A movie about one of the September 11th hijackings opens today, with an Iowa native starring as one of the heroes. The film “United 93” features Christian Clemenson, a 48-year-old actor who grew up in Humboldt. Clemenson’s portraying Thomas Burnett, one of the passengers on the doomed flight who led the revolt against the terrorists.
Burnett was a Minneapolis native, flying home to his family in California after a business trip. Burnett’s widow saw a special screening of the movie and says Clemenson doesn’t look much like her late husband, but he really captured his personality. Deena Burnett says the screening wasn’t as hard to watch as she thought it would be.
Burnett says “I have absolutely lived every moment of that flight and what occurred on that flight for four and a half years. And so I feel as if I have already cried those tears. So sitting there watching someone portray my husband, however surreal it was, it was just not as difficult as I had expected.”
Burnett says seeing the movie was a somber experience. She says “When the movie ended, with one-thousand people leaving the theatre, it was just incredibly solemn and quiet. No one spoke. We were just left in complete awe of what happened and what occurred on that flight.” Clemenson, the Iowa actor, might look familiar to movie-goers. He’s had roles on several TV shows, including “The West Wing” and “The District.”