative discharge. After that, he was still determined to serve his country (love him or hate him, you gotta admit the guy's strong-willed) and so he ended up getting a job at the CIA, which is where his career in Intelligence began.

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Facebook

"Today's scenes felt like a really good way to start this shoot," he continued. "It was hard, but of course, nowhere near as hard as real basic training. And me, I'm just honored and excited to be doing a soldier sequence with Oliver. I keep saying to myself: "f--k, this guy directed Platoon!"

Per the press release, the first look sees Snowden "before he was a whistle-blower" when he was just "an ordinary man who unquestioningly served his country." 

In addition to the on-set shot, Gordon-Levitt also posted an adorable BTS pic, which he proudly deemed "Oliver Stone's first selfie." 

"This is gonna be Oliver's twentieth film," he captioned the image, in which he's wearing glasses and a giant grin. "And I feel so sincerely privileged that he asked me to play this part." 

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The Guardian via Getty Images; Colin MacFarlane/INFphoto.com

Stone is a three-time Academy Award winner as well as a military veteran. He is best known for directing Born on the Fourth of July, Platoon and Midnight Express. 

According to the press release, Snowden is currently shooting in Munich, before moving to locations around the world.​

The film, which also stars Shailene Woodley, Nicholas Cage, Melissa Leo and Zachary Quinto, is expected to hit theaters on December 25.