The Way of the Water star has opened up about why James Cameron 'doesn't just want to make a film'.
Jamie Flatters secured the role of Jake Sully and and Neytiri's son, Neteyam, in the sequel to James Cameron's sci-fi hit at the age of just 16.
And it wasn't just a 'unique' film to shoot given his age, the motion capture, 3D cinema camera systems and underwater scenes, but also because the director is never trying to make just 'a film'.
Despite being offered such a big role in such a big franchise at such a young age, Flatters knew he was 'always going to take it'.
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"Because it's a dream to do this job," he tells UNILAD.
However, he admits he remembers 'not picking up the phone the first couple of times they rang'.
"Just to talk to myself and sort of say, either way..." he continues.
"[...] There's definitely a sense of with or without it, I'll still have what I always have loved, which is, the artistry of it - as wanky as that sounds."
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Ultimately, he got the role and approaching the sequel to the knockout that was Avatar certainly left him 'very excited'.
"The first film meant that you knew what it was, and you knew how much of an impact it made, and you knew all the talent of the group behind it," he explains.
Flatters adds 'obviously it was an immense amount of pressure', but notes he 'personally respond[s] quite well to fear'.
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The actor may've starred in Way of the Water but he has a profound and affecting way with words, reflecting: "Fear's my biggest motivator in that sense, and everything I thought that I was going to mess up and everything I was worried about actually had a sort of very positive influence.
"And it was the first time I ever sort of grounded myself mentally and bizarrely that's through the discipline of work, which sounds horrible and sort of like militant, but because it was within the artistic framing there's a lot of beauty too which is nice."
Add the legendary Cameron into the mix and Flatters' experience in one of the most highly recognized films certainly became even more 'unique'.
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Flatters explains: "He [Cameron] doesn't just want to make a film, he wants to progress the idea of the cinematic format. So he's a very important creative to have and it's a very unique experience."
The actor explained you can't really compare Cameron's work to anything else given how specific it is and neither can Flatters compare it to working on any other film set.
Working on set with the director, Flatters reflects on how it was 'easy to be able to actually have to take a detour away from sort of conscientious attributes' and 'trust in the chaos of the moment which you can't have control over'.
And to 'marry that,' Cameron gave actors 'breathing room' which meant Flatters felt very 'respected' in navigating his character, the journey and the film as a whole.
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"And to feel an odd sense of artistic respect on such a scale and such a movie was pretty cool and a blessing."
Flatters jokes the film shaped him through 'a CGI eight pack and bigger biceps than [he'll] never have' but resolves: "I mean, it was the first time I probably ventured away from London and saw the world as what it is.
"With the plethora of experience it gave, it actually made everything bizarrely seem accessible, and that sort of paradox of interaction formulates the brain in a very unique way. I grew up really fast over that period and it's all lovely."
Topics: Film and TV, Hollywood, James Cameron
Poppy Bilderbeck