"Dolphin Tale," a family feature film based on the true story of Winter the dolphin, features, from left, Nathan Gamble, Austin Highsmith, Harry Connick Jr., Morgan Freeman and Cozi Zuehlsdorff.
"Dolphin Tale," a family feature film based on the true story of Winter the dolphin, features, from left, Nathan Gamble, Austin Highsmith, Harry Connick Jr., Morgan Freeman and Cozi Zuehlsdorff. WARNER Bros.
Some of the human stars of "Dolphin Tale" say they signed on to do the family film before they knew that Winter, a dolphin with an artificial tail, was a real animal.
"I thought it was a fictional story, and when I found out that all of the stuff about Winter was real, I felt like it was something I really wanted to do," said Harry Connick Jr.
Connick plays the director of a sea animal rescue hospital in the movie based on the Clearwater Marine Aquarium and its most famous patient.
"I really liked the story and I liked the struggles that this dolphin was going through," he said during an interview session Wednesday with reporters in Clearwater.
"I did some research about what these rescue operations go through and it's deep, man." He said he was told that some facilities might have euthanized Winter because of her condition.
And after filming "Dolphin Tale" and seeing the work at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, he said he has great admiration for the dedication of the staff.
Connick and co-star Morgan Freeman, "Dolphin Tale" director Charles Martin Smith, supporting actor Austin Stowell and child stars Nathan Gamble and Cozi Zuehlsdorff met with reporters from throughout the United States and Canada on Wednesday to promote the film, which opens Sept. 23.
Freeman, who plays a doctor that develops a prosthetic tail for Winter, said he knew he wanted to do the film after reading the first 15 pages.
"The actual doctor himself is an amputee himself," Freeman said, noting that he understands what it is like to lose the use of a limb. "This doesn't work," he said, holding up his left hand, which was injured in an automobile accident three years ago.
Stowell, who plays a champion swimmer turned soldier who is injured in Iraq, said the most poignant lesson he got from the film is "never give up hope."
Gamble, who plays a troubled 11-year-old that helps the injured dolphin recover, said the highlight of working on the film was getting to swim with the real Winter. Share
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