Ted Danson plays oil tycoon J.W. McGraw in the movie Big Miracle. McGraw is seeking rights to drill for oil, and he is nemesis number one to Rachel (Drew Barrymore), who is a Greenpeace worker and extreme environmentalist. McGraw agrees to use his resources to help free the three trapped gray whales, but in the beginning it is all a big publicity stunt. Though his motives are selfish, he heads up to Barrow, Alaska to help save the whales.

The irony in this, is that Ted Danson is often one who is working against off-shore drilling. In fact, he founded the American Oceans Campaign in 1987, an organization that worked with the residents of Los Angeles to stop dumping used motor oil into storm drains leading to the Pacific Ocean. Then, the American Oceans Campaign folded into the international water-advocacy group called Oceana, upon which Danson sits as a board member. Still, Danson doesn't see his character, McGraw as a bad guy. At a round table interview he related:

...He was a guy that’s full of self-interest, but aren't we all? Whose job is to make sure that rest of the world has oil, and he wants to make money. And he's doing what we tell him to do. So, he's not necessarily a bad guy, but he was full of self. And he got involved because he wanted the PR, because he was getting beat up in Congress over opening up the wildlife refuge.

Even though, as the film depicts, many people became involved in the plight of the whales for a variety of different reasons, in the end, what comes through is the power that we human beings have when we work together.

About the movie, Danson says:

what I love about the film is that people had to get over themselves and their individual little points of view about their world, their self interests, to do a good thing. And to me, it's a movie about hope. That even though we are all so different, we actually are connected. And when you bump into a whale, it can't help but hit your heart in such a way that you can all rally around together to do something good in life. So, I think a message of hope.

And, if you are wondering what Ted Danson thinks is the most important things we can do now to protect the ocean, in response to that question he advises two things: 1. Go to the Oceana website and find ways to help and get involved. 2. Get the Seafood Watch app on your smartphone. Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch app makes it easy for consumers to choose seafood that's healthy and ocean friendly.