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This article was originally published in Radio Times<\/strong> magazine.<\/em><\/p>\n Cast your mind back to June 2018. The World Cup<\/a> was on in Russia and England were about to fall short (again). But then all eyes turned to a rather lesser-known football team: the Wild Boars. Twelve boys and their soccer coach were exploring a cave system in northern Thailand that suddenly, without warning, became flooded. With monsoon rains threatening to fatally cut them off, a daring rescue operation was launched. Miraculously, after nearly three weeks stranded, all survived.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a kind of relentless \u2013 though pragmatic \u2013 optimist, I found in this story a great lesson,\u201d says director Ron Howard, whose exhilarating movie retelling, Thirteen Lives<\/a>, is available this week. \u201cIt is proof that these kinds of outcomes are viable.\u201d<\/p>\n Certainly, it\u2019s a story tailor-made for the genial Howard, 68, who has experience directing aquatic tales (Splash, Cocoon, In the Heart of the Sea) and survival epics (Apollo 13). \u201cThis was so different because of the cave,\u201d he remarks today, in a thankfully air-conned London hotel mid-heatwave.<\/p>\n Sections of the Tham Luang cave were rebuilt in giant water tanks, when shooting took place in Queensland, Australia, last year. In their quest for authenticity, the actors \u2013 Viggo Mortensen, Colin Farrell, Joel Edgerton and Tom Bateman play the divers \u2013 also demanded to do the underwater scenes without stunt doubles, \u201c[which] I thought was utterly impractical!\u201d laughs Howard.<\/p>\n British actor Bateman, known for playing the lead in TV drama Beecham House<\/a>, was taken aback by how \u201chorribly claustrophobic\u201d it was to dive (and act) in these mock-up caves. He recalls one scene, where his character, rescue diver Chris Jewell, gets into trouble underwater. \u201cI remember Ron saying, \u2018Man, that was great. The fear in your eyes was so good.\u2019 And I said, \u2018That was all real. There was no acting in there.\u2019 I was genuinely thinking: \u2018This is terrifying!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n