One of the more impressive details to come out of the production for Avatar 2 is the intense underwater work that’s being done for James Cameron’s long-awaited sequel. Back in August, Kate Winslet revealed that the grueling training paid off when she was able to hold her breath for seven minutes and 14 seconds while filming a scene for the epic sci-fi film. Turns out, Winslet’s feat shattered a record previously held by Tom Cruise. The actor held his breath for six minutes for Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation, which was the longest underwater time until Winslet came along and, well, blew him out of the water.
Winslet beating Cruise’s record only recently came to light, and while she’s “very proud” of her accomplishment, which was the result of a grueling four weeks of prep work, she’s even more surprised that people even knew about it. Via Entertainment Tonight:
“It’s so funny because I don’t really read reviews or media things. I’m not on Instagram, like I’m just completely disconnected from that part of my life,” she explained. “So all of this week and the week before, I’ve had people coming up to me at work saying, ‘Oh my God, like seven minutes and 14 seconds? Like, what?!” And I’m going, ‘What? Hang on, wait a minute. How do you know that?’”
Of course, Winslet might have some unlikely competition on her hands. Sigourney Weaver also filmed underwater work for Avatar 2, and she was able to hold her breath for up to six minutes, which if we’re not mistaken, would match Cruise’s record. So we might need an official count to determine who’s in second place here.
(Via Entertainment Tonight)