Chinese actress Li Bingbing revealed on Sunday in Shanghai that she nearly died while shooting the sci-fi horror film The Meg.
"I've always been afraid of water, but one of my scenes required me to be put in a cage five or six meters underwater, and I had to hold my breath for a very long time," Li said at a press conference held during the 21st Shanghai International Film Festival. "We had to reshoot the scene again and again and I felt like I was going to die."
At one point, she told the director, Jon Turteltaub, that she wouldn't be able to go on much longer, but instead of giving her a break, he asked her to hold her breath for 15 more seconds. "When they took me out of the water, the director came to compliment me, but I was too weak to speak, then he started to fear that I was really close to death."
But the director didn't stop there -- he also frequently made dialogue changes and continually pushed the actress to give a better performance, Li said.
"I just wanted more from you," director Turteltaub explained at the press conference while Li admitted she gave it everything she had. After watching the film's trailer, she states she is happy with her work.
