Ant Middleton interview for Mutiny

Why on earth would you want to sign up to something like this?
First of all, I do like my history. Obviously I’ve heard of Captain Bligh and HMS Bounty and the mutiny, and that really made me interested in doing the project. But also I wanted to see whether modern day man could endure what they endured in 1789, or are we all too wrapped up in cotton wool? It’s a good starting point for me to lead it, and to prove that we are more robust than people might think. I think we can still achieve great things. That was the main thing that attracted me to this. And it’s an amazing survival task – sea survival combined with land survival. With me being a survivalist, it just felt like a golden ticket to me. And it could all have gone horribly wrong – that’s what was exciting about it. The magnitude of the task, and the pressure to deliver.
 
Were you involved in choosing your crew?
No, I had no involvement with the crew. They obviously tried to keep it as authentic as possible, having a handyman because Bligh had a carpenter, having a GP where Bligh had a surgeon. I think they kept it as authentic as possible. I made it very clear from the beginning that I only wanted to be involved if it was going to be as authentic as possible, down to the rations, the boat, the islands. Basically keeping the health and safety team at bay as much as possible so we could remain in our bubble. With the longevity of the voyage, you can’t keep jumping in and out of the bubble, because you won’t last very long. You have to get into that bubble, say to yourself that there’s no safety boat (even though there was) and the only people who are going to get us out of this are ourselves. It was very important to maintain that.
 
How did you prepare for it?
I’m used to being in uncomfortable situations. I actually thrive in uncomfortable environments. I put on weight for it – I put on 10kg, because I knew the seriousness and the magnitude of this task. So I was already mentally prepared. I didn’t dig too deep into Bligh and the mutiny, I knew about it, and that was enough for me. I knew the concept of it. I knew where we had to get to, I didn’t want to be too polluted with how Bligh acted or what went on. We’re recreating the journey, but we’re modern day men, I didn’t want to have the history taking over my mind. I ate a lot and just prepared myself.
 
What were your worries going into it?
Leading a bunch of civilians. I’m used to dealing with military personnel in a team. In the SAS, if you’re not good enough, you’re graded out of it. Here, I was the leader and it was my responsibility to help everyone through this, regardless of their strengths or weaknesses.  I was worried these guys would be a nightmare to instil discipline and structure into.  They haven’t been through the military process, I was worried they wouldn’t get it. The only way to get their respect is to earn it, so I didn’t go in there thinking “I’m an ex-special forces operator, I deserve their automatic respect”. It doesn’t work like that. That’s why I led from the front from the beginning. I made sure that everything I asked them to do I was prepared to do myself.