Walker, Murphy, Whishaw: 3 Actors Journey to "The Heart of the Sea"

Three acclaimed actors lend their talents to making Warner Bros. Pictures' new action-adventure “In the Heart of the Sea” a compelling viewing experience: Benjamin Walker (“Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Slayer”), Cillian Murphy (“Batman Begins”) and Ben Whishaw (“Skyfall,” “Spectre”).

Directed by Ron Howard, the film is based on Nathaniel Philbrick’s best-selling book about the dramatic true journey of the Essex in the winter of 1820. The New England whaling ship Essex was assaulted by something no one could believe: a whale of mammoth size and will, and an almost human sense of vengeance. The real-life maritime disaster would inspire Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick. But that told only half the story. “In the Heart of the Sea” reveals the encounter’s harrowing aftermath, as the ship’s surviving crew is pushed to their limits and forced to do the unthinkable to stay alive. Braving storms, starvation, panic and despair, the men will call into question their deepest beliefs, from the value of their lives to the morality of their trade.

True Story Behind Legend Transports You to "The Heart of the Sea"‏

It is one of the greatest seafaring tales of all time: the Nantucket whaling ship Essex was attacked by a leviathan—a white whale of singular size and intent—leaving only a few of its crew to overcome near-impossible odds and live to recount their experience. But in the almost 200 years since that harrowing voyage, the truth faded into history, eclipsed by the celebrated novel it inspired, Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick. Now, with acclaimed director Ron Howard at the helm, the legend of the Essex, her courageous crew, and that mythic white whale comes to the big screen for the first time in Warner Bros. Pictures' epic adventure “In the Heart of the Sea.”

(Watch the featurette “In the Heart of the Sea: Young Nickerson's Story” at https://youtu.be/vXOZRsRzkW8.)