Kate Winslet Says She Has Video of Her 7-Minute Breath Hold for 'Avatar' : 'Have I Died?'

Mar. 15, 2025

Photo: Rich Fury/Getty

Kate Winsletcaptured the moment she emerged from her seven-plus minutes-long breath hold forAvatar: The Way of Wateron camera.

“I have the video of me surfacing saying, ‘Am I dead, have I died?’ And then going, ‘What was [my time]?'” she toldTotal Filmin a new interview published Tuesday.

“Straight away I wanted to know my time. And I couldn’t believe it,” Winslet, 47, added. “The next thing I say is, ‘We need to radio set.’ I wanted [directorJames Cameron] to know right away.”

“Well, I didn’thaveto hold my breath for over seven minutes,” Winslet explained. “It’s just that the opportunity to set a record presented itself.”

20th Century Studios.

In October, Cameron, 68, called Winslet “a demon for prep” during an interview withThe New York Timeswhen he andThe Way of Water’s cast first revealedwhich actor from the ensemble could hold their breathunderwater the longest.

“She latched onto the free diving as something that she could build her character around,” the director said of Winslet.

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“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,” Cameron added. “So she had to be utterly calm underwater, and it turned out that she was a natural.”

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Speaking to Total Film on Tuesday, Winslet noted that “over half my lifetime” has passed since she and Cameron first worked together on 1997’sTitanicand their reunion forThe Way of Water.

“I think we were both able to bring different creative things into this experience,” Winslet added to the outlet. “And it was really lovely working with him again.”

Avatar: The Way of Wateris in theaters Dec. 16.

source: people.com