Opening almost exactly eight years after the tragic events that inspired it, J.A. Bayona’s The Impossible tells the true story of a family whose world is torn apart when their trip to Thailand brings them face to face with the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami.
Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor play Maria and Henry, a pair of tourists traveling with their three children. When disaster strikes, Maria and their eldest son, Lucas (Tom Holland) are left to battle against impossible odds in the wake of flood waters and a foreign country that has given way to chaos.
ComingSoon.net sat down to speak with Watts, McGregor and Holland about the challenges of capturing on film the true terror of such a serious and recent catastrophe. In the player below, you can watch the actors discuss the construction of their performances, their shared family dynamic and the work required to accurately capture the awe-inspiring might of a real-world disaster.
The Impossible opens in theaters in New York and LA this Friday, December 21.