A Pirate Survivor's Interview for Matt Lauer

Update

A Pirate Survivor's Interview for Matt Lauer

Fri., Apr. 24, 2009 3:59 PM PDT by Natalie Finn

Matt Lauer, Andrea Phillips, Captain Richard Phillips, Today Show

NBC Photo: Heidi Gutman

Matt Lauer lost the Hudson River hero, but he gained the Somali pirates survivor.

The Today host scored the first interview with Maersk Alabama Capt. Richard Phillips, who was taken hostage by Somali pirates and survived a five-day standoff on the Indian Ocean that ended when Navy Seal snipers took out his captors.

The result of their sit-down, which took place in Phillips' home state of Vermont, will air April 28 on the Today show.

"I share the country's admiration for the bravery of Captain Phillips and his selfless concern for his crew," President Obama said in a statement immediately following the rescue. "His courage is a model for all Americans."

Aside from getting network newshounds scrambling, Phillips' death-defying experience and the awareness it brought to the seemingly archaic presence of pirates in foreign waters has already become fodder for South Park and helped Spike TV seal the deal on the months-in-the-works reality show Pirate Hunters: USN.

Wed 10pm / 9c

"I didn't think I'd ever get out of that boat," Phillips tells Lauer. "We really owe it to the military for what they do day in and day out that we never even hear about. What they did was impossible," he said, referring to his daring rescue at sea.

Navy officers only fired on the pirates when it appeared that they were close to shooting Phillips, who had tried to swim away but was easily recaptured.

"I was in deep trouble from day one, so it didn't change for me," the cargo-ship captain said of the atmosphere onboard after his escape attempt. "I was in deep trouble from day one, so it didn't change for me. [The pirates'] atmosphere, the body language, yes, things changed from that point on."

The Phillips interview was quite the get for Lauer, who was supposed to be the first interview stop for Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger, the US Airways pilot who successfully executed an emergency landing in the Hudson River and was credited with saving the lives of a plane full of people.

Sullenberger was prevented from speaking with Lauer while the FAA was still investigating the incident, so Katie Couric got the get.

(Originally published April 24, 2009, at 3:00 p.m. PT)

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