Creator of the Avatar franchise and responsible for films such as Titanic (1997) and Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), James Cameron is a cinema icon. Working with the Oscar-winning director would be a dream for many young and veteran actors alike, but not for Britain Dalton, who plays Lo’ak in Avatar: The Road to Water (2022).
At 21, Dalton is still a newcomer to the acting career. Before conquering one of the main roles in the sequel to Avatar (2009), he collected brief appearances in series such as Criminal Minds (2005-2020) and Goliath (2016-2021), in addition to small works in cinema.
By winning the competition to play Lo’ak, Dalton became part of a billionaire franchise. What for many would be a great achievement, for the actor, there was no great meaning. According to the newcomer, he didn’t even know James Cameron’s work and had never seen Avatar before getting involved with the sequel.
In an interview obtained exclusively by Tangerine, the now star of Avatar: The Way of Water said he didn’t know what he was auditioning for when his agents told him about the opportunity. However, that did not stop him from gaining the director’s attention.
“What I remember is that I had no idea what was going on, except that my agents told me it was something big. I’m not a big fan of the movie world, so I didn’t even know who Jim [Cameron] it was. In general, I don’t like auditioning, but those responsible for the casting were very intuitive and understood my little complexities and the things I like to do”, detailed Dalton.
“They called me again the following week to meet Jim. And then he said to me, ‘Basically, the instant I saw you, I knew I wanted you to be a part of the project in some way.’
Britain Dalton in the underwater filming of Avatar: The Way to Water
Playback/Instagram
Lie and the fear of water
Although not familiar with James Cameron’s work, Britain Dalton went to great lengths to win a role in The Path of Water. According to the actor, he lied to producers during an interview by saying he could swim.
Without perhaps the most important skill to act in the sequel to Avatar, the newcomer had to overcome his fear of water to continue playing Lo’ak. The obstacles, however, were many. To film one of the scenes, Dalton would need to stay underwater for up to 10 minutes holding his breath.
“Personally, I would say the hardest thing was learning to swim for the character. They told me I had to swim and I told them I knew but I lied to them to get the part.”
“I became friends with water, I conquered my fear of water, but all of a sudden they tell me, ‘You have some giant scenes where you have to hold your breath underwater for 10 minutes.’ And I thought, ‘What?’ And all the fear came back to me. But I didn’t let that slow me down at all.”
With Avatar 3 practically finished, Britain Dalton has an assured place in the future of the franchise. For him, even knowing Cameron’s work with some delay, being part of something so loved by fans also became special.
“I had never seen the highest-grossing movie of all time. I made it a priority to watch it before I went to set and was bombarded with questions about the movie. It surprised me. I had never seen anything like it. Sometimes I wish I could be there instead of here. It’s like a dream. It’s what you expect paradise to be. It’s beautiful,” he concluded.
Check out photos of the actor with director James Cameron and Avatar producer Jon Landau below.
