Where Was the New Deep-Sea Thriller Last Breath Filmed? Real-life Locations Explained
Last Breath dives into theaters everywhere Friday, February 28.
Not everyone is as bold as Tom Cruise. Even the most committed actor working today probably isn't willing to hang off the side of an airplane, scale the tallest building in the world, or hold their breath underwater for a record-breaking amount of time.
Take Last Breath, for example. The deep-sea thriller based on the incredible true story about two saturation divers who acted quickly to save the life of a colleague did not require its cast members (Woody Harrelson, Simu Liu, and Finn Cole) to brave the pressurized depths of the ocean. Instead, director/co-writer/producer Alex Parkinson and his team did everything they could to simulate the conditions faced by their real-world counterparts: Duncan Allcock, Dave Yuasa, and Chris Lemons.
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“I felt this responsibility to keep it as true to the reality of what happened as possible," Parkinson says in the production notes (the film is based on the 2019 documentary of the same name that he made with Richard da Costa). "I want these people to be represented properly, because they did an incredible thing on that night."
Where was Last Breath filmed?
Last Breath began production on the ship in the North Sea where the actual events took place. After roughly a month at sea, filming moved to Malta, with a crew comprised of professionals from over a dozen different countries, including Malta, Germany, England, Italy, Bulgaria, and Australia. Filming ultimately concluded in Scotland for scenes involving "Cole along the coast, and on a real dive support vessel that had just returned from the North Sea."
Last Breath required actors to become amateur saturation divers
For their intense underwater scenes, Liu and Cole needed to undergo a week-long scuba training program in the large tanks found at Malta Film Studios (the same place where André Øvredal shot The Last Voyage of the Demeter). The tanks, of course, also acted as safer stand-ins for the unforgiving seabed on which Lemons nearly perished. “Diving in the film had to be entirely authentic, with no dry-for-wet techniques, which placed significant demands on Simu and Finn,” Parkinson says. “They both proved to be naturals, as evident from their performances on screen, where they continually pushed each other to improve."
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Dive instructor Abigail Borg, whose own father coincidentally worked as saturation diver (professionals who live in pressurized chambers while working deep below the ocean) in the North Sea, instructed Liu and Cole on how to familiarize themselves with the uniquely complex tools used by deep-sea specialists. “That has been a challenge, but one that I've really enjoyed taking on,” says Cole. “Saturation diving involves a big, heavy helmet, and it’s a completely different system to scuba diving with the regulator in the mask. With this helmet on, everything changes in the water.”
Adds Liu: “Saturation diving is a whole other beast. From the moment that they step out into the water, it’s a high-stakes environment. They’re constantly being monitored, and they’re tasked with performing a really important procedure.”
How can you watch Last Breath?
Audiences can take the plunge for themselves when Last Breath dives into theaters nationwide this Friday, February 28, by way of Focus Features. Tickets are on sale here.
