Eric Maddox spoke at the University of Oklahoma last Wednesday and shared the story of the steps leading to the capture of Hussein.
He spoke about his book Mission:Blacklist being made into a movie, not knowing who Robert Pattinson was & more.

Check out an excerpt from the article below:

“What I’m about to tell you is not the opinion of the United States Army, it is the opinion of Eric Maddox,” he said.

Eric Maddox – interrogator, author and OU alumnus explained the process of finding and capturing Saddam Hussein and detailed the dilemmas he faced to about 300 people in Oklahoma Memorial Union’s Molly Shi Boren Ballroom. The audience ranged from students to faculty to Maddox’s father.

“My faith plays an absolute role in every single thing I do,” Maddox said.

A devout Christian who had planned on going to law school after graduating from OU, Maddox decided to change his plans during a run near his hometown of Sapulpa.

“I joined the army because I was running in Tulsa between semesters, and I heard a voice that said, ‘you need to be an airborne ranger,’” Maddox said.

After talking with his dad about what he would have done differently with his life, Maddox said he decided he needed to be an airborne ranger.

Maddox shared the story of the steps leading to the capture of Hussein in chronological order, only leaving out “little bitty elements” he was asked not to discuss due to the classified nature of these elements.

This same story is encapsulated in his book, “Mission: Blacklist #1,” on which a movie will be based starring Robert Pattinson, who will play Maddox.

“Somebody wants to make a movie about my story – it’s very exciting,” Maddox said.

Maddox said he has already met and gotten to know Pattinson.

“He’s a great guy,” Maddox said. “When they brought his name up to me, I had never heard of him before. I don’t believe in vampire movies and stories. I just didn’t know who he was.”

Maddox said he wore a single blue shirt for months in his search for Hussein, with no other changes of clothes. The shirt has a bigmouth bass embossed on it, Velcro pockets and bloodstains.

“I’ve still got it [the shirt.] I think Rob is gonna wear it in the movie,” Maddox said.

Maddox had to wait five years to tell his story and write the book due to the U.S. government preferring to keep it classified, he said.

“Since then, the United States government wanted me to endorse the movie, and wanted me to say who I am and what I do,” he said.

Maddox also explained what characteristics make good interrogators.

“I love to listen to people talk. If you like to do that too, you possibly might be a good interrogator,” Maddox said. “You also have to be self-critiquing to be a good interrogator – ‘what did I do to screw that up? And what can I do better?’”

Head over to OUDaily.com to read the full article and also check out pics & tweets from the night  HERE