The Whale

The Whale is a British television film that was first broadcast on BBC One on 22 December 2013. Terry Cafolla wrote the film about the Essex incident in 1820, which also formed the basis of Herman Melville's 1851 novel Moby-Dick. The Whale was also broadcast on Animal Planet in the United States during the summer of 2014. Plot Thomas Nickerson (Martin Sheen) recalls his past as a cabin boy on the Essex whaling ship. Cast Martin Sheen as old Thomas Nickerson Charles Furness as young Tom Nickerson Jonas Armstrong as Owen Chase Adam Rayner as Captain George Pollard Jolyon Coy as Benjamin Lawrence Jassa Ahluwalia as Owen Coffin David Gyasi as Richard Peterson John Boyega as William Bond Ferdinand Kingsley as Obed Hendricks Paul Kaye as Matthew Joy Production The Whale used underwater shots and specialist equipment to create storm scenes for Essex, the whaleship the film is based on. The television film was made by BBC Factual Productions with Animal Planet as co-producer, with Eamon Hardy and Ruth Caleb as executive producers for the BBC and Mick Kaczorowski as executive producer for Animal Planet. The director is Alrick Riley and the composer is Debbie Wiseman. The producer is Mike Dormer.