Home » Posts

17 Actors Who Learned Unique And Impressive Skills For A Role

For <i>Avatar: The Way of Water</i>, Kate Winslet <a href="https://www.gamesradar.com/kate-winslet-interview-avatar-way-of-water/" target="_blank">learned</a> to hold her breath underwater for a long time. She got up to seven minutes and 15 seconds, breaking Tom Cruise's previously held record for a person holding their breath for a movie!

April 23, 2025 · 4 min · 809 words · Jessica Anderson

Table of Contents

ForAvatar : The direction of Water , Kate Winsletlearnedto hold her breath underwater for a farsighted time . She beat up to seven minutes and 15 moment , breaking Tom Cruise ’s previously hold record for a soul hold their breath for a movie !

Oftentimes, movies and TV shows use stunt doubles or body doubles to create scenes where a character needs to do something the actor can’t. Sometimes, however, actors take the time to learn something unique for a role (even if they still have a double).

Here are 17 actors who learned unique and impressive skills for a role:

1.To prepare for her role as opera star Maria Callas inMaria,Angelina Jolie, who “had not sung in public” before, learned to sing opera. She “spent almost seven months training because when you work with Pablo [Larraín, the director], you can’t do anything by half.”

2.To play the musically inclined French vampire Lestat de Lioncourt inInterview with the Vampire,Sam ReidlearnedFrench, singing, and piano.

You can listen to him sing in character in the Season 3 teaser below:

For a single scene in Season 1, Episode 6, he learned dog training as well.

3.ForThe Brothers Bloom,Rachel Weisz had two weeks to learn how to convincingly portray her character’s eccentric hobbies, including violin, piano, banjo, guitar, karate, skateboarding, juggling, and riding a unicycle. However, she took more time to learn a “really complicated” card trick from an expert who was flown in from the UK.

Here’s the clip of her performing the card trick:

4.For aThe Pursuit of Happynessscene where his character gains entrance to an internship by showing a stockbroker his impressive Rubik’s Cube skills,Will Smithlearnedhow to solve the puzzle from World Cube Association co-founder Tyson Mao.

Here’s the scene:

5.ForLa La Land, Ryan Goslinglearnedto play piano in three months, and all of Sebastian’s piano playing is really him!

Here’s a clip:

6.For an underwater scene inSuicide Squad, Margot Robbie did four sessions with a free diver, who taught her how to hold her breath for up to five minutes.

7.To play freediver Ronal inAvatar: The Way of Water, Kate Winsletlearnedto hold her breath underwater for a long time. She got up to seven minutes and 15 seconds, breaking Tom Cruise’s previously held record for a person holding their breath for a movie.

8.To play the titular role inWednesday, Jenna Ortega learned to play cello. She started her lessons about two months before filming.

Here’s a scene where Wednesday plays the cello:

9.For his role as highwire artist Philippe Petit inThe Walk, Joseph Gordon-Levit learned how to walk on a highwire from Philippe himself.

10.To play katana-wielding Michonne onThe Walking Dead, Danai Gurira worked with a sword trainer before shooting began. During filming, she worked swords into her normal workout routine.

Watch one of Danai’s fight scenes below:

11.ForA Quiet Place, director/star John Krasinski and the rest of the cast learned American Sign Language.

12.To play Ruben Stone, a drummer who experiences hearing loss, inSound of Metal, Riz Ahmed spent seven months learning ASL from coach Jeremy Lee Stone, who also taught him about the Deaf community.

He also learn to play the drums from musician Guy Licata.

Riz toldVariety , " Drumming and ASL are both non - verbal means of communication . They both shared the same challenge for someone intelligence - oriented like myself , to get past that crutch and communicate with my body . That was the challenge . "

13.To play ballerina-turned-spy Dominika Egorova inRed Sparrow, Jennifer Lawrencetrainedin ballet for four hours a day, five days a week with “the ballet-boot-camp guy,” former New York City ballet member Kurt Froman. She learned all of the choreography for her dancing scenes, even though only the top half of her body is shown onscreen.

Here’s a clip where you can see Jennifer (and her dance double) dancing:

14.For his role as playwright Jonathan Larson inTick, Tick… Boom!, Andrew Garfieldspenta year studying voice and piano. Before he was offered the role, director Lin-Manuel Miranda asked Greg Miele, his massage therapist who happens to be Andrew’s good friend, if the actor could sing — and Greg lied on Andrew’s behalf!

Here’s a clip of Andrew singing in the movie:

15.To play Jackson Pollock in the biopicPollock, Ed Harrislearnedto action paint like the famous artist. He built a home art studio in 1994 and imitated the painter’s style, pulling from Hans Namuth’s 1950 recordings of him at work.

Here’s a clip of Ed painting in the movie:

16.BeforeSingin' in the Rain, Debbie Reynoldshadno dance training, which frustrated director/costar Gene Kelly. She only had three months to learn, so she “was dancing eight hours a day, nonstop.”

