Jean-Marc Barr – Actor, Producer, Director & Star of The Big Blue
In this episode of The League of Extraordinary Divers I chat with Jean-Marc Barr, legendary actor, producer, director and star of the epic motion picture The Big Blue.
Jean-Marc Barr was an aspiring young actor in his late 20’s when renown French director Luc Besson had him audition for and unique and physically demanding role as a French world record freediver. The movie was The Big Blue and it turned out to be a box office sensation. But more than that, it became a cult classic for ocean, dolphin and freediving enthusiasts worldwide.
The Big Blue is a movie that interprets the life of legendary French freediving pioneer Jacques Mayol. Although it parallels the competition of early freediving pioneers Jacques Mayol and Enzo Maiorca, the movie uses creative license to add some drama and change the characters into identifiable ones conjured up by director Luc Besson. In fact the characters are almost exact opposites of their real life counterparts.
In this episode, Jean-Marc Barr discusses the spiritual, physical and inspirational attributes that freediving gave him for his legendary role in The Big Blue.
Items in this Podcast
- Meeting Luc Besson
- Freediving Training for The Big Blue movie
- First 70mm Film underwater camera
- How the movie impacted Jacques Mayol
- Jean-Marc Barr narrates Dolphin Man
- How they filmed many of the underwater freediving scenes
- “Under the Ice” Freedive scene
- His near-death experiences
- His naked dive to 40 meters
- Why you should never smoke a joint prior to diving
- Tahiti boat capsizing
- Homo Delphinus book
- Working with Dolphins
Resources
- Jean-Marc Barr’s Filmography on IMDB
- The Big Blue Movie
- Faena Hotel Miami Beach
- Miami Film Festival
- Dolphin Man: The Story of Jacques Mayol
- Homo Delphinus Book by Jacques Mayol
Sponsor
Special thanks to our episode sponsor Aggressor Fleet
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