Sam Claflin faced many challenges in co-starring with Shailene Woodley in Adrift, a film based on a true story of survival to play sailor Richard Sharp he had to shed weight and suffered seasickness during the shoot that largely took place in the open Pacific Ocean off Fiji. As tough as it was, the English actor describes the role as a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Q: Can you tell us about Richard Sharp, the sailor you portray in Adrift.

A: If you are a sailor you are a risk taker. It is a very dangerous way of living and he is someone who has done that many times before. He has literally sailed halfway around the world. The boat you see him on in the beginning of the movie, he built that by hand in South Africa. He is someone who is used to his own company. I think there are so many similarities between myself and him so it was easy to draw inspiration from my own life and experiences. I consider myself someone who takes risks, but he lived more on the edge than I do. I can’t help but admire him.

Q: Because your character is stranded on a boat in the Pacific Ocean for such a long time with little food you had to lose a lot of weight for the role. Can you talk about how you did that?

A: I had just got back from shooting a film called The Nightingale, which was the heaviest I had ever been. I had put weight on for the role so I had about four weeks between the end of that and the beginning of day one of filming. I remember arriving in Fiji and sitting down for breakfast with (director) Baltasar (Kormákur), who was very polite in trying to ask me to look more like a sailor (laughs). I knew I needed to lose weight. My diet began the second I set foot in Fiji

Q: One of the keys to the film is the relationship between Tami Oldham and your character, Richard. What did you and Shailene do to make sure this was reflected in the movie?

A: We got on really well and really quickly. I actually missed my birthday in getting out to Fiji. l left Los Angeles at 11.45pm on the 26th of June and landed in Fiji on the 28th. I was like, ‘I missed my birthday’ (laughs). But she got me a birthday present and balloons so there was immediate respect. We have similar beliefs, we are both spiritual people, love family, friends and travelling the world.

Q: How much weight did you have to lose?

A: I was just over 15 stone (210 pounds or 95kg) doing The Nightingale and by the end of Adrift I was under 12.5 stone (175 pounds or 79kg). It was over a three-month period. I did the same thing for Me Before You and The Hunger Games. Having done it enough to know what I have to do, it was still really difficult.

Q: Balt is an extraordinary director. If you look at The Deep and Everest, it is evident he does not like to do films that are easy.

A: I’d say he is the epitome of a modern-day Viking. As an Icelandic man, it is obvious in the choices he has made- he definitely likes a challenge and pushes people to meet his own standard. He allowed Shailene and myself to do our own stunt work. He had us sailing the yacht as opposed to a double. He wanted it to be as authentic as possible. It would have been easier to shoot it in a beautiful, anchored harbor or whatever, but he pushed us to our limits. I’m grateful for that.

Q: How was shooting a film in Fiji?

A: What was great was we did get a real sense of the culture and the people and everything they had to offer. They were so welcoming and embraced us as a film crew and were willing to help with whatever was needed. It was an amazing opportunity for us to see the real Fiji.

Q: Can you talk about the day you met Tami for the first time?

A: That was a crazy day because I hadn’t personally reached out to Tami before shooting. When she came to Fiji it was almost terrifying and we were sitting for lunch, but there was a moment where I was telling a story or a joke over lunch and she fell silent. Someone asked her if she was OK and she said, “I can’t get over how much Sam reminds me of Richard. You are him. You embody his qualities. His character”. There was a moment of relief.

Q: After doing the movie do you consider yourself as a competent sailor?

A: I would need someone to captain the boat (laughs), put it that way. I definitely feel comfortable on a boat. Before this I had been on boats, but never sailed. This was really eye opening to me. I was sick a few times the first couple of times going out but I did get my sea legs quite quickly. The one thing I will say about my seasickness, I was able to recover. I would be sick and then up immediately afterwards. I learned a lot about myself and I did discover I really love the ocean. As cheesy as it sounds, I love being one with nature. This opportunity comes once in a lifetime – shooting 90 per cent of it on the ocean and watching people who are experts in that world doing what they do and showing us the ropes literally was amazing.

Q: Do you consider yourself adventurous?

A: I like the fact there is risk in life. With my job I get to go on adventures and I get to go to Fiji and sail yachts. That is an incredible part of what we do. Could I be more of an adrenaline junkie? Yes. I would happily jump out of a plane, but I just let things come my way. I don’t have a bucket list.

Q: What were the biggest challenges?

A: Mentally and emotionally it wasn’t overly challenging personally. I think Shailene’s arc as a character was a lot more difficult. I was fortunate enough to have a much easier ride. Physically, just being a sailor, is incredibly demanding. I think what we both struggled with at times is that we were both on such strict diets it meant we weren’t getting much fuel and we had to do physically demanding sailing work. That was tough at times. But, it’s not hard to remind yourself of other people, Tami of course, lived through a lot worse. The amount of times I got burns on my hands from the ropes and then you would have to do the take again with fresh burns. But I loved it. I love a challenge.

Q: Can you talk about the love scene you were shooting and the pod of dolphins that suddenly appeared?

A: The scene was originally planned where we would see a whale and then love ensues. But, honest to god, the dolphins appeared. We noticed the camera boat pulled up alongside us and we realized they were filming us. We were meant to get very, very intimate so we started getting to that point and no-one was saying cut. We were wondering, ‘Do we keep going? We were laughing as we were trying to do it. They did get some good material, but eventually chose to leave it on the cutting room floor. I’d like to see that scene sometime.

Q: Can you talk about the logistics of shooting on the open ocean? How far from land did you shoot and how did you get there?

A: It would take the yacht about two hours to get to the point. We were on land at that time getting our make-up and costume done and would meet the yacht out in the ocean. We got our own speed boats. The crew would sit in a different boat off the yacht we were shooting the movie on. At times we went so far out we couldn’t see land. At times it was quite scary, but I think we all embraced it. Everything mother nature throws at us we took it on the chin.

Q: What was it like shooting a film on the ocean? It must have been totally different to anything you have done before.

A: It was incredibly different because we were so reliant on the weather. A decision was made that we would pretty much only use natural light, so we were relying on the sun and it being in the right position. We would also have the current moving us. We would have to be patient and stay in the moment and then they would have to capture a moment in two minutes. We had to be prepared all of the time. We also had to trust everyone. Everyone was helping everyone in every department no matter if you were a grip, gaffer or costume. Everyone was doing everything. We were all part of the art department.

Adrift is in cinemas now.