Here’s a clip of Debbie dancing alongside her costars:

17.And finally, Chadwick Boseman “truly learned to play” the trumpet for his role as Levee Green inMa Rainey’s Black Bottom.

Angleina Jolie stands in a dimly lit room, wearing a dark dress, surrounded by vintage clothing and sculptures, looking over her shoulder at the camera

AMC+ / Viayoutube.com

Lestat wearing a suit playing piano

Sam Reid, wearing a formal suit, speaks seriously while next to a dog in a dimly lit room

Rachel Weisz plays the banjo while seated in a room, wearing a cardigan over a dark top

Will Smith and another actor are sitting in a car, with Will Smith holding and solving a Rubik's Cube intently

Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn underwater, looking fierce and determined, reaching out from a submerged car in a dramatic scene

Jenna Ortega, dressed in a gothic-style outfit, plays the cello in front of a large, intricate stained-glass window in a scene from "Wednesday."

Joseph Gordon-Levitt, dressed in a long-sleeve shirt, walks on a tightrope between skyscrapers over a city in a scene from the movie "The Walk"

Danai Gurira as Michonne from The Walking Dead stands in a forest holding her katana, looking intensely ahead

Riz Ahmed, shirtless and drumming intensely in the movie "Sound of Metal."

Jennifer Lawrence is dressed as a ballerina, wearing a tutu and ornate bodice, performing on stage with arms raised against a vibrant, abstract backdrop

Andrew Garfield stands, raising his hands to his head in a room while singing

Ed Harris, dressed in casual clothing, is seen creating a large splatter painting in this scene from the movie "Pollock"

Image from the movie "Singin' in the Rain" Debbie Reynold, and chorus girls dressed in elaborate dance costumes performing

Chadwick Boseman playing the trumpet in a tuxedo

Oftentimes, movies and TV shows use stunt doubles or body doubles to create scenes where a character needs to do something the actor can’t. Sometimes, however, actors take the time to learn something unique for a role (even if they still have a double).#

Here are 17 actors who learned unique and impressive skills for a role:#

1.To prepare for her role as opera star Maria Callas inMaria,Angelina Jolie, who “had not sung in public” before, learned to sing opera. She “spent almost seven months training because when you work with Pablo [Larraín, the director], you can’t do anything by half.”#

2.To play the musically inclined French vampire Lestat de Lioncourt inInterview with the Vampire,Sam ReidlearnedFrench, singing, and piano.#

You can listen to him sing in character in the Season 3 teaser below:#

For a single scene in Season 1, Episode 6, he learned dog training as well.#

Here’s the clip of her performing the card trick:#

4.For aThe Pursuit of Happynessscene where his character gains entrance to an internship by showing a stockbroker his impressive Rubik’s Cube skills,Will Smithlearnedhow to solve the puzzle from World Cube Association co-founder Tyson Mao.#

Here’s the scene:#

5.ForLa La Land, Ryan Goslinglearnedto play piano in three months, and all of Sebastian’s piano playing is really him!#

Here’s a clip:#

6.For an underwater scene inSuicide Squad, Margot Robbie did four sessions with a free diver, who taught her how to hold her breath for up to five minutes.#

7.To play freediver Ronal inAvatar: The Way of Water, Kate Winsletlearnedto hold her breath underwater for a long time. She got up to seven minutes and 15 seconds, breaking Tom Cruise’s previously held record for a person holding their breath for a movie.#

8.To play the titular role inWednesday, Jenna Ortega learned to play cello. She started her lessons about two months before filming.#

Here’s a scene where Wednesday plays the cello:#

9.For his role as highwire artist Philippe Petit inThe Walk, Joseph Gordon-Levit learned how to walk on a highwire from Philippe himself.#

10.To play katana-wielding Michonne onThe Walking Dead, Danai Gurira worked with a sword trainer before shooting began. During filming, she worked swords into her normal workout routine.#

Watch one of Danai’s fight scenes below:#

11.ForA Quiet Place, director/star John Krasinski and the rest of the cast learned American Sign Language.#

12.To play Ruben Stone, a drummer who experiences hearing loss, inSound of Metal, Riz Ahmed spent seven months learning ASL from coach Jeremy Lee Stone, who also taught him about the Deaf community.#

He also learn to play the drums from musician Guy Licata.#

Here’s a clip where you can see Jennifer (and her dance double) dancing:#

Here’s a clip of Andrew singing in the movie:#

15.To play Jackson Pollock in the biopicPollock, Ed Harrislearnedto action paint like the famous artist. He built a home art studio in 1994 and imitated the painter’s style, pulling from Hans Namuth’s 1950 recordings of him at work.#

Here’s a clip of Ed painting in the movie:#

16.BeforeSingin' in the Rain, Debbie Reynoldshadno dance training, which frustrated director/costar Gene Kelly. She only had three months to learn, so she “was dancing eight hours a day, nonstop.”#

Here’s a clip of Debbie dancing alongside her costars:#

17.And finally, Chadwick Boseman “truly learned to play” the trumpet for his role as Levee Green inMa Rainey’s Black Bottom.#