‘Whalefall’ Team Dives into Relationships, Perseverance, and Emotion

Whalefall is a gripping and emotional examination of grief, relationships, and moving forward through hardship. We had a chance to speak with actors Austin Abrams and Josh Brolin, director Brian Duffield, and author/co-writer Daniel Kraus about bringing this heart-wrenching story to the big screen.

Whalefall follows the fictitious story of Jay Gardiner (Austin Abrams) who returns home after the death of his father Mitt Gardiner (Josh Brolin). Determined to prove himself against the rumors of his abandonment of his father and the disappointment of his mother and sisters, Jay decides to search the Monterey, California coastline to retrieve his father’s remains. In a wild twist, he’s accidentally swallowed by a whale with just under an hour’s worth of air remaining in his tank. What ensues is a 60-minute anxiety-inducing journey through the whale’s stomach in desperate search of escape. From tearful moments that had us sobbing during our recent screening, to wild scenes that had everyone exclaiming in our seats, Whalefall provides the perfect mix of character development, high-stakes action, and emotional depth to keep you hooked the entire way through.

While the film is a wonderful adaptation of the book it’s inspired by, author and Pulitzer Prize winner Daniel Kraus certainly gave the cast and director Brian Duffield a lot of backstory and content to work with. Abrams’ performance as Jay not only examined his tumultuous dynamic with Josh Brolin’s character, but it also highlighted the great physicality and nuance he was able to feed into each close-up when inside of the whale’s stomach, oftentimes void of any dialogue. Josh Brolin went far beyond the stereotypical portrayal of an “angry man” character with his role as Mitt. He incorporated unique real life experiences, coaching, and even participated in dream work to bring his layered character to life.

Take a look at my discussion with Austin, Brian, Josh, and Daniel about how they each contributed to the realization of these characters and the tragic beauty of this magnificent story:

The book Whalefall is a USA Today bestseller and is available now. 20th Century Studios’ Whalefall splashes into theaters on October 16, 2026.