Resident Evil star explains why he spent time interacting with whales ahead of shooting new movie

Austin Abrams is having a rough year. Just last month he found himself at the mercy of a mutant zombie outbreak in Zach Cregger's Resident Evil and now he's being swallowed by an actual whale.

At least prepping for his new film Whalefall wasn't quite as stressful.

"It partly felt strange to do a whole movie about whales and not to have an interaction with them, and it was really just... It's an experience that I've never had before," Abrams exclusively told Radio Times regarding his decision to spend some one on one time with the deep sea mammals. "It wasn't like being with an animal. It was like being with like an intelligent being or like creature or something. Like that's what I felt."

Whalefall sees Abrams come face to fin with a sperm whale in a classic man versus nature fight for survival. If you've seen the trailer, you'll know that Brian Duffield's adaptation of the 2023 novel of the same name by Daniel Kraus promises to be one of the most uncomfortable viewing experiences you'll ever have at the cinema.

Abrams plays Jay Gardiner, a scuba diver who sets out to find the body of his father in the ocean before being swallowed whole by a sperm whale. For the rest of the run time, Gardiner must try and figure out a way to survive with just an hour of oxygen and ever increasing water pressure.

Thanks to their sheer scale and penchant for hanging out in the darkest depths, whales are one of those animals that inspires equal part awe and terror, something Whalefall is banking on to ramp up the stress factor.

Thankfully, Abrams's experience getting ready to play Gardiner was a little more awe and a lot less terror.

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"It felt like oh there's like really something like really, really special here that I've not experienced," Abrams continued. "You know it's kind of... I don't know if you've ever spent time with someone that's maybe like really meditated out or something and they just feel like really light.

"And you're just like, man, I freaking love being with this person. You know, it kind of felt like that, honestly."

It remains to be seen if Abrams's character in Whalefall will find his zen during his Moby Dick-like ordeal. Either way, the whole thing promises to be quite the rollercoaster ride.

Whalefall is in UK cinemas from Friday 16 October 2026.

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Authors

Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.