Avatar: The Way of Water— Chatting With The Cast

With the much-anticipated release of Avatar: The Way of Water just days away, we got to sit down with the newest generation of Na’vi and talk with them about their experiences working on this behemoth of a film! We covered everything from their first reactions, what it was like for Trinity Jo-Li Bliss to be the youngest cast member at only eight years old and now revisit the movie as a teen, and how Interview With The Vampire fan favourite Bailey Bass learned to hold her breath for an astonishing six and a half mins!

Keshav Kant
So how are both of you doing?

Trinity Jo-Li Bliss
Good? How are you?

Keshav Kant
I’m very good, just saw the movie yesterday, so very excited to talk about it. Have you both had a chance to see the finished movie?

Trinity Jo-Li Bliss
Yes, we have!

Jack Champion
Yes. We watched it for the first time two weeks ago.

Trinity Jo-Li Bliss
Yeah. Now we’ve watched it three times.

Jack Champion
Still, though, that first time watching it was groundbreakingly big for me, mentally. To make that step, watch our childhood on screen.

Trinity Jo-Li Bliss
Totally. I feel like the first half an hour after I was just, it was a hush between all of us. We were just taking you what we just saw. And it was just so exciting and surreal to see it on the screen. And again, it’s gonna be released soon.

Keshav Kant
Yeah, just a couple of days away. I love that you mentioned it was kind of watching your childhood on screen because it’s been such a huge journey coming from the first movie to now. I heard, through the grapevine, that you did a lot of combat training with the knives, prepping underwater. What has that been like for you two now?

Jack Champion
I feel like, at the time, with free diving and knife training, you become so tunnel-visioned you don’t let anything distract you. When you’re doing it all week, you’re like, okay. They teach you the major arteries to stab and breath holding. It feels like you’re training for combat, like an athlete, warrior or something. And then now I feel I haven’t done that stuff in a while. So looking back on myself, I was like, wow, I was really disciplined and really, you know, locked in. So, yeah, I’m not as cool as I was.

Keshav Kant
I doubt that! Trinity Jo-Li, one thing I wanted to talk to you about specifically is you played the youngest sibling, and even then, you have like a good amount of fight. You play a pretty substantial role. What was that like for you to balance the role of the youngest sibling but still have so much autonomy and express yourself throughout the movie?

Trinity Jo-Li Bliss
Well, Tuktirey may be the youngest, but she doesn’t see herself as the youngest. She wants to be a part of the pack. She’s constantly proving that she can do it the older kids do. They think of her as tagalong Tuk and that she has FOMO but actually, to me, I think she’s brave, and she just wants to be with them and do what they do. That she can do it, and she does have some fight in her. She’s small in size but mighty in courage, and it’s not like she has no fear, but when it comes to her family and Pandora, her home, which are the most important things to her, she’ll do anything to fight for them and to protect them.

Keshav Kant
I mean, I think we’ve seen that in the trailer as well, you know. The Sully family sticks together pretty well. They’re very collectivist about that. What was that sort of experience like in terms of just going from the casting process to seeing the story play out? There was a fair amount of mystery around what the film would look like, and we are supposed to be getting several more coming up. What is that like for both of you?

Trinity Jo-Li Bliss
Exciting!

Jack Champion
Exciting yeah. I mean, honestly, I get that they take a long time to make, but I’m kind of disappointed that three won’t come out until next year. We have to wait a whole nother Christmas without one.

Trinity Jo-Li Bliss
At the LA premiere. I was standing next to Sigourney and just thinking to myself, am I really going to see you all, just everyone in this room, in another two years?

Jack Champion
That’s insane to think about. So it sucks that we have to wait such a long time.

Trinity Jo-Li Bliss
But it’s gonna be worth it.

Jack Champion
It’ll be worth it because three takes a hard left turn.

Keshav Kant
Since we can’t really touch on three, and I don’t want to get us in trouble, let’s come back to two right now. We met the reef clan in two, and it’s a pretty substantial world compared to the forest clan. You see a different way of living, a different way they navigate, like their ocean life. What was the water training like for you? I heard that Kate Winslet could hold her breath for seven minutes. Bailey can hold her breath for like five and a half. What was that training like physically for you?

Trinity Jo-Li Bliss
The training was a big part of our training because we had, I think, three months of training before we started filming, and then, of course, continued to train. I remember those training days a lot, and I always looked forward to them. Just be with you guys in the tank. You (Jack Champion) got up to five minutes. 33 seconds. I got to three minutes 30 seconds. I like to see how our lungs do now that they’re bigger.

