McGregor impressed by real tsunami victims in 'The Impossible'

Los Angeles: Actor Ewan McGregor, who plays the role of a 2004 tsunami victim in 'The Impossible', says he was impressed by director Juan Antonio Bayona's decision of casting a few real life tsunami victims in the movie.

"When I came on board, I didn't know what to expect. But when I saw Juan Antonio Bayona's passion for 'The Impossible', I was completely mesmerized. He is someone who wanted every aspect of the film to be real, so much that he went to an extent of making the real survivors of tsunami a part of the film," McGregor said in a statement.

'The Impossible' narrates the true story of a Spanish family that had just begun to start enjoying their winter vacation in Thailand when the tsunami struck on December 26, 2004.

McGregor says it was the director's call to cast the tsunami survivors as a tribute, which helped him shape his character more accurately.

"Bayona's decision did wonders, as these survivors added exceptional amount of energy on the sets, which was really useful for us. Reliving our moments of disaster is not easy for us. But these people, the survivors, they did that for us and we are very grateful to them," he added.

The movie will be released by PVR Pictures in India on January 4, 2013.