Hollywood Actress Drew Barrymore Goes Scuba Diving in Alaska for New Film

Drew Barrymore is known for her acting roles in Hollywood blockbusters E.T, 50 First Dates and Charlie's Angels, but the actress recently fulfilled one of her lifelong dreams when she filmed her latest film, Big Miracle.

The 36-year-old went scuba diving in Alaska while shooting for the film which tells the story of the rescue of three whales.

Drew Barrimore by worldtraveller5, on Flickr

"I really wanted to scuba dive," Drew explained. "I was like ‘Don't let anyone else do this. I wanna do it'. So I did go scuba-diving in Alaska and I swam with a bunch of Harbour Seals.

"It's so quiet down there; it's like ‘Oh, good-bye world. Thank you'. But it's also really cold."

Alaska is not one of the warmest scuba diving destinations in the world but despite the cold water, Drew took the plunge to fulfil her own underwater ambition.

Scuba diving in Alaska by marcindobrucki, on Flickr

Speaking about the filming of Big Miracle on the U.S. breakfast show Good Morning America, the actress explained what is was like to go scuba diving in Alaska.

"It felt like knives going into my body. It was insane," she said. "They told me the temperature was 34 degrees (Fahrenheit) and I was like, 'That doesn't sound so bad.' Then you get in and you're like, 'Ouch.' I'm very bad at pretending or faking things, I really do want to transport myself and sort of believe in whatever scenario I'm in."

The film is based on the real story of the three California Grey whales that got trapped under five miles of thick ice in 1988 and the efforts of environmentalist Cindy Lowry (played by Drew) who helped rescue the beautiful creatures.

Scuba diving in Alaska by Saeed Rashid, on Flickr

Scuba diving is becoming an increasingly popular sport for people across the world and many actors are getting PADI certified so they can enjoy scuba diving adventures in their films.

Some of the most popular destinations for scuba diving holidays include the Caribbean islands of Bonaire, Turks & Caicos and the Cayman Islands; the Maldives and the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean; Sharm el Sheikh and Hurghada in Egypt; the Great Barrier Reef in Australia; and the Florida Keys Marine Sanctuary in the United States.