The Little Mermaid's Halle Bailey Spent A Whopping 13 Hours A Day In Water

The life of a mermaid is that of singing and swimming beneath the waves, at least if one is talking about the aquatic denizens of Disney's upcoming live-action adaptation of "The Little Mermaid." Starring Halle Bailey as Ariel, "The Little Mermaid" features an entire underwater world and culture, which apparently required some true dedication from the actors in order to film. Checking out the Oscar trailer for "The Little Mermaid," one can see fantastic special effects and plenty of scenes involving Ariel swimming, as well as, of course, that iconic watery hair flip.

Bailey described the long and arduous process of filming "The Little Mermaid" in an interview with Edition, which notes that she spent up to 13 hours per day in the water. "I pushed myself as far as I've ever pushed myself in life," she said. However, Bailey also feels like she grew up with Ariel because of the amount of time she has spent in the role, explaining, "I learned so much through her. I auditioned when I was 18, [I] got the role when I was 19, and I turn 23 this year."

Considering the amount of time and effort that must go into creating a convincing underwater environment, there is only so much that computer-generated graphics can do before the actors themselves are brought in. However, it seems as if filming underwater is definitely a frontier that Hollywood is enjoying these days — just look at "Avatar: The Way of Water" and the incredible effort that went into the special effects for that movie.

Unsurprisingly, it sounds like Halle Bailey and company were also willing to spend an excessive amount of time in the water, and it will be interesting to see the final results. In addition to the fatigue caused by working long hours, it is also important to note that spending more than 12 hours in the water at a time can have some long-term negative effects on the skin because of the depletion of lipids and natural moisturizing factors, so hopefully, Bailey and her fellow cast members were careful during the production of "The Little Mermaid."

Luckily, Bailey feels like all her hard work paid off, noting, "I'm really excited for my version of the film because we've definitely changed that perspective of just her wanting to leave the ocean for a boy. It's way bigger than that. It's about herself, her purpose, her freedom, her life and what she wants."