ON TV Running Wild is not like a chat show ... spend two days with these stars and you really get to know them
HERE’S only one person who could get Captain Marvel star Brie Larson to scramble across a body of water with a crocodile closely eyeing her up and Call Me By Your Name star Armie Hammer to drink milk from the nipple of a goat.
It’s not some big-name Hollywood director putting the A-listers through their paces for a film – it’s Bear Grylls.
Oscar-winner Brie and Armie are among the guests Bear, 45, has lined up for the new series of his National Geographic survival skills programme Running Wild, in which he takes celebrities on two-day trips into the wilderness.
The new series kicks off with Brie’s adventure across the Pearl Islands in Panama. But even Bear, who doesn’t seem fazed by anything out of the ordinary in the wild, admits Armie’s goat episode is among the memorable moments.
“I just thought we’d just squeeze the teat and we’ll get some milk and it will give us some energy for the rest of the journey, but he dived in for it and it was pretty funny,” he says matter-of-factly.
Asked what else is in store for viewers, he rattles off a list of exotic edibles like it’s a restaurant menu.
“We had some snakes. We had scorpion. We had rat.”
H continues: “I managed to start a fire with urine, which was a new experience for me. I’d always wanted to see if I could do that, and that was pretty cool with Dave Bautista from The Avengers to start a fire with pee, which was quite fun.”
It’s not quite everybody’s idea of entertainment but for Bear, the son of politician and former Royal Marine Commando Mickey Grylls, the outdoors is his second home.
He says: “Wilderness food is never going to be pretty and it’s probably never going to be very tasty, but it will keep you alive, give you some energy, give you a new experience, and give you something to laugh about with your family when you’re back home. This season has loads of that.”
The TV star, whose real name is Edward, was nicknamed Bear by his sister when he was one week old.
He says the series, which will also feature the likes of Magic Mike star Channing Tatum and model and actress Cara Delevingne, is meant to
Bear Grylls joins forces with some of Hollywood’s A-listers for a new season of his outdoor adventure series, Running Wild with Bear Grylls.
chats to the survivalist about star guests, battling extreme environments and channelling his own fears be an empowering experience for excited; they’re always up for it, and those who tackle it. that allows us to push it with what we
“Scary at first, but empowering do and it makes for a good episode.” when they’re finished. That’s the part He says Armie has “become a good of Running Wild that I love; seeing friend” since filming and the person that sense of pride and achievement who surprised him most was Cara. in these guests when they finish a “She has something like 45 million journey,” he says. or 50 million Instagram followers,
The stars who come on the show many of these Hollywood stars don’t appear because they want to, Bear have followings like that. explains. “And her story has been such, one
“These stars don’t need the money. of struggle and battle to get to where They don’t need the fame. They’re she is, that many of her followers coming because they want the don’t really know that.” experience to learn these skills and to He adds: “I think the great strength have an empowering journey, and of Running Wild is that you have time that’s the heart of Running Wild. on these journeys to get to know the
“We take people that really want to real person and to hear their stories. have that experience, and when you “It’s not like a chat show where take people like that, they’re always you’re just trying to tell a funny story for two minutes.
“When you have to spend two days together, you really get to know someone. You have to face some fears. You have to keep moving forward and never give up, and that’s been her life story. I think that was the surprising one but a real joy for me and a pleasure to do.”
Bear would love to have someone like tennis ace Novak Djokovic as a guest. “I’d love to get him on the show, maybe for the next season, and do one in Serbia and hear his story and his great love for the country.”
Last year, Bear, who is also Chief
Scout, was recognised in the Queen’s
Bear with stars Brie Larson in Panama, above, and Channing Tatum in Norway, left, from the new series of Running Wild
Birthday Honours with an OBE for services to young people, the media and charity.
In 2015 he made headlines when former US President Barack Obama featured on Running Wild.
Bear served for three years as a Trooper in 21st SAS Regiment, part of the UK Special Forces Reserve, where he was trained in combat survival, demolitions and close quarter fighting, before he climbed Mount Everest at the age of 23 and guided a team circumnavigating the British Isles on jetskis.
While fear doesn’t seem to be a word that’s in his vocabulary, Bear says it’s about resilience which he likens to “a muscle”.
He adds: “I think the more you train it, the stronger that gets.
“We’re such a tight-knit team, and
we know how to do our job. My job is to keep these guests safe and help them to overcome their stuff, and definitely I still have loads of fears in everyday life.”
Skydiving for one, he says, is something that he still thinks twice about.
He explains: “I find skydiving really hard. I broke my back whilst I was in the military in an accident and spent a year in and out of military rehabilitation and thought I’d never walk again properly.
“So I still find that emotionally really hard, mentally really difficult, still to this day when that door of the plane opens. But I’ve learned that the best way to overcome fear in life is to move towards it, go straight towards it, embrace it.
“Do the difficult stuff, and I use that attitude a lot on the show, and like I said, I do think resilience and an ability to deal with change is a muscle.
“You have to keep practising it and then you get better with it and it gets stronger, you know.”