James Cameron is known for pushing his cast and crew to the limit when shooting his movies, especially with all of the technological innovations that have come to define his work, so you have to admire Kate Winslet’s determination to get back into the water at Cameron’s behest in Avatar 2 over two decades after he put her through the wringer on the set of Titanic.
The 45 year-old is one of the most acclaimed actresses of her generation, having been nominated for seven Academy Awards and winning one for The Reader, but she doesn’t exactly show up in a lot of big budget blockbusters. Titanic is still by far the most expensive project she’s ever appeared in, at least until the billion-dollar Avatar sequels start rolling out, and the only movies she’s starred in that could be described as populist entertainment are the first two installments in the Divergent franchise.
Winslet plays Ronal in Avatar 2, a member of reef-dwelling tribe the Metkayina, who will presumably have a major role in the story given that Cameron has previously mentioned that the oceans of Pandora are pivotal to the expansion of the mythology. And while we don’t know much more beyond that, a new set photo shows the Revolutionary Road star in one of the production’s many underwater tanks, which you can see below.
Not content to just hop into the water, Winslet’s revealed that she trained to hold her breath for seven minutes, which is a pretty impressive dedication to getting into character. And with Avatar 2 finally finished shooting, we might get to find out if it was all worth it in December 2022 when the first sequel is scheduled for release, although that’s obviously far from a guarantee.
