Black Panther’s Tenoch Huerta didn't know how to swim before Wakanda Forever

15 November 2022, 16:17

Tenoch Huerta didn’t know how to swim before Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

By Sam Prance

It wasn't until Tenoch Huerta was cast as Namor in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever that he revealed that he couldn't swim.

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Tenoch Huerta has said that he didn't know how to swim before he was cast as Namor in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

It's impossible to imagine Black Panther: Wakanda Forever without Tenoch Huerta. Ever since the movie debuted in cinemas (Nov 11), MCU fans have not been able to stop talking about Tenoch's performance as the underwater, feathered, serpent god Namor. Tenoch grounds the sea-dwelling villain with a three-dimensionality that almost leaves you rooting for him.

Given that Namor lives deep in the ocean, and is often depicted swimming in the movie, you might assume that Tenoch is a pretty impressive swimmer in real life. However, Tenoch has now revealed that he didn't know how to swim when he was cast in the film. In fact, it wasn't until Tenoch got the part that he told producers that he needed to learn how to swim.

Tenoch Huerta didn't know how to swim before Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Picture: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images, TCD/Prod.DB / Alamy Stock Photo

Speaking to Jimmy Kimmel about how he got cast in the film, Tenoch said: "I receive a call from Ryan Coogler, the director, we were talking about the project and then [the zoom] was frozen for around five minutes and then it [came] back and he said, 'So what do you think?'" Tenoch then revealed that he said yes to the part without knowing anything about it.

Tenoch also said that Ryan asked him if he could swim and he replied: "I never drowned before". Laughing he said that he didn't "lie" because he has never drowned before. However, when Tenoch's team found out that Ryan had given him the part, they asked if he could swim and he admitted: "Seriously, I don't know how to swim."

Jimmy then asked how he swam in the movie and Tenoch joked: "That's the magic of the movies." Tenoch then explained that he got lessons after he was cast: "One month later. I was taking classes. Very basics. With these floaties. With kids."

Tenoch ended by saying: "If you ever think that to be an actor is so glamorous? No, it's not."

Tenoch Huerta plays Namor in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Picture: © Marvel / © Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures /Courtesy Everett Collection / Alamy Stock Photo

Tenoch wasn't the only Black Panther: Wakanda Forever cast member who had swimming lessons ahead of shooting. In a recent interview with Jimmy Fallon, Lupita Nyong'o explained that she "took some swimming training" and "extreme performance training" to prepare for the film.

Ryan Coogler also revealed that he had to learn how to swim for the film. Chatting with Variety, he said: "If the camera’s in the water, actors are in the water, I’ve got to be in there too."