Colin Farrell Opens up About Panic Attacks He Experienced While Filming New Movie

Colin Farrell’s new movie Thirteen Lives debuts this month on Amazon Prime Video, and the actor recently opened up about the panic attacks he experienced while filming the project. Thirteen Lives tells the 2018 story of the Thai youth soccer team who became trapped at the end of a series of caves after rain waters flooded the tunnels. Farrell portrays John Volanthen, a British cave diver who was part of the rescue team that retrieved the 12 young boys and their coach.

Speaking to THR about what it was like to be submerged in such a tight space and how that impacted him mentally, Farrell shared, “I had a couple of really panicky moments underwater when I had to say to myself, ‘Just relax. Be calm. You’re fine. There’s nothing to worry about. Your tank is good, you’ve got a 60 percent full tank. Just slow your breath down. It’s OK.’” He continued, “At times, there was no surface over your head, just a ceiling and it was incredibly nerve-racking and I was incredibly uncomfortable. There was no light and you would wait for [the crew] to get on the speakers to tell you the camera was rolling. But if you were underwater when they called ‘action,’ you might not hear the f—ing speaker so everyone is looking at everyone else under the water. If something happened, someone might back up into you and hit your fucking mask [pushing it sideways]. All of a sudden – hello, panic attack.”

Farrell later went on to share how the experience forced him to reflect on his life, saying, “I should never lose sight of what a fortunate position I’m in to be able to make a living telling stories, which is essentially what I do. You know, that’s it. I make a living telling stories and I bring characters to life. I learn a bit about myself to it on the side but that’s not the reason I’m doing it, of course. It’s an incredible job, really, and an experience that I get to share with other people.”

He continued: “In a world that’s as fractured as the world that we share is, there’s a common purpose on a film set. You don’t walk on one and hear ‘The Hills Are Alive’ [with the sound of music] being sung. Sets can be very tense places but the bottom line is that there’s a common purpose and I’ve been lucky enough to be on films where there’s a sense of togetherness and that’s awesome to experience.”

In addition to Farrell, Viggo Mortensen, Joel Edgerton, Tom Bateman, and Paul Gleeson also play rescue team members. Other stars of Thirteen Lives include Weir Sukollawat Kanarot, Pattrakorn ‘Ploy’ Tungsupakul, Thiraphat Sajakul, Sahajak “Poo” Boonthanakit, Vithaya Pansringarm, Teeradon “James” Supapunpinyo, Nophand Boonyai, Lewis Fitz-Gerald, and U Gambira. The film is directed by Ron Howard, from a screenplay by William Nicholson, based on a story he wrote with Don Macpherson. Thirteen Lives is now playing in select theaters and will debut on Prime Video on Aug. 5.