In the Heart of the Sea isn’t just an epic tale of man versus nature, it’s also a dramatic recounting of a real attack.
The 2015 Ron Howard film was based on Nathaniel Philbrick’s 2000 nonfiction book of the same name, which investigates the 1820 sinking of a whaling ship that was caused by a sperm whale attack. The Essex and the sailors that Chris Hemsworth, Tom Holland and Cillian Murphy portrayed on-screen were real and had already inspired Herman Melville’s iconic 1851 novel Moby-Dick.
Despite influencing multiple books and movies, in many ways, the sailors’ real-life tale is even more harrowing.
“Where Moby-Dick ends is really where the story of the story of the Essex kicks in,” Philbrick told TIME in 2015. “It’s not a fictionalization of a story, it’s a transformation of a story and all the darkness of the Essex disaster.”
Much like Moby-Dick, which received mixed reviews upon its release, In the Heart of the Sea was widely considered a box office failure. The action film received its due 10 years later, though, when it rose to the No. 1 spot on Netflix in January 2025.
Though some moments were dramatized, Howard’s film remained faithful to the horrific events the sailors endured. The director told The Iris in 2016 that he didn’t have to “invent very much” drama after learning what the real men experienced and that the intense production — which included putting Hemsworth on a daily 500-calorie diet — made the cast more empathetic to their characters.
“At the end of the day, I would apologize to everybody,” Howard said. “[The actors] would just say, ‘Well, first of all, it’s just a fraction of what the real guys that we were playing went through.’ ”
So, what is the true story behind In the Heart of the Sea? Here’s everything to know about the real Essex whale attack — and the tragic events that followed.
What happened to the Essex?
Moby Dick from Herman Melville’s novel ‘Moby-Dick’.
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On Nov. 20, 1820, a whaling ship from Nantucket, Mass., was attacked by a large sperm whale in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. According to the Nantucket Historical Association, the boat was 1,300 miles from land.
First mate Owen Chase was reportedly the first to spot the whale, per Smithsonian Magazine. He estimated it to be 85 feet long and said in later accounts that it collided head-on with the ship, giving it “such an appalling and tremendous jar, as nearly threw us all on our faces.” By Chase’s retelling, the whale rammed the Essex one more time before disappearing for good.
The ship quickly capsized, and 20 surviving sailors boarded three small whaleboats with whatever supplies they could grab. Though their captain, George Pollard Jr., wanted to set sail towards the closest islands, rumors of their allegedly cannibalistic inhabitants convinced the remaining crew to head south in hopes of being spotted by another whaling ship.
Two weeks later, they landed on Henderson Island but found that it had few food sources. Three men remained on land, and the rest set sail once again.
In Chase’s 1821 book Narrative of the Most Extraordinary and Distressing Shipwreck of the Whale-Ship Essex, the 23-year-old sailor wrote that the starved crew cannibalized the remains of one man who suddenly died overnight — a tragic survival tactic they would end up using again.
Of the three boats and 16 men that remained, eight more sailors died after leaving Henderson Island and their bodies were also eaten. Eventually, one boat disappeared entirely, and Chase and Captain Pollard lost sight of each other’s vessels.
On Feb. 6, 1821, one man aboard Pollard’s ship suggested that they draw lots to decide who would be eaten next. Fearing that if they didn’t eat soon, they would all die, the men agreed, and Pollard’s young first cousin, Owen Coffin, drew the lot. Despite his cousin’s attempt to take his place, Coffin agreed to the draw and was shot, killed and cannibalized.
How long were the Essex crew lost at sea?
Chris Hemsworth and Tom Holland in ‘In the Heart of the Sea’.
Warner Bros/Kobal/Shutterstock
The Essex crew were lost at sea for 92 days. Chase’s boat was rescued on Feb. 18, 1821, with only three men onboard, and Pollard and his last surviving crew member were found a week later. The third lost boat wasn’t discovered until years later, with only skeletons onboard.
