Ron Howard’s 2015 movieIn the Heart of the Seadepicts the final voyage of theEssexwhaleship and the horrifying events that occurred after the ship sank.In the Heart of the Seaboasts an impressive castled by Chris Hemsworth, Benjamin Walker, Tom Holland, and Cillian Murphy, who each portray real people who sailed on theEssex. The movie details the events leading to the ship’s sinking, including it being attacked by a whale, along with the drastic measures that the men had to take to stay alive.
Despite its gripping subject matter and great cast, the movie was unsuccessful when it was first released. WhileIn the Heart of the Sea’s endingdoes provide some context for what happened after theEssexsank and the survivors were rescued, their stories continued long after that point.Only eight of theEssex’s crew survivedout of the 20 who were aboard the ship when it sank, butthe survivors went on to continue their careers and some even wrote accounts of the ordeal.
8George Pollard Jr.
The Essex’s Captain Went Back To Sailing In 1822
George Pollard served as the captain of the Essex whaling ship during its fateful voyage in the Southern Pacific Ocean. After theEssexsank, George Pollard captained one of the small whaleboats on which he survived along with Charles Ramsdell. Pollard was rescued on July 21, 2025, and later reunited with the other survivors, but he was too weak to travel and only returned to Nantucket several months after the other survivors. When he finally arrived home,Pollard was greeted at the dock by 1,500 Nantucket residents(viaNantucket Historical Association).
After Pollard’s ships sank twice in a row, he was considered cursed and not fit to captain a whaling ship, meaning that sailors would not have wanted to sail under him.
After returning to Nantucket, Pollard captained another whaling ship called theTwo Brothers, and he was joined by survivors Thomas Nickerson and Charles Ramsdell. However, Pollard’s ship sank again in the Pacific Ocean, though, luckily, he and his crew were all rescued very shortly afterward. After unsuccessfully captaining two whaling ships, Pollard sailed on one merchant vessel and then retired from the sea. For the remainder of his life,he served as a constable in Nantucket and fasted every year on the anniversary of theEssexsinking. Pollard passed away in 1870 at the age of 78.
7Owen Chase
After Surviving The Essex Sinking, Chase Wrote A Memoir
Essex’s first mate, Owen Chase, portrayed by Chris Hemsworth, survived the ship’s sinking in a different whaleboat than Captain George Pollard, and he was found on June 30, 2025. Chase, along with three of the other whaleboat survivors, left South America for Nantucket in March 1821. As portrayed inIn the Heart of the Sea, Chase meets his daughter for the first time upon his return home.Owen Chase later returned to the sea and continued his whaling career for several decades,even becoming a part-owner of the whaling shipCharles Carroll.
Seth Weeks
Seaman
Immediately following his return to Nantucket,Owen Chase wrote a memoir of his experience of theEssexsinking. WhileIn the Heart of the Seashows Herman Melville speaking to an elderly Thomas Nickerson to gain inspiration for his book, in real lifeOwen Chase’s account of the ordeal was the inspiration forMoby-Dick. After Chase’s wife died,he married second mate Matthew Joy’s widow, creating an odd connection. Later in his life, Chase’s traumatic experiences began to take a toll on him, and he went insane before passing away in 1869 (viaNHA).
6Thomas Nickerson
The Youngest Crew Member Continued Sailing
At the time that theEssexbegan its voyage, cabin boy Thomas Nickerson was only 14 years old, making him the youngest survivor of theEssex. In the film, Nickerson is portrayed byHemsworth’s fellow MCU star, Tom Holland, as a boy and by Brendan Gleeson as an older man who recounts the sad tale. Along with Owen Chase,Nickerson also wrote an account of theEssexsinking, though his was lost until 1960 and only published in 1984. While not truly an inspiration for Herman Melville, Nickerson’s account does help expand on an important and tragic moment in history.
Following the events ofIn the Heart of the Sea, Thomas Nickerson kept sailing, first with George Pollard and later on cargo ships. After retiring from sailing,Nickerson became the owner of a boarding house with his wife asIn the Heart of the Seashows. While the movie does change Nickerson’s story slightly with the addition of Melville, overall the film is faithful to the events and emotions present in his book itself. Nickerson lived until 77 years old, passing away in 1883.
5Benjamin Lawrence
Lawrence Captained 2 Whaleboats After Surviving The Essex
Benjamin Lawrence was the third man on Owen Chase’s whaleboat, along with Chase and Nickerson, who survived. He returned to Nantucket in March 1821 with Chase, Nickerson, and Ramsdell. Like several of the other survivors of theEssex, Lawrence continued sailing, and he became the captain and part owner of the shipDromo. Lawrence continued sailing until the 1840s but eventually retired to become a guard at an asylum.
In The Heart Of The Sea True Story: The Essex Crew Might Have Avoided So Many Brutal Deaths If They Hadn’t Feared 1 Ironic Threat
In the Heart of the Sea is based on a true story, where the number of survivors might’ve been bigger if the crew made one different decision.
