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Sigourney Weaver Plays Teenager in ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’

sigourney weaver avatar way of water kiri

Sigourney Weaver has played many impressive and memorable characters over the years, but the award-winning actress’s turn as Dr. Grace Augustine in the 2009 James Cameron movieĀ AvatarĀ was definitely a highlight — and when (spoiler alert) Weaver’s character died in the first movie, most fans of Pandora would not have expected to see the American actress returning. But apparently, Sigourney Weaver is not just back forĀ Avatar: The Way of Water: the actress is actually playing a brand-new character who is a teenager, even though she is 72!

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Sigourney Weaver as exobiologist Dr. Grace Augustine in the first Avatar movie. Credit: 20th Century Studios

According to an interview withĀ Empire, Sigourney Weaver is playing Kiri, the adopted daughter ofĀ AvatarĀ protagonists Jake Sully (a human played by Sam Worthington) and Neytiri (a female Na’vi played by Zoe Saldana).

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Jake Sully returns in the Avatar sequel. Image Credits: 20th Century Fox

ā€œAs an acting challenge, itā€™s big,ā€ James Cameron said when talking about the unexpected role that Sigourney was playing.Ā  ā€œWeā€™re gonna have a 60-something actor playing a character [many years younger than] her actual biological age. Sig thought it was all kinds of fun,ā€ he added. Apparently, playing a teenage Na’vi girl actually was quite refreshing for Weaver!

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Sigourney Weaver is playing a second role in the world of ‘Avatar’ and Pandora: Kiri, the teenage adopted daughter of Jake Sully and Neytiri. Credit: Empire magazine

The actress met with many teenage girls for inspiration, and James Cameron noticed that “Sigourney just became youngerā€ during filming. ā€œShe looked younger, she had more energy, and she never quite stepped out of Kiri for our whole capture period. She had a glow on her face and lightness in her step and a fun spirit,ā€ he recalled.

ā€œI think we all pretty much remember what we were feeling as adolescents,ā€ Sigourney herself told Empire. ā€œI certainly do. I was 5ā€™ 10ā€ or 5ā€™ 11ā€ when I was 11. I felt strongly that Kiri would feel awkward a lot of the time. Sheā€™s searching for who she is. I was thrilled to be given that challenge by Jim.”

“I’m playing a character I couldn’t have imagined in my wildest dreams,ā€ she added enthusiastically.

TheĀ AliensĀ actress is being joined by Zoe Saldana and Sam Worthington again forĀ Avatar: The Way of Water, but another renowned actress is also joining in: Kate Winslet, who plays one of the leaders of a nautical clan of Na’vi and who also spent a lot of time training to hold her breath underwater in order to film seven-minute scenes without any pauses!

About Sharon

Sharon is a writer and animal lover from New England. Sharon's two main focuses in her work are Disney's correlations with pop culture and the significance of Disney princesses (which was the basis for her college thesis). When she's not writing about Disney, Sharon spends her time singing, dancing, and cavorting with woodland creatures!

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