Staying "on the block," as he called his neighborhood, was not an option, and he saw in his father - a former Marine who served in Vietnam - an example to follow.

On April 14, 2003, Ruiz - who had become a Marine himself and was part of the American invasion of Iraq - suffered a leg wound so bad he could reach inside and touch bone.

He survived, and the injury turned out to be a blessing of sorts. Instead of enduring a second or third tour in the war, possibly to die, he went on to become an actor.

As fate would have it, he is now the star of a controversial new movie that depicts a massacre of Iraqi civilians by Marines in 2005.

Ruiz, who graduated from Edison High School, is the lead actor in British filmmaker Nick Broomfield's Battle for Haditha, which will premiere in the United States in May. (There will be a special Philadelphia screening with Ruiz on May 17.)

The movie is a fictionalized account of the Nov. 19, 2005, case in which a Marine patrol, after having lost a fellow Marine to a roadside bomb, went on to kill 24 Iraqi men, women and children.

In real life, eight Marines were charged. Charges against five have been dropped; they remain pending against the others.

For Ruiz, now 23 and living in Sherman Oaks, Calif., the movie is more about conveying the reality of being in the middle of the war.

"We're not trying to sugarcoat anything," he said in an interview after speaking to students at Edison on Friday. "We're not picking sides. We're just putting it out there."

As for what the audiences should believe about the Haditha killings, Ruiz said: "We're giving them a glimpse of what may have happened that day."

Ruiz pursued acting, an interest that had developed when he attended Roberto Clemente Middle School, after taking up residence in California. He appeared as an extra in rap music videos and used the opportunity to promote his cousin's clothing line, Hustlers Union. He also appeared in several commercials - his beaming smile was perfect for a Crest ad.

His big break came at a casting call for Battle for Haditha. Broomfield was looking for ex-military personnel to give his movie authenticity. Ruiz eventually landed the lead role of Ramirez, the platoon leader.

Broomfield asked the actors to improvise their lines and actions based on their war experience and an outline of the story. A Variety magazine film critic said of Ruiz: ". . . the line between performance and experience is blurred to a fascinating degree with emotionally galvanizing results."

This has all been serious and heady stuff for a North Philly guy, who described himself like this to the more than 200 students at Edison:

"I was one of y'all couple years ago, just sitting in the auditorium. Matter of fact, I'm going to keep it funky with y'all. I wasn't even allowed in the auditorium. I was kicked out of every assembly, period. To be honest, I didn't really know what I was going to do with my life."

In the interview, Ruiz said he finally chose the military as an escape from the many dead ends of North Philadelphia. And he chose the Marines to make his father proud.

At first, his father, George Burgos, who was awarded two Purple Hearts in Vietnam, thought it was a mistake. Ruiz's mother, Eugenia Burgos, was completely opposed. But the teen was determined. Three days after graduating from Edison in 2002, Ruiz, then 17, was shipped off to Parris Island for boot camp.

Ruiz's war ended when an Iraqi vehicle ran a checkpoint he was guarding and wrapped concertina wire around his leg, nearly ripping it apart. That was the beginning of a painful recovery that has included 14 surgeries. Nonetheless, Ruiz called joining the Marines "probably the best decision I made in my life."

Before accepting the Haditha role, he called fellow Marines he served with and told them about the movie. Their opinions mattered the most, he said.

"I almost asked them for permission to do the film," he said, and "they were all OK with the film."

Making the movie meant returning to the Middle East and spending several months in Jordan, where he worked with Iraqi refugees. Instead of being an armed combatant, he was interacting with Iraqis in a peaceful setting.

"This time, I actually got to meet the people and their culture and taste their food and learn their language," he said.

That, he said, was the best part of making the movie. "I actually got to put closure on that chapter of my life."

More Information

Information about "Battle for Haditha" and the Hustlers Union clothing line are available at:

www.myspace.com/

hustlersunion215

To see Robert Moran's video about Elliot Ruiz and other videos on the Picture Show blog, visit http://go.philly.com/picshow