Jack Champion
Yeah, same, especially since you were eight, and now you’re like, what a foot taller than you were. Your lungs must have a lot more. I bet you could beat Tom Cruise.

Trinity Jo-Li Bliss
Especially with some training because we had world-renowned divers training us.

Keshav Kant
Speaking of having experts on the cast, a lot of the reef tribes are specifically inspired by Māori culture. Did you get to learn more about like the culture that inspired the reef clan? There were the tatu. We saw some visual representations of the facial expressions of the Haka. Was that a part of something that you saw?

Jack Champion
Yeah, well, I spent two and a half years in New Zealand. So I was very much immersed in the Māori culture. And just to see the similarities, it’s very much as evident. It’s very much obviously inspired by Māori people, and it’s just cool that they integrated that island culture into Pandora. And now you can see it.

Keshav Kant
I love that it adds the different aspects of inclusivity to what Indigenous cultures can look like globally. And while we’re on the topic, the film does deal with a lot of heavy topics in terms of colonialism and oppression. How were you guys taking care of yourself as actors when you were embodying roles working with such heavy material?

Trinity Jo-Li Bliss
I remember Sam, like a dad, he would always, especially when scenes got intense. He made sure we felt comfortable and safe. Everyone really.

Jack Champion
Jim, because obviously, Jim is a director, so is there for every hard scene and light scene. He’s really good at just making everyone feel comfortable and ready. And also understanding how your character feels. So he wants everyone to feel prepared for what they’re about to film.

Keshav Kant
That’s really reassuring to hear. Well, we have to wrap up. So my final question to you is, what do you want people to know before they walk into this theatre? And what are you hoping that they leave with?

Trinity Jo-Li Bliss
I want them to know to be excited because they’re about to not just watch something but experience something really, really cool. Really, really mind-blowing. And there’s a lot that they might be thinking when they walk out of the theatre. I know what I was thinking was, ah, because I was a puddle of tears. But there’s a lot to take away. Like, the things we can do better for our environments and how we need to hold on and stick together to our family.

Jack Champion
I feel like, obviously, I think people should pee before they watch it. Yeah, that’s the number one thing, but I think also just be prepared to just enjoy the ride. And I mean, that is and just soak it up. Just soak it up. And I hope that they leave with a new appreciation for Earth and their family as well, because obviously family is a big theme, and I hope they just really have a newfound appreciation for their family.

Keshav Kant
That’s a wonderful note to end on. Thank you both for taking the time.

Jack Champion
Thank you.

Trinity Jo-Li Bliss
Thank you.

Keshav Kant
All right y’all, how are you both doing today?

Bailey Bass
Doing really good. I love your energy!

Keshav Kant
Thank you, thank you! So, I had a chat earlier with Trinity Jo-Li about our reactions to the movie, and I just wanted to ask, have you been able to see the movie? What are your thoughts?

Bailey Bass
It’s a movie like no other, and it’s an experience in the greatest form.

Jamie Flatters
It’s a good film, right? It’s nice to be part of a film that you’re proud of.

Bailey Bass
It’s a very honest point.

Keshav Kant
That is. I think that both of you have very clear summations of what the movie is like. For you, it’s an incredible experience, and as you’ve said, it is a movie unlike any other. So how do you encapsulate that experience? It’s almost been a decade since the first one came out.

Bailey Bass
Well, you can’t encapsulate that experience. Which is kind of the bittersweet part of it. We’re towards the end of the press tour, and I almost started crying in the hallway. Jamie started making fun of me so I would stop.

Jamie Flatters
That’s what good to do when someone’s about to cry, genuine sweetness and sentimentality.

Bailey Bass
No, it worked.

Jamie Flatters
I started to cry as well.

Bailey Bass
No, I know, I get it. Because we all care a lot about each other. And because we’re from all different places, spending this much time with each other is going to be rare. So I think that’s what makes it special. That’s the beauty of time is that we care so much about these moments because it’s fleeting.

Keshav Kant
That’s such a beautiful segue because we’re talking about a lot of emotion right now. This is something I always like to ask all actors, and directors, especially ones that work on such heavy material as Avatar, which deals with colonialism, imperialism, and violence. How did you both take care of yourself when working on such a heavy emotional project?

Bailey Bass
I was 13, 14, 15. So I really leaned a lot on my mom, and that’s it. I think when you’re that young, I would have been shocked if I had a really good mental health outlet. So I think just being able to talk to my mom and having her be with me through the entire filming process was my anchor.

