‘Thirteen Lives’ Director Ron Howard: Actors Did ‘100 Percent’ Of Their Dives

The actors who portrayed the knowledgeable cave divers who helped rescue the Thai boys soccer crew in 2018 hurt up doing “100 p.c” of the underwater work, constant with the film’s director.

In a within the support of-the-scenes interview featured on the Mayhem Mendes Youtube channel, “Thirteen Lives” Director Ron Howard talked about:

“Our actors wanted to discover dive in caves. I thought they would perchance form half of their dives but they turned so knowledgeable at it, they hurt up doing 100 p.c of it. Which gave me a lot latitude with the diagram to develop pictures, and allow them to transfer into shut-united statesand be very fluid. It helped do up the tension and suspense, and you acknowledge that these of us are surely in there. And that exclusively enhances the authenticity and alongside with it, the tension, excitement and the suspense.”

Colin Farrell, who plays cave diver John Volanthen, talked about:

“He [Howard] wished to originate it as a lot of a cinema verite as he can also, and … he used to be always on the placement, transferring spherical, taking a look at the angles, taking a look at the receive to the guts of the sage he used to be telling.”

For Joel Edgerton, who plays Dr. Harry Harris, the exclusively diving he’d finished sooner than used to be on vacation:

“I within the past had finished like two scuba dives in my lifestyles, on holidays. And there I used to be, being asked to originate of lag and receive my PADI license and originate the route of of being surely, incredibly effectively sorted by this crew of stunt divers and ex-Navy divers, salvage operation divers and one of the most most staunch cave rescue divers.”

Getting re-licensed resulted in a crash route in cave diving, Edgerton added:

“This belief of neatly-liked scuba diving used to be unbiased correct snappy-tracked to zero visibility, diving by surely more or less tight pinch aspects and obstacle lessons underwater and these incredibly account for magnificent-to-lifestyles [situations] with currents and extra instruments after which, add to that diving with the human beings so that we can also simulate the execution of the rescue. After which add to that, on occasion because it’s a film, strapping sure digicam instruments to your self. Unbelievable honor as an actor to scheme shut on a brand fresh skill and to be invited and to be embraced by professionals to even receive a be taught about of what they are going to form. If the leisure, your entire route of gave me an even higher appreciate for the guys that did this, and that form it for staunch, these ladies and men folks that form cave rescue diving. It’s like, vast appreciate.”

For Viggo Mortensen, who plays cave diver Rick Stanton, there used to be no room for complaints while on location:

“We needed to are residing up to the instance that the staunch rescuers had location, I indicate you’re no longer gonna complain, ‘Oh my espresso’s no longer warmth.’ You’re no longer gonna complain about itsy-bitsy issues like that.

“I loved discovering out, what Joel used to be talking about, this fresh skill. I had been licensed years within the past and unbiased correct finished it as soon as, , 25 years within the past, so I needed to receive re-certfied and so, step it up. We needed to lag into these caves, we had visibility issues and transporting staunch human beings at closing, it unbiased correct felt like quite a pair of strain. … I mediate I are usually focused and detail-oriented as an actor in making ready and taking pictures anyway because I’m always aware of the indisputable truth that we bought one crack at this scene at the present time but on this case it wasn’t unbiased correct that I favor to receive it correct, I don’t favor to originate a fool out of myself or make contributions to the total filmmaking effort, it’s I also favor to outlive. Actually. So, I’m paying quite a pair of consideration to Rick Stanton, the safety divers, the of us — the specialists.

“It’s like, how form we put the instruments on, originate sure it’s working neatly sooner than going under. And must you’re under there, form exactly what they urged you to form. Reproduction exactly what they’re doing. Otherwise, you’re no longer gonna receive out of there.”

Tom Bateman, who plays Chris Jewell, talked about the coaching “used to be beautiful intense”:

“It used to be snappy because we needed to shoot and we didn’t own time to cram in four years of trip that these guys had. We had an out of this world crew spherical us, they threw us correct in at the deep close, forgive that pun, and we unbiased correct went with it, man. I mediate it used to be a form of issues the effect we were responsive to the dimension and scope and the effective thing about this sage, and effectively unbiased correct submitting to it, and unbiased correct trusting within the indisputable truth that we had Ron at the helm and unbelievable of us in every single division and unbiased correct saying ‘Pleasurable, I receive to be portion of this.’”

“Thirteen Lives” is now streaming on Amazon High Video.

Check out the interviews with Howard, Edgerton, Mortensen and Bateman beneath.