RODGER CORSER ‘AS A PARENT IT’S YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE’
The actor, 49, spills on what it was like filming for his most daring role yet
Thai Cave Rescue is such an important story. What made you want to take part in the limited series?
It’s an incredible and inspiring story that really shows the best of humanity and what a global community can do when it pulls together, but there was so much more to this huge operation that could be conveyed purely by the news reports at the time. Once you start digging into the events of those two and a half weeks you find there are so many subplots and pivotal moments involved that make the outcome of this incredible rescue even more of a miracle than it already was.
You have such a pivotal role in the series, playing Dr Richard “Harry” Harris. Did you connect with the real Harry preparing for the role?
Yes I spoke with Harry a couple of times on the phone before heading over to
Thailand and he joined us for the last week-and-ahalf of shooting on the Bangkok sound stages, where he advised on and doubled some of my diving scenes. He’s a cracking bloke who was very generous with his time and knowledge, the rest of the Aussie cast and I got to hang out with him and pick his brain on the details.
Did you meet with any of the real survivors?
We didn’t get to meet any of the boys but some of our diving instructors had been part of the real rescue along with Harry.
How did you personally react to the story when it was unfolding in 2018?
Well like most people I was glued to the news reports – as a parent something like that is your worst nightmare and you just wanted a miracle to happen for those families.
Had it been your own children in the cave, would you have tried to rescue them yourself?
Well in theory we’d all do whatever it took to save our kids, but in this case there was no way anyone could get into the cave after it flooded. Even the Thai Navy Seal divers found it extremely challenging [sadly losing one of their own in the process]. It was only the unique skills of the international group of cave divers along with Harry’s qualifications as an anaesthetist that made it possible.
This would have been frightening to film! What was it like working in such an intense environment?
Even though we shot on location at the Tham Luang cave in Northern Thailand, fortunately we didn’t film any of the confined diving scenes there, they were all done at the Bangkok studios with a team of safety and stunt crew
helping the actors. Having said that, trying to free yourself from being wedged between rock walls, several metres underwater with a small stunt actor [playing one of the boys] strapped to you and a heavy current hitting you head on, gave you a good sense of just how dangerous the actual rescue was.
What kind of training did you have to do?
We trained with our stunt and diving crew over the duration of our stay in Chiang Rai. Not only did we learn the basics of open water diving but the difference in skill and equipment that was needed for cave diving in near zero visibility.
Knowing this is such a huge story, did you feel a lot of pressure to do it justice?
I think everyone involved with the production did – that’s why the time was taken to play the story out over a six-part limited series and try and flesh out the numerous acts of bravery, ingenuity, endurance and selflessness shown not only by the rescuers and boys themselves but the countless thousands of international and local volunteers.
‘It gave you a sense of how dangerous the rescue was’
We’re already missing – when can we expect to see you back on TV screens again?
Doctor Doctor
Later this year you can see me hosting the brand new reality series The Traitors for Ten and Paramount Plus, which I think is really going to capture people’s imaginations. I’m also returning to Five Bedrooms for season four on Paramount Plus, so I’ll be heading to Melbourne soon to shoot that.