Contrary to its title, Last Breath was a breath of fresh air for Finn Cole.
The English actor — who’d previously enjoyed a steady diet of serialized crime drama via Peaky Blinders and Animal Kingdom — appreciated the opportunity to cleanse his palate in Alex Parkinson’s biographical survival thriller. Last Breath is based on the filmmaker’s own 2019 documentary of the same name, and it chronicles the miraculous rescue effort of saturation diver, Chris Lemons (Cole), in 2012.
Cole no longer had to contend with scheming crime families like the Shelbys and Codys, but Last Breath was not without its own unique elements of danger. During the film’s summer 2023 production, a lost submersible, which was touring the Titanic wreckage in the North Atlantic, made headlines around the world until its implosion was confirmed. The incident killed all five people aboard the Titan, and while Last Breath mostly worked within the controlled environment of a Malta-based water tank, Cole says the news impacted Parkinson’s set a great deal.
“It hit quite close to home, and there was some crossover. It was just desperately sad,” Cole tells The Hollywood Reporter. “It was an important reminder of how the sea is not something to be messed around with, and that we had to be really careful. It was an important reminder that safety is paramount in the water, and doing things practically, we had to really pay attention.”
As for the upcoming Peaky Blinders movie, The Immortal Man, Cole confirms he’s not a part of the Cillian Murphy-led project. (Spoilers ahead.) If you’ve seen the 2022 series finale of creator Steven Knight’s globally beloved show, then you know that Cole’s character, Michael Gray, lost his duel with his cousin Tommy Shelby (Murphy). However, the series has never let seemingly fatal gunshot wounds get in the way of good drama, as characters have consistently returned in some way, shape or form. But alas, that is not the case here.
“I’d love to say that the ghost of Michael comes back, but no, I don’t know anything about the movie. It seems like there’s a whole new cast, and I have no idea what happens in it,” Cole says. “So I’m finally going to get to watch it as a fan that I’ve always been, and I can’t wait. I think it’s going to be brilliant.”
The final season of Peaky Blinders had to be rewritten due to the seismic loss of Helen McCrory, who played the show’s matriarch and Michael’s mother, Polly Gray. As a result, Knight leaned into Polly’s existing premonition that Michael and Tommy would have a deadly showdown on the heels of their already strained relationship. In any event, Cole recalls an understandably heavy set that season.
“Had Polly been in season six, then maybe we’d still be doing more seasons today,” Cole speculates. “Helen was undeniably such a key part of that show, and for me at least, the show wasn’t the same without Helen’s presence on set. It was a deeply, deeply emotional time for everyone involved because she was so missed.”
Below, during a recent conversation with THR, Cole also discusses his interactions with Lemons during the filming of Last Breath, as well as the camaraderie he shared with co-stars Woody Harrelson and Simu Liu.
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Well, after making Last Breath, is snorkeling going to be the full extent of your future underwater expeditions?
(Laughs.) Maybe on camera it will be, but we learned a lot about scuba diving, so I feel pretty good underwater now. If anything, it’s made me feel a little bit more confident. Against all the odds, you can still be saved. I’m actually going to see Chris Lemons tonight, and he is still doing well after being saved.
It’s quite rare for the same director to adapt their documentary into a narrative feature. During prep, how much did you rely on Alex Parkinson’s doc in relation to his script?
The documentary was so informative. You can watch it a number of times and still pick up information about these guys’ lives and the technical side of things, so that was really helpful. Alex Parkinson, our director, as a documentarian, did such a deep dive into what these divers do for a living. I know that’s a pun, but …
It’s allowed.
(Laughs.) So he was just a great resource. He knows everything; it’s as if he did the job himself. We then had a group of saturation divers on set, so there was loads of information all around. But the movie is a different beast. It’s an immersive experience for viewers to watch, and it’s a very different thing from the documentary.
The real Chris Lemons, Duncan Allcock and David Yuasa visited the set. Was there anything specific you adopted from Chris?
Yes, I did. He’s a curious guy. We had a couple of dinners together, and he’s an absolute gentleman. He’s very sweet, very open and very honest, so it was really easy to talk to him about the experience. At times, there was an essence of him being slightly embarrassed or self-conscious that this accident happened, but he appreciates the miracle at the same time. So it was an interesting balance, and it was interesting to ask him questions about it. He had about eight minutes of gas left, and he remembers up until the moment he passed out, which should’ve ended in suffocation. So he talks about it quite profoundly and beautifully. He’s had people ask him about what it’s like to pass over to the other side or to be on the verge of death and be accepting of it. So, to have that information firsthand was really helpful. As actors, we want all of that stuff to draw upon, and it was great to be able to text him for little reminders of things.
Whether one believes in miracles or not, Chris’ story makes a compelling case that they exist.
Absolutely. That’s my definition of miracle. It’s chance, but it’s not luck because luck suggests that there’s a complete element of randomness. It’s good fortune because there is a certain amount of preparation and experience that had to go into this rescue mission, and only these totally committed and incredible people could have done it. Had it been you and me down there, we probably wouldn’t have gotten back. Dave Yuasa was in the water at that time, and there aren’t many others that would’ve been able to pull someone of Chris’ size through the water. It was an insane feat of athleticism. So it’s good fortune that Chris is still with us.