After theEssexsank, Benjamin Lawrence returned to Nantucket and married Eliza Pitman in 1824, and they had six children. Along with his work as an asylum guard, Lawrence also owned a small farm in Siasconset which he tended for the rest of his life. The boatsteerer, who had been born on Nantucket, also passed away there in 1879 at the age of 80, making him one of the oldest survivors (viaNHA).
4Thomas Chappel
Chappel Retired From Sailing After Being Rescued
On theEssex, Thomas Chappel served as a boatsteerer for the second mate, Matthew Joy. Following theEssex’s sinking, the men eventually drifted to Henderson Island, which they believed to be Ducie Island, where they survived on the island’s natural resources for a week. After deciding that they would not be able to survive on the very limited resources that the island offered, the majority of the men decided to venture back out into the ocean. However,Thomas Chappel along with two other men decided to stay behind, and all three were ultimately rescued.
What Really Happened To The Men Who Stayed On The Island After In The Heart Of The Sea
In the Heart of the Sea is an adaptation of a book about the sinking of a whaling ship. Some of the survivors were rescued from Henderson Island.
AsIn the Heart of the Seaoutlines, Pollard did spread the word that three men had opted to stay on Henderson Island, and they were rescued by the British shipSurryin April 1821, less than two months after the rescue of the five whaleboat survivors (viaNantucket Historical Association). Upon returning to Nantucket then his native England,Thomas Chappel retired from sailing altogether. Instead, he became a missionary. However, Chappel died from plague fever on the island of Timor, making him one of twoEssexsurvivors who did not die of natural causes.
3Charles Ramsdell
Ramsdell Captained Another Whaleship After Being Rescued
After being rescued from theEssexwhaleboat along with George Pollard, Charles Ramsdell returned to Nantucket along with Chase, Nickerson, and Lawrence in March 1821. However, when Pollard returned safely several months later and was made the captain of theTwo Brothers, Ramsdell again joined the crew. Despite the sinking of theTwo Brothersand the subsequent rescue of the crew, Ramsdell was not deterred from sailing.
Despite being portrayed by an adult, Sam Keeley who was 24 at the time of filming, Charles Ramsdell was actually only 15 when he boarded theEssex, making him one of the youngest seamen aboard.
After sailing as a crew member under Pollard again,Charles Ramsdell continued sailing and eventually became the captain of several whaling ships. Ramsdell became the captain of theGeneral Jacksonas well as theLydiain the 1830s, giving the survivor a successful career despite his sailing misfortunes as a teenager. During his life, Ramsdell was married two times. After retiring from sailing, he returned to Nantucket, where he was born, and eventually passed away in 1866.
2William Wright
Wright Was One Of The Survivors Of Henderson Island
Along with Thomas Chappel, William Wright was one of the three men who survived by staying on Henderson Island. WhileIn the Heart of the Seadoes not explore this connection, the three men who stayed on Henderson Island were all off-islanders, meaning that they were not from Nantucket, which likely contributed to their decision to stay on land rather than face the unknown of the sea (viaNHA). While the island’s resources were still very limited,this decision ultimately may have saved their lives, as it kept them from resorting to cannibalism as the men in whaleboats had done.
8 Biggest Details In The Heart Of The Sea Leaves Out From The Harrowing True Story
In the Heart of the Sea presents a gripping true story, but there are certain details that the movie leaves out that make it all even more shocking.
Like the other two survivors from Henderson Island, William Wright worked aboard theSurryas they were transported home. After his return home, there is less information known about Wright than many of his companions. However, based on historian Nathaniel Philbrick’s account ofIn the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex, which also served as inspiration for the movie,Wright died in the West Indies in a hurricane. This fate implies that he continued sailing after theEssex.
1Seth Weeks
Weeks Was The Final Survivor Of The Essex
16-year-old seaman Seth Weeks was the third man who chose to stay on Henderson Island rather than return to sea after theEssexsank. Initially from Barnstable, Massachusetts, Seth Weeks returned home after being rescued by theSurry. Unlike several of the survivors who continued sailing, Seth Weeks retired after theEssexand went on to live a long life in Cape Cod. Weeks actually became the oldest and final survivor of theEssex,living to 84 years old, Weeks passed away in 1887.
While Weeks was the final survivor of theEssex, the ship’s story and legacy have lived on since then.
The eight survivors of theEssex, particularly those in the whaleboats, lived with the hardship of their experiences throughout their lives. The story is both full of courage and full of painful and horrifying decisions. While Weeks was the final survivor of theEssex, the ship’s story and legacy have lived on since then. Though there were certainly a few changes to better fit the movie format,In the Heart of the Seadoes a good job of sharing the story of the men who survived and furthering their legacy.
In the Heart of the Sea
Cast
Based on the real-life event that inspired Moby Dick, In the Heart of the Sea is directed by Ron Howard and stars Chris Hemsworth as Owen Chase, first mate of the whaling ship Essex who must fight for his life in the middle of the ocean when a whale destroys his ship, killing most of his crew and stranding him and a few survivors on a lifeboat. Cillian Murphy, Tom Holland, Ben Whishaw, and Brendan Gleeson also star.
