Colin Farrell Reveals He Had Panic Attacks Underwater While Filming Cave Scenes For His Latest Biopic

Colin Farrell has dove into a number of different roles throughout his career, however, his new movie was far from easy for the actor.

At the Thirteen Lives premiere on Thursday, the 46-year-old star opened up about her experience filming some of the scenes in the water.

The film depicts the real-life event of the 2018 Tham Luang cave rescue in which a trainer and his team were trapped in a cave for around 18 days.

Colin explained in an interview with Entertainment Tonight how he had panic attacks while filming a number of underwater cave scenes.

He explained that although he was not the best swimmer, it was the realistic and vast caves that were built and filled with water that worried him.

Colin said the set was based on “the Tham Luang caves in Thailand, and they filled them with water, and we were going down and there was no going up”.

Too close to reality: He explained that although he was not the best swimmer, it was the realistic and vast caves that were built and filled with water that worried him.

Trapped: A sports team and the coach got trapped in a cave and had to wait for a rescue team

True story: Thirteen Lives is based on the true 18-person rescue mission of the Tham Luang cave rescue in 2018

Colin said one of the main reasons filming the scenes was difficult for him was because he couldn’t see a “surface” out of the water.

“So when you can’t and there’s actually a ceiling over your head, and there’s no air at all, it wreaks havoc on my mind,” said said the Batman star.

The award-winning actor said he was grateful to be surrounded by two of the men who helped with the actual rescue mission, Rick Stanton and Jason Mallinson.

“But man, I had panic attacks underwater, that’s a new experience.” A panic attack underwater is a new experience for me.

Difficult: The actor said in an interview that “an underwater panic attack is a new experience for me”

Talented cast: Other stars who played a part in the survival biopic include Viggo Mortensen, Joel Edgerton and Pattakorn ‘Ploy’ Tangsupakul

Towards the end of the interview, Colin added that one of the safety divers told him Thirteen Lives was “the most dangerous underwater movie he’s ever done”.

The biopic was directed by Ron Howard, who worked on previous films such as A Beautiful Mind (2001).

Alongside Colin, Viggo Mortensen, Joel Edgerton, and Pattakorn “Ploy” Tangsupakul have also been cast in prominent roles in the film.

From villain to hero: Colin jumped into the spotlight playing the villain, The Penguin, in The Batman (2022)

Playing the role of a rescue diver is the complete opposite of his recent villain persona in The Batman.

In an interview on JOE.ie while promoting the survival movie, he also talked about filming the cave scenes. “I wasn’t comfortable doing it,” he admitted.

“I was really relieved when we finished the movie, and no one was hurt,” Colin added.

Relieved: Colin expressed in a promotional interview that he was “relieved” that at the end of filming no one was hurt

Grand premiere: Thirteen Lives will be released to the public on Amazon Prime on August 5 and also premiered in theaters