In at the Deep End

Playing real-life commercial divers in the thriller Last Breath took Woody Harrelson and co-stars to new depths

- JANEÉ BOLDEN

SOME STORIES SEEM TOO IMPOSSIBLE TO BE TRUE, and Last Breath is one of them. The film, based on real events, follows commercial diver Chris Lemons, who was stranded deep underwater with no oxygen, no light and no way to escape. What should have been a routine job turned into a race against time, technology and human endurance.

With Finn Cole, Simu Liu and Woody Harrelson leading the cast, Last Breath delivers a high-stakes, pulse-pounding thriller that takes audiences into the dangerous, isolated world of deep-sea saturation diving. Director Alex Parkinson, who also helmed the 2019 documentary of the same name, returns to bring this gripping true story to the big screen—with an intense, cinematic reimagining that places viewers inside the dive helmets of those who lived it.

For the actors, stepping into this world wasn’t just about learning the mechanics of diving—it was about honoring the real men behind the story and confronting their own fears in the process. Harrelson, who plays Duncan Allcock, the diving supervisor who refused to give up on Lemons, knew the stakes were high.

"I think it adds a lot because you really don't want to disappoint those guys," Harrelson said. "You want them to believe that, 'Oh, you did a good job with your role."

The men behind the story have already seen Last Breath and, thankfully, their reviews were positive—even from the famously stoic Dave Yuasa (Liu).

"We were just reading the reactions of the different characters," Harrelson said. "Luckily, it was a favorable review. Dave didn't say a lot, though. Just, 'Liked it.'"