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Colin Farrell suffered panic attacks while filming cave scenes for Thirteen Lives

4 August 2022, 11:45

Colin Farrell chats to Dev Griffin about new film Thirteen Lives

By Alice Dear

Colin Farrell told Heart's Dev Griffin how difficult it was to film the underwater scenes for his latest movie.

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Colin Farrell, 46, has revealed that he suffered from panic attacks while filming the cave scenes for new movie Thirteen Lives.

The actor, best known for his roles in The Batman, The Gentleman, In Bruges and Phone Booth, stars alongside Lord Of The Rings actor Viggo Mortensen, 63, in the new Amazon Prime film based on the real-life Tham Luang Nang Non cave rescue.

In the film Colin plays John Volanthen, one of the rescue divers who played a significant role in the rescue of 12 soccer players and their coach from the flooded caves.

While Colin plays a professional diver in the film, he admitted to Heart's Dev Griffin that he is "not the strongest swimmer" and suffered panic attacks while filming certain cave scenes.

He said: "I know what it's like to have a panic attack above water, I can confirm I had panic attacks beneath water.

"It was as safe as they could make it, totally, there was an amazing team of safety divers, but at the end of the day you're in water."

He added: "I wasn't fully comfortable, I'm not a great swimmer. If you drop me a quarter of a mile out to sea from the shore, I ain't making it."

You can watch full interview in the player above.