Hollywood star to play hero diver in Thai cave drama
HOLLYWOOD film star Colin Farrell will play a Bristol hero in the film version of one of the most dramatic rescue missions in recent years.
A film about the rescue of 12 young footballers and their coach from a cave in Thailand is to get the Hollywood treatment.
The Cave, directed by Apollo 13’s Ron Howard and starring Colin Farrell, will centre on the dramatic rescue of a young football team trapped underground in Thailand in 2018.
One of the divers who helped rescue the team is John Volanthen, who works as an IT consultant in Bristol. He played a central role in the rescue and his story, as well as that of the other divers, will be the main theme of the new film.
Farrell is to star as Mr Volanthen in the film, which promises to be a real-life tearjerker but with a happy ending.
It focuses on the personalities of the divers, their relationship with each other and the boys they rescued.
Mr Volanthen had trained locally at Wookey Hole caves in Somerset, which proved vital for the safe rescue of the boys, who had been trapped for nine days without food and water.
The caves are regarded as the birthplace of cave diving and the specialised equipment used in the rescue had been largely developed and perfected during exploratory dives below the Mendip hills.
The storyline is better and more emotional than any fiction, focusing on how the boys are reunited with their awaiting families, the relationship between them and their rescuers.
The world held its breath every day as no news of the trapped boys was forthcoming, and hope was being lost.
The film tells how the youngsters, aged 11 to 17, became trapped in a cave in Tham Luang in northern Thailand. Heavy rains partially flooded the cave, blocking their escape.
They had gone into the cave to write the name of a new recruit to the football team but it was during the rainy season and the boys got caught by heavy flooding and were reported missing.
A team of expert divers, including Mr Volanthen, Richard Stanton and Robert Harper, were called in and played a major role in the rescue.
No one expected the boys to survive. But against the odds, all 13 were brought out alive to the joy of their families and the international media, which had gathered to watch the two-week drama unfold.
Colin Farrell and John Volanthen have been collaborating via Zoom
for the film as the actor wants to know as much as possible about the real story behind the dramatic and successful rescue – and wants to get to know the person behind the hero.
The Cave will be on general release next year.
Farrell is known for his roles in Hollywood blockbusters like Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi thriller Minority Report (2002) and as the villain Bullseye in the superhero film Daredevil (2003). He won a Golden Globe award for his role in the comedy film In Bruges (2008) and he is to play the Penguin in next year’s The Batman, which co-stars Robert Pattinson in the title role.