Austin Abrams discusses whale encounters and filming Whalefall
Ahead of Whalefall's UK release on 16 October 2026, Austin Abrams told Radio Times about meeting whales to prepare and told the Evening Standard about filming inside a to-scale whale stomach.
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The story, neutrally told
Centre · 2Austin Abrams stars in the survival thriller Whalefall, which opens in UK cinemas on Friday 16 October 2026. Radio TimesN “Whalefall is in UK cinemas from Friday 16 October 2026.” Read at Radio Times ↗ Evening StandardN “And now he’s back on the survival thriller train with Whalefall” Read at Evening Standard ↗ Centre · 2The film is directed by Brian Duffield and adapted from Daniel Kraus's 2023 novel of the same name. Radio TimesN “Brian Duffield's adaptation of the 2023 novel of the same name by Daniel Kraus” Read at Radio Times ↗ Evening StandardN “a survival thriller directed by Brian Duffield and adapted from Daniel Kraus’s novel” Read at Evening Standard ↗ Centre · 2Abrams plays Jay Gardiner, a scuba diver searching the ocean off California for his late father's body, who is swallowed whole by a sperm whale and must survive with about an hour of oxygen and rising water pressure. Radio TimesN “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.” Read at Radio Times ↗ Evening StandardN “Jay is diving off the California coast in search of his late father’s body (Josh Brolin — he appears in flashbacks)” Read at Evening Standard ↗
Centre · 1Abrams told Radio Times he chose to spend one-on-one time with whales before filming because it felt strange to make a whole movie about them without interacting with them. Radio TimesN “It partly felt strange to do a whole movie about whales and not to have an interaction with them” Read at Radio Times ↗ Centre · 1He described the encounter as unlike being with an animal, saying it felt like being with an intelligent being, and compared it to being with someone deeply meditated who feels very light. Radio TimesN “It wasn't like being with an animal. It was like being with like an intelligent being or like creature or something.”“someone that's maybe like really meditated out or something and they just feel like really light.” Read at Radio Times ↗ Centre · 1In an Evening Standard interview, he said the role required weeks of filming inside a to-scale whale stomach that the crew pushed from the outside to mimic gestation, and that he would see the stomach walls when he closed his eyes at night. Evening StandardN “The role required weeks of filming inside a to-scale whale stomach, which was being pushed from the outside by the crew to mimic gestation.” Read at Evening Standard ↗
Centre · 1The Standard says his character is bitten by a squid's beak, burned by stomach acid and has his eardrums perforated by pressure. It quotes Zach Cregger as saying Abrams never complains, and Abrams as saying the discomfort was welcome because it was helpful. Evening StandardN “including being bitten by a squid’s beak (who knew!), burned by stomach acid, and having his eardrums perforated by pressure.”“you welcome that,” he says, “because it’s all just helpful.”” Read at Evening Standard ↗ Centre · 2Both outlets link the film to Abrams's earlier role in Zach Cregger's Resident Evil, in which he plays Bryan, a medical courier. The Standard calls him a 30-year-old from Sarasota, Florida, who has been acting since he was five and is touted by some as the next Timothée Chalamet. Radio TimesN “Just last month he found himself at the mercy of a mutant zombie outbreak in Zach Cregger's Resident Evil” Read at Radio Times ↗ Evening StandardN “The 30-year-old actor, who hails from Sarasota in Florida and has been acting since he was five” Read at Evening Standard ↗ Centre · 1Abrams said he looks for roles that affect him, recalling advice from Brad Pitt, with whom he worked on 2024's Wolfs, and the Standard says his next role is likely to be something more "seated". Evening StandardN ““He said: ‘You have to do the things that affect you and that you’re drawn to because that’s the best chance that you have that it’s gonna affect other people,’” he recalls.” Read at Evening Standard ↗
Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.
Left0 outlets
No left outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
Centre2 outlets
- Framing
- Both are promotional interview pieces timed to the UK release. Radio Times focuses on Abrams's pre-shoot whale encounter and Whalefall's stress and awe. The Evening Standard profiles Abrams and his rising stardom and the physical toll of filming.
- Emphasis
- Radio Times: the calm, 'special' whale encounter. Evening Standard: the discomfort of the whale-stomach set, career path and Chalamet comparisons.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Neither gives details of where or how the whale encounter took place. Neither includes critics' reviews or other perspectives.
- Charged language
- “come face to fin”“Moby Dick-like ordeal”“Sounds completely mad”
- For example
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“Whalefall sees Abrams come face to fin with a sperm whale in a classic man versus nature fight for survival.” — Radio Times
“Touted as the new Timothée Chalamet” — Evening Standard
Right0 outlets
No right outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
What every side reports
- Whalefall opens in UK cinemas on 16 October 2026.
- Abrams plays Jay Gardiner, swallowed by a sperm whale.
- Brian Duffield directed the film, adapted from Daniel Kraus's novel.
- Abrams also starred in Zach Cregger's Resident Evil.
Austin Abrams person
Abrams says meeting whales felt special, like being with an intelligent being, and that he welcomed the discomfort of filming because it helped the role.
“It felt like oh there's like really something like really, really special here that I've not experienced” — Radio Times
“It ends up kind of having a toll on you, wearing on you, but you welcome that” — Evening Standard
Left0 articles
No coverage yet.
Centre2 articles
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Resident Evil star explains why he spent time interacting with whales ahead of shooting new movie
Sympathetic Light promotional interview centred on Abrams's serene whale encounter, with humour about his suffering roles.
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Austin Abrams on surviving a whale's stomach and what comes next for the blockbuster star
Celebratory Profile presenting Abrams as a rising star who shrugs off discomfort, with wry humour.
Right0 articles
No coverage yet.
- 12 Oct 11:50 First Radio TimesN Resident Evil star explains why he spent time interacting with whales ahead of shooting new movie
- 16 Oct 07:00 +91h 11m Evening StandardN Austin Abrams on surviving a whale's stomach and what comes next for the blockbuster star
Times are when each article was published, or when we first saw it if the outlet gave no time.
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