James Cameron says Kate Winslet was 'super gung ho' to get back in a water tank for Avatar 2
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Kate Winslet loves the water — at least according to James Cameron. Though we could have probably surmised that considering the Oscar winner has now performed in a water tank in two (going on three!) of the director's movies.
When asked on the 2023 Golden Globes red carpet Tuesday night whether his Titanic star hesitated at all about getting back in the water for the Avatar sequel, Cameron joked with EW's Gerrad Hall, "I felt that she needed it from a therapeutic standpoint. We both needed the catharsis."
On a more serious note, Cameron added, "She was actually super gung ho about it because she related to that as a physical thing that she could latch onto."
Twenty-five years after the release of Titanic, in which Winslet played Rose opposite Leonardo DiCaprio's Jack, the actress stars in Avatar: The Way of Water as Ronal, one of two tribal leaders for the Metkayina clan of Na'vi. To portray a character whose body has adapted to life in the ocean, Winslet trained in free diving along with her costars to perform scenes underwater. The cast has also already filmed the entirety of Avatar 3 and the first act of Avatar 4.
"First of all, she loves the water," Cameron said of Winslet. "Her husband is really into board sports and kite surfing and all that sort of thing, so she's very, very comfortable in the water. She actually saw it as a way to prep for her character, 'cause Kate is all about preparation and metaphorically and physically going deep. So she latched right onto it."
He continued, "But the kicker was that her kids said, 'Mom, don't be stupid. Do Avatar.'"
Cameron also addressed a pattern that has emerged in his work: The phrase "I see you" features prominently in both Avatar: The Way of Water and in Titanic.
"I had totally forgotten that Jack says it in Titanic," Cameron said, explaining how the line "means a lot" and "resonates with people."
He added, "I literally was just sitting there coming up with, What would one tribal person say to another tribal person from a different group? 'I see you' was the most obvious thing. Like, literally just go to the most basic semiotics of it. And then I started layering in all these other meanings and I went back and saw I'd already done that. I always tell my crew, 'I've only ever had four or five good ideas. I just keep recycling them.'"
Avatar: The Way of Water is playing in cinemas now.
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