James Cameron knows how to make blockbusters. After all, three of the top four films in the highest-grossing films category are all directed by him. They are- Avatar, Avatar 2, and Titanic. The first Avatar, which is the highest-grossing film ever, has made $2.9 billion while the other two have trailed close at $2.3 and $2.2 billion respectively.
But making blockbusters isn’t easy. Cameron especially is famed for being tough on his actors and making them live the story and place. However, after a point, Zoe Saldana couldn’t take the training or prep for Avatar anymore. But the acclaimed director couldn’t care less.
James Cameron Wasn’t Impressed With Zoe Saldana’s Complaints On The Avatar Set
In Avatar, Zoe Saldana plays Neytiri, a Pandora native. To make sure that she was prepared for the role, the actress had to participate in grueling training. The Marvel actress knew that it was a demanding role that was going to take all from her. It’s just that she didn’t know how much. In an interview with Parade, she said:
“It was the most physically demanding role I’ve ever done. I trained in everything from riding bareback and martial arts to archery. I was okay with almost all of it except our trip to Hawaii before filming to experience a tropical environment like Pandora.”
Saldana expressed that she couldn’t cope in a tropical environment and was on the verge of giving up. But then Cameron stepped in to say that she needed to get on with the program. The actress said:
“Jim made us live for three days without technology and a minimum of creature comforts while we went climbing and digging in the dirt. I was almost naked for three days and as muddy as a dead rat. I finally went, ‘I can’t deal with this.’ and Jim said, ‘Oh, come on, Zoe, s*ck it up.'”
But how did the Guardians of the Galaxy star’s training for Avatar 2 go? After all, since most of the film was shot underwater, it must mean that the actors needed to learn how to hold their breath.
Zoe Saldana Revealed How Long She Could Hold Her Breath At A Stretch For Avatar 2
James Cameron revealed that he was strict about shooting underwater because he wanted audiences to really feel that the characters were underwater in Avatar 2. He said:
“You want it to look like the people are underwater, so they need to be underwater… I knew Sam was a surfer, but Sigourney and Zoe, and the others weren’t particularly ocean-oriented folks. So I was very specific about what would be required, and we got the world’s best breath-hold specialists to talk them through it.”
So how long was Saldana able to hold her breath? About 5 minutes. She told The New York Times:
“I’m very competitive, but we had an Oscar-winning actress (Kate Winslet) in our cast that did seven minutes. I got almost up to five minutes. That’s a big accomplishment, you guys.”
It certainly is a huge accomplishment and the dedication of the actors made Avatar 2 even better. Now it’s a long wait for Avatar 3 which will release on 19 December 2025.
Avatar and Avatar 2 are available on Disney+.
Source: Parade
