Claire Holt Believes This Is the Only Reason She Got Cast in 'H2O: Just Add Water'

Celebrity / TV

Though Claire Holt has done plenty of acting since her debut in H2O: Just Add Water, fans love the show so much, they can hardly forget Holt for her very first acting role. H2O: Just Add Water followed three teenage girls as they navigate life in Australia. Not only do they have to deal with …

Published on July 13, 2020

Though Claire Holt has done plenty of acting since her debut in H2O: Just Add Water, fans love the show so much, they can hardly forget Holt for her very first acting role. H2O: Just Add Water followed three teenage girls as they navigate life in Australia. Not only do they have to deal with everyday struggles like family life, romances, and mean girls, they also have to cope with their newfound lives as mermaids.

On the popular show, Holt plays the role of Emma Gilbert. When the series begins, Emma is a promising young swimmer and is seriously committed to breaking records on her school’s swim team. But, after getting lost at sea near the mysterious Mako Island, Emma along with her two friends Cleo (Phoebe Tonkin) and Rikki (Carbia Heine), get transformed into mermaids.

How Claire Holt landed the role of Emma on ‘H2O: Just Add Water’

Along with a mermaid tail, Holt’s character also inherits the power to turn water into ice. Later on in the series, those powers increase, allowing her to control the weather and make it snow. The show lasted for three seasons, but Holt left after the second because filming for the third season conflicted with a movie that she was doing at the time. But just how did Holt land the role of Emma for H2O: Just Add Water?

Like many actors, Holt is active on social media and occasionally does Q & A’s with her millions of followers. Back in early 2020, she was asked how she got into acting. Holt revealed that she first started doing commercials until her agent was able to submit her for film and television. “I’d done a few TV commercials and my agent at the time sent me an audition to play a mermaid on a new kids tv show,” Holt shared about how she eventually got cast in H2O: Just Add Water.

The ‘Pretty Little Liars’ alum is a strong swimmer

Holt also revealed that she actually learned how to act on the set of H2O: Just Add Water since she didn’t have much experience. She even shared that she felt that she only got cast because of her strong swimming skills. “I had no idea how to act but I loved to swim and was good at holding my breath underwater. I’m pretty sure that’s the only reason I booked the job. I was lucky enough to learn everything on set,” the Pretty Little Liars alum shared.

While we’d argue that Holt landing the part of Emma on H2O: Just Add Water wasn’t solely due to her swimming skills, she certainly does spend a lot of time showing them off in the series. Especially in the first two episodes, Emma is portrayed as the strongest swimmer of the bunch. Clearly, learning the craft of acting was something that worked in Holt’s favor as she continued working long after the show stopped filming.

Holt reminisces on her iconic ‘H2O: Just Add Water’ role

Though it’s been over a decade since Holt stopped acting in H2O: Just Add Water, she still seems to look back on her experience with fondness. On February 22, 2020, she shared a throwback picture of herself in character. “Sometimes I worry that I peaked too early…” Holt jokingly captioned the photo. It seems that Holt truly enjoying filming the popular series. If you too are feeling nostalgic, all three seasons of H2O: Just Add Water are currently steaming for free on YouTube.

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