SerpApi.Org
If you thought surviving a killer shark was the hardest part of making The Devil's Mouth, think again.
For Lana Condor, the biggest challenge came long before the cameras rolled. Ahead of filming Prime Video's new survival thriller, the actress underwent months of intensive dive training, including learning to hold her breath for four minutes.
"The breath hold sequence was very challenging to film," she told SYFY Wire in an exclusive interview. "We all were holding our breath for, like… I think we had to qualify to even film, for like four minutes."
That preparation proved essential for one of the movie's most claustrophobic scenes.
Condor explained that the cast spent nearly two weeks filming the "air pocket sequence," in which the characters must swim through narrow underwater tunnels to reach pockets of air.
"The only way we could film it was if they put down this board, and across the length of the studio they put air pockets," she recalled. "We had to breath hold swim to each one of those in a confined space."
As a result, the fear audiences see wasn't acting.
"A lot of the claustrophobic feelings, that was so real," the To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before alum said. "There's not a lot of space in some of those tiny tunnels."
The physically demanding sequence required the cast—including Kathryn Newton and Gavin Casalegno—to spend lengthy times underwater.
"We spent the entire day underwater on oxygen tanks, so we never really surfaced," she said. "The element of water is a whole other monster. It's a whole other beast to film in."
To prepare, Condor began training nearly three months before production started in Thailand.
"I started swimming actually at USC," she said. "I've always been very confident in the water and I've been a strong swimmer, but that's a different level. What we were doing is a different level of athleticism."
While the experience didn't leave her with many new fears, it did reinforce one—and introduce another.
"It just enhanced my fear of sharks, truly," Condor admitted with a laugh. "And water parasites. Oh my God... I am terrified of water parasites."
The Devil's Mouth premieres globally on Prime Video July 29.