You had to wear a heavy apparatus and helmet inside a water tank. How long did it take for you to get comfortable enough to where you could focus on your performance?
Simu and I did four weeks of training in the open sea and in tanks. There was scuba training, and then we did more of the equipment training in the latter two weeks. We trained with the saturation diver’s helmets and did weighted dives. That included weighted boots and belts to keep us comfortable on the seabed. The movement is probably closest to what the astronauts look like on the moon.
In terms of getting comfortable with the equipment, it was just a case of being in the water and spending time rehearsing some of the scenes that we had to do. And I loved that. One thing that I learned very quickly is that it uses all these core muscles that you’re not used to using in everyday life. The balance is completely different, and the way that you have to manipulate your body is completely different. So I definitely benefited from doing full-body stretches and long yoga sessions, before and after, to limber up and be ready.
The equipment was built for much, much deeper pressure, so some of the valves in the helmets weren’t working so well at our [shallower] depth in the water. All of the equipment is probably over a hundred pounds of weight in total, but you hardly feel that in the water. So it took a little time to get used to it, but once you’re weighted down on the seabed with your safety divers, it feels fairly natural.
These saturation divers typically spend 28 days in close proximity to one another inside these claustrophobic diving chambers on a support vessel, and they get to know each other very well in that time. Did you, Simu Liu and Woody Harrelson also get to know each rather quickly in such cramped quarters?
Yeah, and there couldn’t have been two better guys to do this with. The saturation divers told us that you have to be athletic and fit to be able to do the job, and you have to be a good problem-solver and something of an engineer. But the other skill that you have to have is to be able to get on with people. You’re locked in a tiny chamber, and the chamber in the movie is actually about 40 percent bigger than the miniscule ones they typically use for 28 days. The only time they get to stretch their legs is if they’re out on a dive, and they can be in the water for up to eight hours with one break.
So you have to be someone that people get along with, and I would say that Simu, Woody and I could probably do 28 days in a chamber like that. We had really good laughs, and we still do. I genuinely couldn’t have done it with two better guys. We supported each other and looked after each other, and it was a really healthy working environment.
Woody had a pretty sweet deal compared to you and Simu. He got to hang out in the bell while the two of you plunged into the depths.
(Laughs.) Yeah, he did have a somewhat easier time. But one of the hardest things about acting in something like this is that he didn’t get to see our reactions, and we had yet to shoot a lot of the things that he reacted to inside the bell. So that’s a credit to Alex Parkinson and our producers. They had a really good sense of the script and what the edit was going to look like, so they were able to feed us the lines in the right way. They reminded us of what we needed to fit to and match to once we were underwater, and that’s an example of the chemistry that we had as a cast. Even when we weren’t there, we knew exactly how we were each playing it.
Woody did have a few days in that bell all by himself where his character had to react to some pretty harrowing information about what was going on in the water, and he did an absolutely brilliant job. So we didn’t get to see anything that happened on the ship or in the bell with Woody, but it still feels completely seamless now that it’s all cut together
The highly publicized Titan submersible implosion happened toward the end of your production. Was that quite the topic of conversation on set since you were dealing with relatively similar territory?
Yeah, absolutely. It was very strange. One of the guys on our crew has worked with submersibles for a long time, and he actually knew of the company [OceanGate] that was doing [those Titanic expeditions]. He knows a lot of guys in the industry. So it hit quite close to home, and there was some crossover. It was just desperately sad. It was an important reminder of how the sea is not something to be messed around with, and that we had to be really careful. It was an important reminder that safety is paramount in the water, and doing things practically, we had to really pay attention.
[The next four questions and answers include Peaky Blinders spoilers.]
We’ve reached the Michael Gray portion of the interview.
(Cole starts rubbing his hands together.)
I remember talking to Cillian Murphy right as the world was shutting down, and he mentioned how he’d just read all the scripts for Peaky Blinders’ final season. And then everything changed due to the pandemic and the great Helen McCrory’s tragic passing. Was the final season always going to be some degree of Michael versus Tommy?
I can’t give you a definitive answer, but I don’t think so. With what had happened and the time that it took and certain actors being unavailable for different reasons, things had to change. Between seasons, I would see Steven Knight once or twice, and he’d tell me about the whole of the next season. He’d explain every detail in every episode, and it would blow my mind. Then, I’d see him two months later, and it’d be completely different. And when I’d actually get my hands on the scripts, it’d be changed again because that’s the brilliant mind that Steven has.
I think things did evolve for the final season, but in how I took on the role and how that role developed, we found an opportunity. Cillian said to me in season four or season five: “Tommy has all of these threats around him at all times. That’s the life that he leads. Some of them are these irresolvable dilemmas, one of which is his addiction issues. And the other one is that the next generation is going to come through. For people like him, the next generation are the most dangerous people because they come with new ideas, and that’s scary to him.”
