(Corrects paragraph 2 attribution to Mike Williams instead ofMark Wahlberg, corrects paragraph 6 to other cast members didnot attend London premiere instead of they attended)
Sept 27 (Reuters) - Actor Mark Wahlberg said "the biggestresponsibility" for himself and the makers of the new movie,"Deepwater Horizon," was to honor the real-life victims of the2010 oil rig disaster.
"The oil can ultimately be cleaned up, (but) those 11 mencan't be replaced," Mike Williams, oil rig engineer and survivorof the disaster, told Reuters at the film's London premiere onMonday. Wahlberg plays Williams in the film.
"Those were fathers, brothers, husbands, uncles, cousins. Wecan't replace those guys and so when they approached me aboutdoing this film, I thought, 'What better way to promote theirstory'," he added.
"Deepwater Horizon," due out in theaters on Friday, focuseson the hours before and after the BP Plc rig exploded inthe Gulf of Mexico in April 2010, leading to the worst offshoreoil disaster in U.S. history. Eleven workers were killed andmillions of barrels of oil spewed onto the shorelines of severalstates for nearly three months.
In the movie directed by Peter Berg, Wahlberg plays MikeWilliams, one of the last people to escape from the burning rig.
The real-life Williams joined Wahlberg at the premiere. Thefilm also stars Kurt Russell, Gina Rodriguez, John Malkovich andKate Hudson, who did not attend the London premiere.
"The focus wasn't really on who made what mistakes and whowas responsible. Really, it was about the heroics of the 11people and the inspiring things that they did to survive andhelp one another," Wahlberg said.
"Deepwater Horizon" examines the decisions concerning safetymade by BP executives leading up to the disaster,highlighting the pressure that workers were under to save moneyas drilling fell behind.
British oil major BP in July estimated costs from thedisaster will total about $62 billion.
"I never faulted BP for being a company for profit. That'swhat fuels our economy. We all use fuel. I get that they're acompany for profit," Berg said.
"Where I think they erred was when they got behind scheduleand behind budget, some of the guys from BP pushed too hard,they moved too quickly."
In October 2015, U.S. officials announced an agreement ofmore than $20 billion to settle federal and state claims againstBP over the spill (Reporting by Reuters TV in London; Writing by Piya Sinha-Royin Los Angeles; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
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