Movies

Kate Winslet’s Husband Helped Her Train for ‘Avatar: The Way of the Water’

December 16, 2022

Kate Winslet never lets go of James Cameron.

Twenty-five years after breaking box office records with “Titanic” in 1997, the Oscar-winning actress and director found herself on “Avatar: The Way of the Water” (now in theaters), the very expected from “Avatar” in 2009.”

In the breathtaking sci-fi epic, Winslet plays the sagacious Ronal, an alien queen and healer who leads the oceanic clan Metkayina. When humans return to the planet Pandora and begin ravaging its forests, man-turned-Na’vi Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and his family find refuge with Ronal’s tribe, who teach Brood Sully how to fight and communicate underwater.

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Winslet, 47, says she was “immediately on board” when Cameron approached her about the role, which was done entirely with motion capture technology.

“I’m a mom now, and he knows who I am as a parent and an actor,” Winslet said. “And he certainly knows how far I can be pushed and the challenges I’m happy to take on, so it made sense to me why he would consider that I might be interested in Ronal. Because that’s who she is: a mother and a leader living with integrity and truth, and also physically very tough and resilient.”

In the months leading up to production, Winslet trained extensively in free diving to learn how to hold her breath underwater for the film’s many sequences where Ronal rides “skimwing” (a type of flying fish) and talks. to “tulkun” (the Pandoran version of a giant whale). Her husband, businessman Edward Abel Smith, practiced alongside her for support.

“Ned is an extremely fit, healthy, and capable person,” says Winslet. “He trained with me so that if I needed to practice without our instructor there, we were safe because you really can’t do it on your own. It’s like scuba diving: you have to have a buddy. It’s a sport, it’s a skill, and your body adapts to be able to do this thing. So having Ned there was very important.

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The grueling work paid off for Winslet, who held her breath underwater for 7 minutes and 14 seconds while filming “Avatar 2.” She broke a record previously held by Tom Cruise, who lasted six minutes underwater to shoot ‘Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation’ in 2015. The actress says she didn’t hear from Cruise to win time.

“Poor Tom,” Winslet said with a smile. “I mean, I don’t know Tom at all – I’ve never met him in my life – but I’m sure he’s sick of hearing this story about how I broke his record. I loved it, though. … I was amazed at how good I was and how much I just kept getting better.”

Winslet co-star Sigourney Weaver insists there was no jaw-dropping competition among the “Avatar” actors.

“We were thrilled for Kate that she did this,” Weaver said. “My husband (director Jim Simpson) and I both played 6 and a half minutes, which was amazing for us and our teacher, Kirk Krack, who teaches Navy SEALs. Everyone had a personal best. ”

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As the first of four planned sequels, expectations are high for “Avatar 2” to approach the $2.7 billion worldwide box office for the first film. But Winslet says she always had faith in Cameron, even as a 21-year-old newcomer to the “Titanic” set, which was plagued with budget overruns and delays.

“It was a really, really tough shoot, but I don’t remember hearing any ‘movie in peril’ rumors,” Winslet said. “I was just there to play the part the best I could, and I always trusted Jim’s vision with no questions asked. Also, our sets and everything – we could all see it was very awesome, and we could feel it was extremely groundbreaking, powerful, interesting stuff. And as an actor, there’s always the element of, “Oh, well, a little wing and a prayer, and I hope it will be alright.””