“But I said, ‘Hang on, Will Smith wandering onto that beach? Let’s be serious about this movie ... s so British,” said Boyle during a 2000 interview. “He just keeps looking ...

Controversy washed over The Beach long before it hit cinemas ... arriving on 11 February 2000. But as early as January 1999, when the film was still shooting on the Thai island of Ko Phi Phi ...