Why Avatar 2 Underwater Scenes Were Hardest Things Star Ever Did
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Loading... - Adem Quispe
- 28 Jul 2022
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Avatar: The Way of Water star Sam Worthington says that the film’s underwater scenes were his biggest challenge to date. The Avatar sequel comes over a decade after the original film initially hit theaters in 2009. James Cameron returns to the director’s chair for the film. Returning actors include Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver (albeit as a different character), and Stephen Lang. Avatar 2 will also add new actors to its cast including Kate Winslet, Michelle Yeoh, and Oona Chaplin.
As the title suggests, water is a critical element in The Way of Water. The water in Cameron’s Avatar sequel is computer-generated, a fact that has already been praised by VFX artists based on the film’s trailer. Even though the water in the final film was made with CGI, the actors still had to film scenes underwater in order to replicate the proper motion capture movement for their characters. These underwater sequences saw The Way of Water’s main actors performing incredible physical feats. Winslet notably held her breath for seven-and-a-half minutes for one Avatar 2 scene, breaking Tom Cruise’s on-film breath-holding record from Mission Impossible.
Though Winslet was ultimately the most impressive breath-holder on set, Worthington too says the underwater scenes were excruciating in a recent interview with Empire (via Deeper Blue). According to Worthington, the “restraints” and “constrictions” of both freediving and working with the motion capture technology add additional difficulty to the underwater scenes. While Worthington attempted to maintain his stellar performance under said constraints, he also was grappling with “the fear of dying” while holding his breath underwater for that long. Check out the full quote from Worthington below:
“It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. You’re dealing with the restrictions of freediving, the constraints of motion capture underwater, and you’re trying to keep an emotional journey going while you’re innately struggling with the fear of dying.”
Worthington’s experience speaks volumes about just how much of a feat Avatar: The Way of Water was to make. Not only did actors have to “keep an emotional journey going” in this high-caliber Cameron film, but they also had to go through intense mental gymnastics and exhibit physical fitness and strength while filming. A lot of attention in recent Avatar press has focused on its CGI advances, and this praise is certainly warranted. The accomplishments of Avatar 2’s actors, however, should not be ignored in the hype and praise of the upcoming sequel, and Worthington’s account of the underwater scenes helps demonstrate that fact. Read More...
