Kate Winslet ‘Very Proud’ to Beat Tom Cruise’s Underwater Filming Record with ‘Avatar 2’

Kate Winslet told Entertainment Tonight this week she’s “very proud” to have beaten Tom Cruise’s record for the longest underwater breath hold in a feature film. Tom Cruise held his breath underwater for six minutes while filming “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation,” but Winslet beat him by over a minute, holding her breath for seven minutes and 14 seconds while filming an underwater scene for James Cameron’s “Avatar 2.”

“It was brilliant and I was very proud of myself and I’ll probably never be able to do it again,” Winslet said. “That came at the end of four weeks worth of quite intense training and it was in the dive tank, it was in the training tank. But I loved it.”

Winslet’s “Avatar 2” co-star Sigourney Weaver revealed earlier this year the “Avatar” cast trained with elite military divers in order to maximize the amount of time they could hold their breath underwater. Cast members wore weights around their waists during filming to keep them submerged underwater. Cameron filmed a majority of “Avatar 2” in giant water takes, and the longer the cast could hold their breath without returning to the surface for oxygen meant less interruptions in filming.

Winslet’s record-breaking breath hold has been circulating the internet for quite awhile, but she had no idea until her press tour for her new film ‘Ammonite’ started. As the Oscar winner said, “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. 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?'”

Winslet held her breath for over seven minutes, but Weaver was no slouch either. The “Alien” favorite managed to hold her breath for six minutes while filming “Avatar 2.” Cameron’s sequel is scheduled to arrive in theaters on December 16, 2022. “Avatar 3” will follow with a theatrical release on December 20, 2024. The fourth and fifth films are due in 2026 and 2028.

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