Actors often go above and beyond the call of duty in Hollywood to give outstanding performances. One of the incredibly talented actresses, Kate Winslet, also stunned the world by breaking Tom Cruise’s underwater record while working on James Cameron’s Avatar sequel. Her success, however, came at a high price because she subjected her body to severe torture.
The visual effects in Avatar have always been astounding, and Avatar: The Way of Water is no exception. Avatar: The 2022 epic science fiction film faced an even greater challenge in creating a movie centered around an underwater landscape while still setting itself apart from other films taking place in a similar setting.
Also, the cast was required to shoot underwater while also worrying about their motion capture suits and acting without oxygen.
Kate Winslet’s Reaction to Her Seven-Minute Breath Hold in Avatar Sequel
For Avatar: The Way of Water, Kate Winslet held her breath underwater for more than seven minutes, breaking Tom Cruise’s record in the process, which was significant enough to make headlines. In an interview with The Guardian, the actress expressed her emotions following her world-record-breaking breath-holding underwater feat:
“God, it’s just wonderful. Your mind completely drifts off. You can’t think about anything, you can’t make lists in your head, you’re just looking at the bubbles underneath you.”
What did she say when she finally stood up after seven minutes? Winslet was scared for her life, as she stated:
“And 14 seconds! My first words were: ‘Am I dead?’ Yes, I thought I’d died!”
Moreover, Winslet shared in an interview with Total Film magazine (via GamesRadar) that she has a video of her world-record-breaking underwater breath hold:
“I have the video of me surfacing saying, ‘Am I dead, have I died?’ And then going, ‘What was [my time]?’ Straight away I wanted to know my time. And I couldn’t believe it…The next thing I say is, ‘We need to radio set. I wanted Jim to know right away.”
The Reader actress, 47, further added:
“Well, I didn’t have to hold my breath for over seven minutes. It’s just that the opportunity to set a record presented itself. I wanted to break my own record, which was already six minutes and 14 seconds. And I was like, ‘Come on!’ So I smashed my own record by a minute.”
How Did The Cast Of Avatar 2 Manage To Perform Underwater Acting?
James Cameron once again pushed the boundaries of art and technology in Avatar: The Way of Water by using motion capture technology underwater, a feat that had never been done before. It presented a fresh challenge for the actors, who had to learn to act in the water in addition to spending a lot of time in it.
In an interview with Variety, Kate Winslet gushed about how “completely amazing” it was to film in such sizable water tanks. She continued:
“I absolutely loved it. When you’re working with real experts who know how to keep you safe and know how to teach you to maximize your fullest potential in a situation like that one, and will look after you, it was an amazing experience. It’s not something you can just try at home by yourself.”
In a statement to The New York Times, Cameron mentioned Winslet’s accomplishment of holding her breath for over seven minutes:
“Kate’s a demon for prep, so she latched onto the free diving as something that she could build her character around. Kate’s character is someone who grew up underwater as an ocean-adapted Na’vi — they’re so physically different from the forest Na’vi, that we’d almost classify them as a subspecies. So she had to be utterly calm underwater, and it turned out that she was a natural.”
Winslet will next be seen in the upcoming HBO miniseries The Regime.
The global box office success Avatar: The Way of Water broke numerous records and brought in over $2.320 billion, making it the highest-grossing movie of 2022 and the third-highest-grossing movie of all time.
For the unversed, three more sequels are in the works, with the next film due out in December 2025.
Meanwhile, you can stream Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water on Disney Plus.
Source- The Guardian; Total Film magazine (via GamesRadar); Variety; The New York Times