Jamie Flatters
Yeah, I have to say I didn’t really have a good idea or hold on mental well-being. It definitely didn’t stay constant for the 18 months we were shooting. However, you’re always saved when you’ve got to look outwards to a beautiful idea or do something beautiful. Something tranquil like freediving and having to literally reach a certain calming state in order to achieve the beauty of a scene. So there you’re saved. You know, that’s what I think, why like being an actor, often saves you where reality can’t.

Keshav Kant
Because you have a physical outlet for a lot of what you’re processing?

Bailey Bass
Yeah. And with that, you know, we spent a lot of time together. As you were talking about arts, I was thinking of how me and Trinity Jo-Li bonded over music, and I would have a sleepover at our house. We would just play the piano and sing, and we both write songs. So we were able to bond over that. So I think our escape is always what we do and what we’re passionate about, and that is art.

Keshav Kant
You mentioned the freediving aspect. And I heard through the grapevine that you (Bailey Bass) can hold your breath for five and a half minutes?

Bailey Bass
Six and a half.

Keshav Kant
Even more impressive! Second only to Kate Winslet herself. What was that physical experience like going through the training, the combat experience with knives, the swimming? What was that experience like for the both of you?

Bailey Bass
Like no other, I think we were just doing it. I don’t think I took a moment while we were in the process to really be like, Wow, this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience because that’s kind of the naive part of being so young. You’re just there and having fun and going through the motions but we were doing something revolutionary, and we are some of the rare people in this world that are part of that. And I think that’s really beautiful.

Keshav Kant
How about for you? As you mentioned, for you, it was an outlet. Did you have a similar thing, like you were just so immersed in it it was all you were focusing on at the time?

Jamie Flatters
Yeah, the work is a pleasure, so you want to kind of commit yourself and go all in. And especially when you’re working with someone like James Cameron, who’s trying to get everybody, not only the cast but crew, to this sort of, like, semi-standard of excellence in order to achieve something that hasn’t yet been done before. It’s a great task to commit yourself to, especially when, you know, something you’ve dreamed up for so long. So yeah, massively into getting sunken into, you know, the physical and semi-emotional parts of it.

Keshav Kant
And one thing I love that you mentioned is James Cameron’s attention to excellence because he did push the film back initially quite a bit to allow it to have the time to really build itself up. And the next movie doesn’t come out for another two years. It’s not as much time, but we still have a good amount of time. How were you sort of keeping yourself in that world of like, oh, I have to go back to Avatar, into Pandora from two months from now, like this press run is done, but you will be back soon enough.

Bailey Bass
I love Disney World, and I get to do press at Disney World because Avatar is part of the Disney family. We get to go to Pandora, so that is always exciting. I love fashion; I get to do fashion when I’m doing press. Getting to connect with the fans while doing press. I get to meet wonderful people and travel around the world. And like you said, it’s like we’re proud of it. So why not go back? I find it very exciting and an honour.

Jamie Flatters
Do you think it’s gonna be hard to get back into performing and playing Tsireya for Avatar four and five? Do you think that time gap is gonna be challenging?

Bailey Bass
I do. And that’s why I’m so excited about it because I get bored very easily when I play very regular characters, if you know that makes sense. Jim writes characters that have so much depth, but I know that I’m not the same person I was because you’re not the same when you’re 13 and when you’re 19. And then what am I going to be like, 20, 21, 22?

Keshav Kant
One question I have for you specifically is Avatar: The Way of Water, and also, you were in Interview With A Vampire. They both have such established fandoms, and being a Black woman, having this platform can be pretty challenging. How did you take care of yourself, allow yourself to really immerse yourself in your work and enjoy it?

Bailey Bass
I mean, I can only protect myself so much. Social media exists, and I have social media because I want to connect with people. I want to be that person that I needed when I was younger. So that’s why I keep the comments on, and I still look at my DMs, but things happen. The first brunt of racism that I ever experienced was when my Deadline article came out that I was playing Claudia. I saw it, but I didn’t cry about it. Because I was like, it is what it is. I know I meant to be here. I know that there’s something special about me that keeps me going and keeps me here. It gets people to cast me. So I just have to have that as my center, that I meant to be here, and that’s what pushes me forward.

Keshav Kant
You absolutely are and listen. I am here to campaign for you, for your eventual Oscar run, and for all your work. We have to wrap up; thank you both for taking the time. I really appreciate it!

Bailey Bass
Thank you!