Kate Winslet held her breath underwater for 7 minutes for 'Avatar' sequel: James Cameron

Los Angeles: Filmmaker James Cameron says Oscar-winning actor Kate Winslet was "excited" about doing the underwater scenes for "Avatar" sequel.

The director revealed that the actor could hold her breath for seven minutes during the training for the underwater sequences. 

"She was really excited about doing the water work and at her peak, I think she held her breath for seven-and-a-half minutes ? not during the scene but just during the training. She was regularly doing two-or-three minute scenes, underwater acting and swimming," Cameron told Vulture.

"She truly embraced the physicality of the character. She was a dream to work with ? not the pain in the a** that she was the first time," he joked. 

'No, she was a dream on Titanic as well."

Winslet joins Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Sam Worthington, Oona Chaplin, Stephen Lang and David Thewlis in the sequel to Cameron's 2009 fantasy action film.

"Avatar 2" is scheduled to release in December 2020.