The True Story and Controversy Behind Diana Nyad’s 110-Mile, 52-Hour Cuba to Florida Swim | TODAY

Netflix’s “Nyad” takes viewers on the inside story of how famed marathon swimmer Diane Nyad swam across the Florida Strait — the waters between Cuba and Key West — at age 64.

The film, based on Nyad’s memoir “Find a Way: The Inspiring Story of One Woman’s Pursuit of a Lifelong Dream,” stars Annette Bening as the iconic swimmer as she trained to make the 110-mile trek through open waters without a protective shark cage.

Bening told TODAY’s Hoda Kotb on Jan. 11 she immediately said yes to the role, despite the mental and physical challenges that would come with portraying a long-distance swimmer in her 60s.

“I read (the script) and was just so taken with Diana and her journey. That just got me in my gut, and I actually didn’t really think it through,” Bening said with a laugh. “I just I knew I had to play it. I knew that this was an opportunity like no other and it really proved to be that — but that’s something that I think is good for us, right? A big challenge, something new. Completely took me into world I would never have imagined doing, playing a marathon swimmer.”

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