Bildon native Duncan Allcock is played by Hollywood star Woody Harrelson in Last Breath, a thriller that tells the story of one of the most terrifying diving accidents in recent memory.
In September 2012, diver Chris Lemons, his mentor Duncan and colleague Dave Yuasa descended 300 feet below the surface of the North Sea at a diving bell 127 miles east of Aberdeen, with the intention of replacing the pipes.
However, amidst the rough waters and computer failures, the ship they were connected to began to drift.
While desperately trying to return to the diving bell, Chris' umbilical cord is caught in a metal structure and snapped, trapped at the seabed with about ten minutes of oxygen in his tank.
Meanwhile, his fellow divers returned to the diving bell and were pulled away by the ship.
Following a malfunction of the ship's computer, the system was reset and it took the crew more than 30 minutes to find Chris.
Dave then dives and is able to save the unconscious Chris. And after the pair were able to ride the frame under the diving bell, Duncan was able to use a set of specialist ropes to pull Chris into the small space.
By the time he was pulled back to the diving bell, Chris was without oxygen for 29 minutes – and there was a great fear in his life.
But miraculously, after Chris played CPR, Chris woke up quickly – an emotional Dave watching.
Surprisingly, Chris continued to make a full recovery, marrying his fiancée and resuming diving jobs.
In fact, just three weeks after the near-death experience, Chris and his colleagues went back underwater and finished the repair work they were trying to do.
Looking back on the incident, 62-year-old Duncan told The Telegraph & Argus: “Of course it was a very bad accident.
“But we were very fortunate with the outcome.
“I was beyond delight when I found out that Chris was alive after giving him CPR.
“It's an experience I'll never forget – I can't prepare it.”
“Excellent depiction”
Duncan, Chris – played by Fincole in Last Breath – and David – played by Simli – attended the film's New York premiere last month and is currently on display at British cinemas.
Duncan said: “They did Sterling work in the film.
“I thought it was a great portrayal of what happened.”
Duncan met Hollywood actor Woody, whom he and his wife Julie visited Maltese movie sets over four days in 2023 and found fame in the cheers of American sitcoms.
“He was such a nice guy and seeing him play me in his final breath, it was totally surreal – he did a great job.
“He didn't put on a Yorkshire accent on the film – he told me, and I said, 'Fair enough,'” Duncan laughed.
Duncan – He currently retired from diving in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, and lives in the cameo role at the start of the film as well.
The title card at the end of the film points out that researchers have no scientific explanations of how long they could survive without oxygen.
However, there are many theories that may explain what many describe as “miracles.”
Some believe that Chris' body, a combination of depth, temperature and gas mixture, was saturated during the dive.
In conjunction with the release of Last Breath, Chris said “extraordinary teamwork and resilience” was to thank him for his survival.
“It was a great set of people that meant I was a very lucky boy,” he added.
