It’s arguably the iciest TV series of all time. “The North Water” with Colin Farrell was filmed in the eternal ice of the Arctic, at 81 degrees north latitude on the Norwegian archipelago of Spitsbergen. Here the annual average temperature is minus 7 degrees.
“It was as tough as filming can get,” says Farrell. “We woke up in the dark and shot until well after sunset.”
+++ BILD is now also on TV! Click here for BILD LIVE +++
“The North Water” is a film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Ian McGuirePhoto: mauritius images / LANDMARK MEDI
The film work on Svalbard was actually not without its dangers. Shooting should be done especially on ice floes. When one broke, part of the crew was standing in the water. On another day a walrus suddenly appeared through the scene.
And whenever the day came to an end, the race against darkness began – and the polar bears. Trained scouts were always on the lookout for them. With sharp weapons – but only to fire warning shots in an emergency.
Whaler Henry (Farrell) controls an exploration boatPhoto: BBC Studios / See-Saw Films
During the breaks, Colin Farrell did not disappear into a warming trailer despite the outside temperature being as low as minus 25 degrees. He jumped into the icy polar water. The image as a rough leg has to be cultivated.
His conclusion after the end of the shooting: “I’m relieved that nobody died.”
By the way, in “The North Water” Colin Farrell plays a brutal killer and harpooner. In 1850 he set off on a whaling expedition towards the North Pole together with a disgraced ex-army surgeon.
A job that is bloody, dirty and badly paid.
Farrell, “only” 1.78 meters tall and normally 80 kilos light, had to hit the bacon for the role that is described as a giant. “I ate a lot and lifted heavy weights,” he says. The effort has paid off, Farrell becomes a colossus in “The North Water”.
If you want to see Farrell like that, you have to be patient. A start of the series on Magenta TV is still open.
.