Ron Howard is gathering an interesting cast around for his latest project, the adaptation of Nathan Philbrick’s book In The Heart Of The Sea. Brendan Gleeson and Sam Keeley are the latest recruits.
In The Heart Of The Sea follows the harrowing real-life struggle endured by the men aboard Nantucket whaling ship the Essex, which was destroyed by a vengeful sperm whale in 1820.
Stranded in a lifeboat thousands of miles from home, 20 of the surviving crew (the survivors included the captain and first officer) at first planned to make for an isolated tropical island but the idea was rejected because of rumours of flesh-eating savages. The resulting delay in their rescue led to them becoming cannibals to survive.
Gleeson is set to play an older version of one of the crewmembers who did make it through the tragedy, likely framing the story as Herman Melville interviews him for research on Moby Dick. We’d expect him to face some awkward questions about how his crewmates tasted. Keeley, meanwhile, will be one of those facing the rigors of the incident as it happens.
They join Chris Hemsworth, Ben Walker, Cillian Murphy and Tom Holland in the film, set to kick off shooting this coming September in London.