Miraculously, the three men left on Henderson Island survived for four months on shellfish and bird eggs until an Australian ship spotted them. Of the 20 original crew members, only eight survived.
Who was Owen Chase?
Chris Hemsworth as Owen Chase in Warner Bros. Pictures’ ‘In the Heart of the Sea’ (2015).
Jonathan Prime/Warner Brothers/Kobal/Shutterstock
Owen Chase, portrayed by Hemsworth in In the Heart of the Sea, was the first mate aboard the Essex.
After surviving three months at sea, he returned home and wrote his account of the whale ramming and the disastrous events that followed. His book served as the inspiration for Melville’s novel Moby-Dick, per the Linda Hall Library.
Chase continued to go on whaling expeditions in the Pacific for the next two decades. He married four times — including to the widow of one of his Essex crewmates — and died in 1869.
Who was Captain George Pollard Jr.?
Edward Ashley as Barzillai Ray, Morgan Chetcuti as Sheppard, Chris Hemsworth as Owen Chase and Benjamin Walker as George Pollard in Warner Bros. Pictures’ ‘In the Heart of the Sea’ (2015).
Jonathan Prime/THA/Shutterstock
George Pollard Jr., played by Benjamin Walker in the film, was the captain of the Essex. Only months after being rescued, he captained another ship named Two Brothers.
In a twisted act of fate, it struck a coral reef near the Hawaiian Islands and sank, marooning Pollard again on a small boat in the middle of the ocean. Thankfully, he and his crew were rescued the next day.
That ended the captain’s whaling days, and he retired to Nantucket, where he worked as a grocer and one of the town’s constables. Pollard fasted yearly on the anniversary of the Essex’s sinking until he died in 1870, per the Nantucket Historical Association.
Who was Thomas Nickerson?
Tom Holland as Thomas Nickerson in Warner Bros. Pictures’ ‘In the Heart of the Sea’ (2015).
Jonathan Prime/THA/Shutterstock
Thomas Nickerson was a cabin boy aboard the Essex. After surviving the ordeal, he continued to work as a mate on whalers and cargo ships before retiring in New York as a master mariner. Eventually, he returned to Nantucket with his wife and operated a boarding house until his death in 1883.
Nickerson — played by both Holland and Brendan Gleeson in In the Heart of the Sea — also wrote an account of the sinking, but it was lost for over 80 years. After the book was found, it took 20 years to verify its authenticity, and eventually, Philbrick used it as a source for his own book.
Who was Herman Melville?
American writer Herman Melville circa 1860 ; Ben Wishaw as Herman Melville in Warner Bros. Pictures’ ‘In the Heart of the Sea’ (2015).
Hulton Archive/Getty ; Jonathan Prime/Warner Brothers/Kobal/Shutterstock
Herman Melville, portrayed by Ben Whishaw in the 2015 film, was the author of the iconic American novel Moby-Dick. The novel was inspired by both his experience as a whaler and the Essex tragedy.
According to the Nantucket Historical Association, Chase’s son gave Melville a copy of the former first man’s Narrative while they were at sea on a whaling expedition near the original attack site.
The writer met Pollard years later, after the book was published. Though they only exchanged a few words, Melville said the captain was “the most impressive man, tho’ wholly unassuming, even humble,” per Smithsonian Magazine.
Was Moby Dick real?
Benjamin Walker (R) as George Pollard in Warner Bros. Pictures’ ‘In the Heart of the Sea’ (2015).
Courtesy of Warner Bros Pictures/THA/Shutterstock
Moby Dick — the giant, albino whale antagonist in Melville’s novel — is not real but based on a different sperm whale with a reputation for ramming and destroying small boats off the southern coast of Chile. Because he could often be found around Mocha Island, sailors called him Mocha Dick.
Unlike Moby Dick, Mocha Dick was not alabaster white but white with gray patches. According to the International Marine Mammal Project, he evaded humans for 20 years before he was finally harpooned and killed.
Though the whale that took down the Essex didn’t inspire the Moby Dick character, the attack and tragic events that followed did serve as inspiration for the end of the story.
