Meet the Hungarian diver who worked in the new Avatar movie

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Los Angeles-based Szilvia Gőgh is both a stuntwoman and a water insurance agent by profession. This cancer-survivor wonder woman works in film, creates jewellery and runs a thriving company that inspires women to dive. Her name appeared not only on the Woman Divers Hall of Fame but also in several blockbuster productions. This time she was hired to take part in the shooting of the Avatar sequel.

Hungarian diver in Hollywood

Index.hu interviewed Szilvia Gőgh, a stunt performer who is specialised in water-related action. Gőgh has worked in several blockbuster films and series. Her IMDB page reveals that she appeared in Euphoria, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Fast and Furious and the recently released Avatar: The Way of Water. Besides, she is also known as Florence Pugh’s diving instructor who prepared the actress for her role in Olivia Wilde’s new thriller Don’t Worry Darling.

In the past, Gőgh had already worked together with some of the leaders and dive experts of the new Avatar movie’s stunt team, this is how she landed the position in James Cameron’s production. On the Avatar set, she was a safety diver, which means her job was to look after the safety of everyone involved in water-related scenes: actors, cinematographers, directors and the whole crew.

Gőgh said that working with children in particular was a challenge, as it always came with extra responsibilities. “At times, it was hard for me to understand whether someone was actually in danger and needed help or I was just being pranked by an actor who pretended to be suffocating in the pool,” Gőgh said.

Hungarians on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Avatar behind-the-scenes secrets

“There was a huge amount of secrecy around the production, we shot scenes for the second, third and fourth Avatar films at the same time, but we never knew which one we were shooting for,” said the Hungarian diver.

Gőgh also recalls what a blessing it was to work with Sigourney Weaver. She was never late, had zero attitudes and always spoke kindly to all the crew members.

In addition, Gőgh explained that the actors were wearing wetsuits, fully equipped with sensors. Everything the audience will see on the big screen was done in real life. There were more than 50 cameras and windows all around the pool, with 30 cameras outside and a number of extra cameramen inside.

The crew worked on the new Avatar movie for 4-5 years tirelessly. “We spent 10 to 15 hours in the water each day, which was extremely demanding.” The Hungarian diver also shared her experience of working with James Cameron: “I have to admit, of all the directors I’ve ever worked with in my life, Cameron was the one I liked to work with the most because he was able to tell us precisely what he expected from us. He has a razor-sharp vision.”