11 Actors Who Underwater Held Their Breath for an Unreasonably Long Duration

      Here are 11 actors who managed to hold their breath underwater for an unusually long duration.

      Esther Williams (Million Dollar Mermaid, 1952)

      Esther Williams featured in a Ziegfeld Follies promotional photo. – Credit: C/O

      Esther Williams, a competitive swimmer and actress, was adored for her series of films beginning in the mid-1940s, which showcased her talent in beautifully choreographed routines, often performed underwater, in movies like Million Dollar Mermaid (1952) and Dangerous When Wet (1953).

      The exact duration she could hold her breath remains unknown, but she certainly tested her limits: she suffered multiple eardrum ruptures due to the extensive hours spent in studio tanks.

      She passed away in 2013 at the age of 91.

      Ricou Browning (Creature from the Black Lagoon, 1954)

      Universal – Credit: C/O

      The director, actor, producer, screenwriter, underwater cinematographer, and stuntman began his career in water shows followed by underwater newsreels. He was cast as Gill-man, also known as The Creature from the Black Lagoon, after a film crew invited him to assist with a location and then swim for the camera. He eventually appeared in the film’s sequels as well.

      In a 2013 interview with Florida’s Ocala StarBanner, Browning shared that he could hold his breath underwater for up to four minutes under ideal conditions: “If you’re swimming fast or fighting, you deplete a lot of oxygen, reducing it to two minutes at the most.”

      Browning died in February at the age of 93.

      Shelly Winters (The Poseidon Adventure, 1972)

      20th Century Fox – Credit: C/O

      Shelly Winters reportedly mastered the ability to hold her breath for up to four minutes during the making of the ensemble disaster film The Poseidon Adventure, which involves an aging luxury liner capsized by a tsunami. Her performance earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

      Winters passed away in 2006 at the age of 85.

      Val Kilmer (Top Secret, 1984)

      Paramount – Credit: C/O

      Top Secret is a surreal blend of a war film and an Elvis movie featuring Val Kilmer as American singer Nick Rivers, who infiltrates enemy territory and falls for a German woman opposing fascism. The film has numerous remarkable scenes, including a segment filmed in reverse and an underwater Western-style brawl.

      Directors David Zucker and Jim Abrahams mentioned in a 2014 interview with ScreenCrush that the actors in the underwater scene held their breath in intervals of 10 to 15 seconds before resurfacing.

      “The toughest part was resisting laughter and managing oxygen supply,” Kilmer added. “I earned my [diving] certification for that scene and still enjoy diving today!”

      Kurt Russell (Poseidon, 2006)

      Warner Bros. – Credit: C/O

      How long did Kurt Russell manage to hold his breath during this Poseidon Adventure remake? Long enough that he nearly lost consciousness.

      “There’s a scene where I’m submerged for an extended period, requiring me to rely on someone to provide air at just the right moment. That’s quite frightening,” he told The Los Angeles Daily News.

      “I wanted to experience it, but psychologically, it’s challenging to let go and trust you won’t drown.”

      Russell remarked: “The third time the guy swam out to give me the regulator, I don’t recall it. I was on the verge of passing out.”

      Jessica Alba (Into the Blue, 2005)

      Jessica Alba and Paul Walker hold their breath underwater in Into the Blue. Sony – Credit: C/O

      Jessica Alba began free diving during her time on the late '90s TV show The New Adventures of Flipper and applied that experience to Into the Blue, a heist thriller where she co-starred with the late Paul Walker.

      “Free diving is like an extreme sport version of snorkeling,” she explained to CBS News in 2005. “That goes down to about 50 feet deep. You hold your breath, wear a weight belt, dive as quickly as possible, and hold your breath for several minutes.”

      Alba stated that she and her co-stars would compete: “I believe I held my breath for the longest. It was about one minute and 20 seconds,” she mentioned.

      Tom Cruise (Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation, 2015)

      Tom Cruise holding his breath in Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation. Paramount – Credit: C/O

      Tom Cruise revealed in an Access Hollywood clip during the release of Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation that “usually in underwater scenes, people can only hold their breath for 10 to 15 seconds at most.”

      However, he said he trained to hold his breath for six minutes for a scene where his super-spy character, Ethan Hunt, infiltrates a location without scuba gear.

      In short,