Spartan is a 2004 American action thriller film written and directed by David Mamet and starring Val Kilmer Derek Luke Tia Texada Ed O'Neill William H. Macy and Kristen Bell. It was released in the United States and Canada on March 12 2004. Robert Scott is a former United States Marine Corps Force Recon master gunnery sergeant acting as a selection cadre member for Delta Force. While observing an exercise designed to evaluate Delta candidates Scott meets a recruit Curtis as well as Sergeant Jacqueline Black a knife fighting instructor.