'Deepwater Horizon' a tribute to oil spill victims: Wahlberg

London: Hollywood actor Mark Wahlberg says his new movie "Deepwater Horizon" is a tribute to the people who died and those who survived the Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster.

The big screen dramatisation is based on the real-life disaster which saw drilling rig Deepwater Horizon, owned by company Transocean and leased by BP, explode in April 2010.

The explosion sparked the most catastrophic oil spill in US history, and it took engineers 85 days to stop the leaking of crude oil into the ocean, reported BBC.

Directed by Peter Berg of "Friday Night Lights" fame and co-written by Matthew Sand and Matthew Michael Carnahan, the movie stars Wahlberg as oil rig electrician Mike Williams, Gina Rodriguez as young oil rig worker Andrea Fleytas and John Malkovich as a BP representative.

Speaking at the film's premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, Wahlberg, 45, said the movie doesn't just focus on the environmental disaster, but the human impact as well, particularly the fact that 11 crewmen died in the incident.

"It's a character-driven piece. It's an action movie but it's about the people that lost their lives and the heroes on these drill rigs. None of them want any credit and they certainly don't like the title of hero."

"Deepwater Horizon", which also stars Kurt Russell and Kate Hudson, will release at the end of September.