Going head to head with a shark in The Meg was no easy for for actress Li Bingbing.
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In the film which releases in theaters this Friday, Li Bingbing is forced into a transparent shark tank which becomes bait for the biggest shark ever recorded. Of course, the actress was never in the real danger which her character is forced to endure in the film but she still experienced some impressive peril on set.
“That was really hard for me, that scene,” Bingbing said. “Back and forth, back and forth, to go into the water and out of the water. I have to pretend. My oxygen is just out. I have to stop breathing and work under the water about six meters there. It’s so hard. You can’t even move.”
The sequence, which fans will identify immediately upon seeing the giant shark movie in theaters over the weekend, sees the shark tank being tossed around like a chew toy underwater. While the actress was only thrust into a controlled environment to bring the terrifying moment to life, she admits producing this sequence was harder than any film she had previous worked on (which includes entries to the Transformers franchise).
“This movie, I’m not a good swimmer, it’s a little bit harder for me and I need to work in the water,” Bingbing said. “It’s so cold! So, that’s a big deal for me.”
Still, she claims that sharks have never been a fear for her (although he co-stars have admitted to such fears). “In this movie, I am an expert marine biologists,” the acress said. “I am an expert of sharks so I don’t think that I have a fear of sharks. I can not control them but I know them. I know them very well. I am not afraid of them.”
Such a mindset somewhat applies to her in real life, as well. “I don’t have a fear of sharks, actually. I have experience. When I was snorkeling, I saw a shark swim under the water. It’s safe. They won’t go up and bother you. They won’t go up and bite you.””
The Meg opens wide in theaters on August 10.
