Zoe Saldaña Talks Filming Avatar and Why She Chose All-Black Looks for Her Premieres
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James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water is releasing tomorrow after taking 13 years to conceptualize and three years to make the film. So you could say actor Zoe Saldaña, who portrays Neytiri in the franchise, was excited to finally step back into the role after the first installment came out in 2009. When she stepped onto set, Saldaña says she felt instantly familiar with her character’s inner grapples. “In the first movie, Neytiri was this fearless warrior that did not want to comply with being born a princess; she just wants to be her own agent, and she meets this creature and falls in love,” says Saldaña. “This second time around is an expansion of that love. And it’s a continuation of her struggle with the Sky People, and what these invaders are doing to her planet and everything she’s ever known and loved.”
While the exact plot of the sequel has been left deliberately vague, The Way of Water will explore the Na’vi people as their homeland, Pandora, faces the threat of colonization from the Sky People (humans). Saldaña filmed the movie using a virtual camera system, so she had to imagine the enchanted setting and cast of characters around her. “It’s the best form of acting that I’ve done in my career, because it brings it back to a childlike form of pretending,” says Saldaña of the format. “When we were children, you would create these wonderful imaginary worlds, and you could spend hours getting lost in your own imagination. That’s what we were doing with all the preparation that James allowed us to have.”
It’s not to say this new film didn’t have a new set of challenges. Like the title suggests, The Way of Water had actors quite literally perform scenes underwater. In addition to having archery and dance instructors, the cast worked with a diving instructor who has also taught Navy Seals on how to hold their breath in performance capture tanks. (Saldaña’s costar Kate Winslet even held hers for over seven minutes.) “We studied [diving] theory and had to do these breathing exercises, so that by the time you’re ready to go and dive, you have enough oxygen in your bloodstream,” says Saldaña. “You’re training yourself to let go of that panic when you go underwater. And once you put that into practice, it’s kind of liberating.”
Embarking on her press tour, Saldaña worked with stylist Petra Flannery to deliver a number of distinctive looks that nodded the film. Riffing off the idea of water, the duo chose striking dresses that had fluid movement to them—all in shades of black. “The older I’m getting, the more I’m gravitating to my New York style of wearing black,” says Saldaña. “It can live in that dark, avant-garde space, or it can be playful or emo. It’s also a simple color that must rely on elements like shape, design, and texture in order for you to give it life.”
Some of the favorite designs she’s worn include the sheer, gauzy Victoria Beckham dress she wore for the film’s photo call in London. “I just thought it was absolutely beautiful, the way [Beckham] added layers in a way that it doesn’t hide the body,” says Saldaña. For the premiere in that same city, she wore Alexander McQueen’s corset dress with a sheer tulle skirt . “I love how structured it was,” says Saldaña. “The colors reminded me of Avatar; It had this blue and this metallic that was just so stunning. It also looked half-made, and as a granddaughter of a seamstress, I like when a dress looks like it’s a work of art in the making.”
