Avatar: The Way of Water: Kate Winslet on breaking Tom Cruise’s breath-hold record

During the production of Avatar: The Way of Water, the actors had plenty of underwater training, including learning how to hold their breath for minutes on end. Kate Winslet emerged as the champ of the cast, holding her breath for a whopping seven minutes and fourteen seconds. While speaking with Rotten Tomatoes, Kate Winslet shared what was going through her mind the day she broke her own breath-hold record on the set of Avatar: The Way of Water.

“Maybe two days previously, I had done a breath hold that was 6 minutes 13 and I was incredibly proud of myself on that breath hold,” Winslet said. “I was really determined, that day, tried to just get my eating right, get my temperament right, because you do have to calm your ole nervous system down, and actually how you live, you start to live in certain ways that you know are going to maximize your physical ability, your lung capacity to be able to do it.” While Winslet was doing the breath-hold, she didn’t know how long she’d been under. Upon emerging, she immediately asked how long it had been. “When [my husband] told me it was 7:14, I just screamed,” Winslet said. “I just couldn’t believe it. And I’m like, someone radio Jim [Cameron] and let him know I’ve just smashed my own record. So I was very proud of myself.“

Kate Winslet’s breath-hold on Avatar also broke Tom Cruise’s record of six minutes that he set while making Mission: Impossible: Rogue Nation. THR asked how she felt about that, Winslet responded with a smirk, “Amazing, I’m definitely better.“

Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, Avatar: The Way of Water tells the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri, and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive,  and the tragedies they endure. The film stars Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Stephen Lang, Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, CCH Pounder, Giovanni Ribisi, Edie Falco, and more. James Cameron directed and co-wrote the script alongside Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver.

Avatar: The Way of Water is now playing in theaters (and making a bundle), so be sure to check out a review from our own Eric Walkuski right here, and let us know what you thought of the film as well.