Kate Winslet has said she broke Tom Cruise’s on-set record for holding her breath underwater while filming Avatar: The Way Of Water.
The English actress, 47, stayed submerged for seven minutes and 15 seconds while filming a scene for the highly anticipated blockbuster sequel.
She beat Cruise, who held his breath for six minutes during Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation.
Winslet, who plays Metkayina matriarch Ronal in the upcoming film, said she had video evidence of the achievement, which had been taken by her husband – who had sneaked on to the set during production.
Speaking at a global press conference ahead of the film’s launch she said: “I actually have a video of when I surface from that breath-hold.
“And the only reason I have it is because my husband snuck in.
“I said, ‘Please don’t come because I just don’t want you videoing. I’ll just feel pressure, just please don’t do that’ and he snuck in.”
She continued: “I have the video of me surfacing saying, ‘Am I dead? Have I died?’ And then going ‘what was it?’ – straightaway I wanted to know my time.
“I couldn’t believe that it was 7.15 but having been told it’s 7.15 – you want to know what the next thing I say is? We need to radio set.
“I wanted (Cameron) to know right way, that’s the first thing I wanted to do – it definitely wasn’t a competition.”
The Avatar sequel has reunited Winslet and director James Cameron on set for the first time since the 1997 blockbuster Titanic.
Cameron admitted: “I’m still pissed off because I’ve been a free diver for 50 years and you smoked past me and everybody else.
Winslet also joked that when coming back to work with Cameron she had expected “the absolute best of everything” because of the director’s “precision” and “meticulous” thought.
The original sci-fi epic from 2009 became the highest-grossing film of all time and went on to win three Oscars for its stunning visual effects, cinematography and art direction.
It was set in 2154 and followed paraplegic marine Jake Sully, sent to the moon Pandora on a unique mission which becomes challenged when he falls for Zoe Saldana’s other-worldly blue princess Neytiri.
The sequel is set more than a decade after the events of the first film and sees Jake settle down with Neytiri and their three children in the Na’vis’ rainforest home.
Once a familiar threat returns, Jake, played by Sam Worthington, must work with Neytiri, Zoe Saldana, and the army of the Na’vi race to protect their planet.
On Tuesday, Winslet and her co-stars including Sigourney Weaver and Cameron attended the world premiere in central London for the highly anticipated sequel.
Avatar: The Way Of Water is due for release in cinemas on December 16.
