James Cameron Praises Sigourney Weaver’s Unique Performance as a Teen in Avatar: Fire and Ash

Sigourney Weaver and James Cameron on Dec. 4, 2025.
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Pascal Le Segretain/Getty

James Cameron and Sigourney Weaver Reflect on Youthful Characters in ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’

James Cameron recently opened up about how he and actress Sigourney Weaver revisited their younger selves during the making of their third collaboration in the Avatar series, Avatar: Fire and Ash. The film, which is currently in theaters, showcases Weaver, 76, portraying a teenage Na’vi character named Kiri.

Cameron, 71, explained his creative choice to have Weaver channel her youth, particularly as she played Kiri in both The Way of Water (2022) and the new installment. He remarked, “She was 70 and 71 across that period where she was capturing Kiri. I mean, she can capture Kiri tomorrow. Nothing’s changed.” According to Cameron, Weaver approached the role with a renewed spirit, arriving "lighter and more open," as if she had become younger in the process.

Cameron characterized the challenge of portraying a teenager as potentially one of the biggest of Weaver’s career. He said that she mentally transported herself back to her 14- or 15-year-old self, reflecting on the complexities of adolescence. “And by the way, it wasn’t all fun and light. It was the darkness of an anxious teenager,” he stated, emphasizing the range of emotions that Weaver captured in her performance.

Weaver spoke about her own teenage experiences, describing a time filled with insecurity and self-doubt. In a November interview with Empire, she revealed, "I was such a miserable teenager at ages 14 and 15… but I didn’t have any real confidence." Portraying Kiri, she felt an opportunity to revisit and explore that state of mind, which allowed her to trust herself in a new way.

Cameron reminisced about an era when Weaver’s character, Grace, took on a Na’vi avatar body in the original Avatar. He mused about the idea, proposing to Weaver, "What if Sigourney played her own daughter, or at least the daughter of her avatar self?" They often joked about the age discrepancy, with Cameron quipping, “Well, emotionally you’re 15. And so am I, by the way, I think we all are to some extent.”

Avatar: Fire and Ash premiered in theaters on December 19.