Howard and Michele Hall

After becoming a certified diver in high school, Howard put himself through college by teaching Scuba diving off the California coast, graduating with a degree in zoology from San Diego State University in 1974. Rather than pursue an advanced degree in marine science as he first intended, Howard looked for opportunities to combine his passion for photography with his interest in marine wildlife. He began by writing articles for magazines and taking still photographs, and was eventually given the opportunity to shoot 16mm film. As his skills increased he was given the opportunity to produce his own underwater wildlife documentaries.

	Interview with Howard Hall "Coral Reefs in Peril"
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A Scuba diver since 1975, Michele worked as a pediatric nurse for 19 years before joining Howard full-time in his business. As natural history film producers, this husband and wife team have received seven Emmys® for films produced for television, and several other filmmaking awards. The Halls also have authored many books and articles about their exciting experiences diving in the world's oceans.

The Halls have now worked on six IMAX® Theatre films, including Into the Deep, Island of the Sharks, and Lost Worlds: Life in the Balance. With MacGillivray Freeman Films, Howard photographed spectacular underwater sequences for the Academy Award® nominated film The Living Sea and more recently for Journey Into Amazing Caves. Coral Reef Adventure is the first time the talented pair has worked behind the camera and in front of it.

Jean Michel-Cousteau

Explorer, environmentalist, educator, film producer: for more than four decades Jean-Michel has used his many experiences to communicate to people of all nations and generations his love and concern for our water planet. Since first being ‘thrown overboard’ by his father at the age of seven with Scuba gear on his back, Jean-Michel has been exploring the ocean. The son of ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau, Jean-Michel spent much of his life with his family aboard the research vessels Calypso and Alcyone. After his mother’s death in 1990 and his father’s in 1997, Jean-Michel founded Ocean Futures Society in 1999 to carry on this pioneering work. Responding to his father’s call to ‘carry forward the flame of his faith,’ Jean-Michel oversees the Ocean Futures Society, a marine conservation and education organization.

Jean-Michel also serves as an impassioned spokesman and diplomat for the environment, reaching out to the public through a variety of media. He has produced over 70 films, and received many awards and recognitions for his work. The film team met Jean-Michel in Fiji at the Jean-Michel Cousteau Fiji Islands Resort, a family resort committed to the environment and culture of Fiji.

Richard Pyle

Rich grew up in Hawaii and when he was 8 years old, set up his own aquarium and began collecting specimens from tide pools near his home. During a field trip to the islands of Palau when he was just 13, he found an unusual angelfish that had never before been seen in the Pacific Ocean. In high school, he discovered a new subspecies of butterfly fish. He was hooked! He enrolled in a Zoology Program at the University of Hawaii but a diving accident at depth left him paralyzed below the neck. It took one year for him to recover. He soon became interested in diving technologies and how to make his explorations in the deep reefs safer. He’s now known as a pioneer in deep-diving technologies. Rich will soon receive his Ph.D. in ichthyology (fishes). He specializes in dives to the “Twilight Zone,” the little explored deep coral reefs 200 feet or more from the surface. Rich and his team are currently discovering an average of seven new species per hour of exploration time – the highest rate of new fish species discovery anywhere in the world. He lives with his wife and two children in Hawaii.

	Interview with Richard Pyle "The Thrill of Discovery"
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Rusi Vulakoro

Born on a northern island of Fiji, Rusi was the first son of the islands' chief. As a young man he helped his father catch turtles to sell at the market. Now Rusi only likes to see turtles alive and he has befriended two young hawksbills at Mount Mutiny, a 3000-foot tall seamount in Fiji. Rusi is 45 years old, married and has five children. He lives in Fiji’s biggest city, Suva, also the country’s capital. A skin diver since he could swim, Rusi is now a PADI rescue diver and a dive guide. He works at sea aboard NAI’A, the boat that guided the film team in Fiji. Known and loved by his NAI’A crewmates for his beautiful singing voice and mischievous sense of humor, Rusi has worked as a skiff driver, engineer, assistant chef, steward before completing his dive certification and now a dive guide for guests who travel to Fiji from all over the world. Rusi’s family, including his brother and his daughter are singers, songwriters and musicians. Rusi performs with his sister Laisa Vulakora, Fiji’s most famous and popular singer.

Maria Joao Rodrigues

Maria grew up in the coastal city of Maputo in Mozambique in southern Africa. She spent many long and fun summers with her parents on Mozambique's numerous beaches on the Indian Ocean. Maria discovered Scuba diving 10 years ago and says that's when she really began to experience the marine environment first hand. She enjoyed it so much that she decided to become a marine biologist. Today she is working on her Masters Degree in Marine Biology and Aquaculture at James Cook University in Townsville, Australia on the Great Barrier Reef. When she completes her studies in 2003 she will return to Mozambique and become involved in coral reef research there. She says, "I hope that my work on coral reefs will be informative and inspiring to many people, including those who have not experienced one of Earth's best wonders - coral reefs."

Liam Neeson

Irish-born Academy Award® nominee Liam Neeson is the narrator for Coral Reef Adventure, his third project with MacGillivray Freeman Films. Neeson previously narrated the company’s highly acclaimed films Everest and Journey Into Amazing Caves. Neeson has appeared in over 20 feature films, including most recently, Gun Shy, Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace and The Haunting. He has also appeared in Les Miserables, Excalibur, A Prayer for the Dying, The Mission, Under Suspicion, Ethan Frome, Husbands and Wives, Leap of Faith, Rob Roy and many others.

Neeson has received phenomenal critical acclaim throughout his acting career including a Tony Award nomination for his performance in Anna Christie, Best Actor honors at the Venice Film Festival, a Golden Globe Best Actor nomination and London's prestigious Evening Standard Award for Best Actor for Michael Collins. In 1993, Neeson was nominated for an Oscar, Golden Globe and BAFTA Award in the Best Actor categories for portraying Oskar Schindler in Steven Spielberg's highly acclaimed Schindler's List.