Underwater: How Kristen Stewart Faced One Of Her Biggest Fears
Part of the charm of Underwater is the fact that the aquatic horror movie harkens back to the elegant tension of classic sci-fi horror movies; fueling the fire that made the performances all the more convincing was lead actress Kristen Stewart's very real fear of water.
William Eubank's movie released in early 2020, and received mixed reviews from critics initially, though it has gained more steam and fan following since its release, partially due to its inclusion of one of H.P. Lovecraft's most iconic monsters, Cthulhu, as its creature. This tidbit of information was released by the director soon after the film's release, making it an immediate must-watch for fans of Lovecraftian horror. Despite lower reviews, Underwater brings the sleek tension of sci-fi horror films like Ridley Scott's Alien, and the two movie have been compared endlessly, with many parallels and overlaps between them being dissected by genre fans since Underwater's release, both for better and worse.
Kristen Stewart, who led the talented cast of actors as Norah, an engineer who works alongside the team of researchers who have been hired to drill a hole deep in the Mariana Trench, adopts the mantle of final girl up until her tragic fate, and is reminiscent of characters like Alien's own Ellen Ripley, who was played iconically by Sigourney Weaver in several of the franchise's installments. Though Norah Price did not survive the events of Underwater, she was indisputably the film's star, and her performance is made all the more harrowing and convincing by the knowledge that the actress is terrified of water.
Method acting is nothing new in Hollywood; it's something that is often commented on favorably and commended. While Stewart is known for making fearless decisions in her acting portfolio and taking on challenging roles that have made her one of the bigger names in the industry in only a short time, the actress never seemed too out of her depth in Underwater, despite a terrible fear of the water. While seemingly something some would try to avoid rather than face, Eubank commented that Stewart gravitated toward the role to tackle the role of Norah Price from a more authentic place, which seems like an ideal for any actor. As authenticity often makes or breaks a performance, especially in a film that relies more on atmosphere than long-winded monologues or intense character building, simplicity is often the key ingredient that brings about success.
In interviews, Eubank has stated how impressive it was to watch Stewart get into a heavy suit (approximately 200 pounds) and get into water for filming the underwater sequences even though she was terrified. According to an interview with CinemaBlend, Eubank stated that Stewart's fears of deep water and the challenge of being able to use an acting role to overcome it was appealing to the actress. While Underwater certainly provided new challenges for its actors, the final product was incredibly satisfying to many genre fans, and not just because of the creature, but because of the intensity from the team involved with making the magic happen.