In season five, there’s a scene where Michael pitched this fantastic idea to Tommy about how to run the business and how he could take a backseat so Michael could take over. And it was a brilliant idea. It was faultless. There was no reason why Tommy should turn it down apart from the fact that he’s threatened by the next generation’s bigger and better moves. So that was always in the back of Cillian’s mind when we were working together, and that seemed to come to fruition in season six.
In all honesty, I was gutted because I was such a fan of the gang and that world. So I was like, “Oh, damn, I’m going to be a villain.” But once I embraced it, I had a lot of fun, and we were able to really take it to the next level. Now, what’s really cool is people send me all these threats and are really nasty to me. I actually really like it. People on the street will come up to me and be like, “I love you, but I hate you.” And that’s the biggest compliment that we can get as actors. It means that we did our job right, and I’m looking forward to playing another villain again, I must say.
At the end of season five, I assumed season six was going to be Tommy (Murphy) versus Mosley (Sam Claflin), and that Michael would assist Tommy once he found out that Mosley and Gina (Anya Taylor-Joy) were having an affair. During season five’s ballet party, Gina and Mosley exchanged a look that alluded to either an existing affair or a future one. But Polly’s (McCrory) fateful prophecy involving Michael and Tommy is a stronger, more dramatic course, especially given the circumstances.
Yeah, Polly dying when she did in the story really fueled Michael’s revenge arc. That was a huge part of where Michael was coming from, and it felt believable to me. Had Polly been in season six, then maybe we’d still be doing more seasons today. Helen was undeniably such a key part of that show, and for me at least, the show wasn’t the same without Helen’s presence on set. It was a deeply, deeply emotional time for everyone involved because she was so missed.
Tommy has long been haunted by the ghosts of his past, so how likely are we to see Ghost Michael in the upcoming movie, The Immortal Man?
I’d love to say that the ghost of Michael comes back, but no, I don’t know anything about the movie. It seems like there’s a whole new cast, and I have no idea what happens in it. So I’m finally going to get to watch it as a fan that I’ve always been, and I can’t wait. I think it’s going to be brilliant. Steven and Cillian are a great, great team, and I don’t doubt that the fans are going to love it. I’m just so grateful that I was a part of that journey and that I could be a part of it for so long. It holds a very special place in my heart and always will.
From your older brother, Joe Cole, having the urge to put you on tape ahead of season two, to you being there when his character was killed off in season four, to then being the final antagonist, that’s quite the chain of events.
Absolutely. To be there when Joe was killed off on Peaky Blinders was surreal, but it was quite a beautiful end, so thanks to Steve Knight for that one. Joe is an incredible actor, performer and creative mind. He’s someone that I’ve always looked up to since I was so young. I’ve got four brothers, and as any oldest brother should, he’s looked after all of us throughout our lives. Neither of my parents are in the industry, so Joe has always been that figure that I can go to and ask dumb questions. It’s such an amazing thing to have a buddy in the industry, and he’s also not in direct competition. We are very different actors with very different tastes at the end of the day. But we are keen to find the next project where we get to be on-screen together. It just has to be the right one because you have to beat Peaky Blinders.
How intimidated were you in the early days?
I get asked a lot, “Was it scary stepping on set with a powerhouse like Helen McCrory?” And I say, “No, it’s the easiest thing in the world.” 50 percent of the scene is going to be on them, and if 50 percent of the scene is on them, then 50 percent of the scene is going to be impeccable and exciting and full of creative power. So it fuels you to do the best you can, and it takes the pressure off you knowing that you’re sharing a scene with someone like that.
You starred on Animal Kingdom here in the States at the same time as Peaky. Did scheduling ever get complicated between the two shows?
They did, but the producers on both sides of the Atlantic were very respectful. Both shows helped the other in terms of building a bit of a buzz. So [Animal Kingdom EP] John Wells was always very, very supportive, and he’s friends with Steven. They’ve worked together before, so John was always absolutely brilliant. I know I was contracted, first and foremost, to Animal Kingdom, but John was super helpful in trying to make it work [with Peaky Blinders]. He loved the show, too. So he was a great man to work with and be working for under that quite stressful scenario. He could have easily just stopped me from doing anything, but he would always try his absolute hardest to help all of the actors on Animal Kingdom do whatever we could outside of the show, if possible. So it’s thanks to John that both shows could run smoothly and that I could be a part of both brilliant franchises. I’m very grateful to him.
Of your two fictional crime families, which one put you most through the wringer, emotionally, psychologically, et cetera?
It’s tricky. There was more screen time with J on Animal Kingdom, but with some of Michael’s past experiences and some of the depth that Steven had written into the character, there was more underlying and more to play, long-term. So it’s difficult to say, really. I enjoyed both a lot, but J was far more enigmatic and desensitized than Michael. He was far more broken. So, between the two, there was a little bit more to play with Michael, but J also had things about him that made him quite an unusual character to deal with. So it’s hard to say. I love all of the characters that I play in different ways. Even if they’re horrible, I can still find a place for them. So they were both quite nasty people, but they were both really fun to explore in the totally different worlds of their crime families.
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Last Breath opens in movie theaters on Feb. 28.
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