Action-drama Captain Phillips, starring two-time Academy Award winner Tom Hanks in the title role, arrives in theaters Oct. 11. The film follows the true story of Captain Richard Phillips and the 2009 hijacking of the U.S.-flagged MV Maersk Alabama by Somali pirates.

This was the first hijacking of an American cargo ship in 200 years. Phillips’ heroic decision to allow himself to be taken hostage, ensuring the safety of his crew, was first chronicled in his book, A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs and Dangerous Days at Sea. After five days in captivity, Phillips was rescued by Navy SEALs in a raid that ended with three of his captors dead and one pirate captured.

The film adaptation comes from Billy Ray, who wrote the screenplay for The Hunger Games, and is directed by British director Paul Greengrass, best known for The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum.

In addition to Hanks, the film stars Catherine Keener (The 40-Year-Old Virgin) as Phillips’ wife Andrea and Chris Mulkey, most recently known for TV’s The Mentalist. The star of Pacific Rim, Max Martini, plays the SEAL commander. Actor Yul Vazquez, best known for his role in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, plays  Captain Frank Castallano, the commander of a ship that was in a standoff with the lifeboat in which Phillips was held hostage.