A Thai cave rescue hero hailed Colin Farrell's 'diligent' method acting approach to playing him in a new movie about the incident.
He is one of the fearless cave divers who put his life on the line to save a dozen Thai children and their football coach trapped deep underground for 17 days.
But John Volanthen said he has been left highly ‘impressed’ by Irish star Farrell’s efforts, as he gets set to play him in director Ron Howard’s new movie, Thirteen Lives, about the rescue.
"I've spent a fair bit of time with him on Zoom, and talking to him. And I've been impressed by his diligence", he told presenters Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford on ITV’s This Morning.
"So, over the time that he was filming, he’s been training to run," he continued.
"I do a lot of running and, ultimately, at the end of the filming, he ran the Brisbane Marathon in a very respectable time, which I think is quite diligent for a method actor."
Volanthen added that he had asked for Mr Bean star Rowan Atkinson to play him at first, but told "I was told by Ron Howard in no uncertain terms that he wasn’t making that sort of movie".
His fellow hero Richard Stanton will be played by Lord of the Rings star Viggo Mortensen in the upcoming drama.
He told that he also had a lot of contact with Mortensen ahead of the film’s release, saying: "I was communicating with him for many months before filming started just so he could get my mannerisms and the way I talk.
"And obviously he’s a very skilled actor and you see him assimilate your character until he becomes a better me than I am.
Farrell has been based Down Under in recent months to film Thirteen Lives, about the 2018 Thai cave rescue.
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