Melissa Barrera's Survival Drama 'Keep Breathing' Pushed Her Physical Limits: 'It Was So Hard'

“I wasn’t nervous at all even shooting [the show’s plane crash scenes],” Barrera, 32, told POPSUGAR as the show begins airing on July 28. "We were on the sound stage, it was a green screen. We were on a platform that looked like a Disneyland ride, one of those moving cars and stuff like that. So it was really fun for me."

The scenes that followed, Barrera says, were the most physically intimidating. See, in 'Keep Breathing', the small plane crash that strands Liv, Barrera's high-powered lawyer, alone in the Canadian wilderness - grappling with her physical well-being while struggling with memories of her past - is just the beginning.

"Most of the training I did was on water scenes, because I had never worked underwater and was very intimidated and nervous about it, just like the showrunners" , explains Barrera, listening to the moments that come. after Liv's plane plunged out of the sky and into a body of water, killing the pilot and another passenger. "They were like, 'Okay, you need to get some scuba certification because you need to be able to use a regulator underwater in case you need it. And so I did my certification and went to Catalina Island [in Los Angeles] for three days and did my water tests." That, she says, was coupled with training in Cold water: The lake where they ultimately shot the scenes was frozen over just a week before filming. Barrera was trained to habituate her nerves to freezing temperatures. And she had to learn to hold her breath for long periods of time, which she can now do for three and a half minutes.

"I think that's her journey, the healing and the acceptance and the power through and breaking through and knowing that she doesn't have to become something she doesn't want."

Difficulties aside, Barrera was "excited" about the "challenges" of the project - including playing a character as emotionally complicated and flawed as Liv. She also enjoyed "Keep Breathing"'s focus on motherhood and parenthood, and through that, generational patterns. Liv's difficult relationship with her mother plays into every decision she makes in the time leading up to and during her survival experience. “Liv is at a crossroads,” Barrera explains, adding, “I feel like this journey for Liv is about breaking down the generational trauma and not repeating it and passing it on to future g...