Sigourney Weaver broke into the industry in ’71, back when she was in her twenties. Some five decades later, she’s still as active as ever – to the point that Weaver also did her own stunts in her most recent project, Avatar: The Way of Water, all as an act of defiance against what others might expect of her.
The Avatar franchise reunited her repeatedly with Aliens writer and director James Cameron. The first entry, released in 2009, saw her as Dr. Grace Augustine, a role she reprised, in part, for the recent sequel. The plot of this latest entry required some very demanding and unique stunts, and though Weaver felt the difficult nature of these challenges, she dearly wanted to face each one to prove her point.
Sigourney Weaver recalls what she went through doing her stunts for ‘Avatar 2’
While the first Avatar introduced audiences to one above-ground segment of Pandora, The Way of Water drops Sam Worthington’s Jake Sully, Zoe Saldana’s Neytiri, and Weaver into the planet’s oceans. As a result, Weaver had to undergo rigorous, specialized training while filming in New Zealand.
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Military divers worked with Weaver, supervising as she developed the ability to hold her breath for six minutes – and then longer. During this experience, Weaver filmed underwater in a custom 900,000-gallon tank while having weights attached to her around her torso. Professional divers stayed at the ready to pull her back to the surface as needed.
Weaver enjoyed the process and wanted everyone to get something out of it
“I had some concerns,” admitted Weaver. “But that’s what the training was for. And I really wanted to do it.” Above all, she said, “I didn’t want anyone to think, ‘Oh, she’s old, she can’t do this.'”
It’s a sentiment she echoes to herself. “I don’t really say to myself, ‘Well, you can’t do this.’ Or, ‘You can’t do that,'” said Weaver, adding, “Let me at it! And we’ll see.” The experience is definitely a unique one, and that’s exactly what Weaver wants from work, as she fantasizes, “My hope is that what I receive from the universe is even more outrageous than anything I can think of.”
Fortunately, Weaver has no reservations about continuing this wild ride. In fact, she’s returning for Avatar 3 in a currently unspecified role. Although production has been staggered for the series because of the pandemic, back in 2020, Cameron said they were “sort of 95% complete on Avatar 3.”
Avatar: The Way of Water released on December 6 and Avatar 3 is expected to release on December 20, 2024.
