Steven Spielberg ‘loved’ my performance in Water, claims John Abraham: ‘No one here even saw it for a day’

John Abraham recalled how Steven Spielberg and Charlize Theron became fans of his acting after watching Deepa Mehta's Water.

By: Entertainment Desk

New Delhi | March 12, 2025 09:47 PM IST

3 min read

Steven Spielberg (right) praised John Abraham's (left) performance in Water. (Photo: Film still, Reuters)

John Abraham started his career in the entertainment industry as a model and moved on to acting soon after, but for a large part of his career, John has faced a lot of criticism for his craft. The actor has been in the movies for over 20 years but even now, he struggles to get compliments for his work as an actor. But, what he doesn’t get from his audience here, he got it from Hollywood. In a recent interview, John revealed that Steven Speiberg, known for films like Schindler’s List, Jurassic Park, among many others, praised his acting in Deepa Mehta’s Water.

Talking to BookMyShow’s YouTube channel, the Garam Masala actor shared his experience of attending the Academy Awards in 2006 when Deepa Mehta’s film received a nomination in the Best Foreign Language Film category. John played one of the lead roles in the film along with Lisa Ray, Seema Biswas and Waheeda Rehman. While the film did not win an Oscar, John collected some precious memories.

He shared, “When I went to the awards, I had the honour of meeting Steven Spielberg, and he loved my performance in Water, whereas no one here even saw it for a day.” He also mentioned his conversation with Hollywood actor Charlize Theron and shared, “I remember Charlize Theron talking to me and saying that. I loved what you were processing, but no one here talked about that.”

ALSO READ | Kim Soo Hyun-Kim Sae Ron’s relationship confirmed by Dispatch, reveals she begged him for time to repay Gold Medalist debt: ‘Do you have to sue me?’

In an earlier chat with Filmfare, John shared that Steven gave him an important lesson. “I remember Steven Spielberg’s words when I had attended the Academy Awards during Water. He said, ‘Remember, there are no good and bad actors. There are good and bad films’,” he shared.

Water was initially meant to star Shabana Azmi, Nandita Das and Akshay Kumar, and was supposed to be shot in Varanasi. However, when the crew started shooting here, protests erupted as Mehta’s previous film, Fire, had been in controversy upon its release in India. The film had to be shelved then but a few years later, Mehta managed to shoot it in Sri Lanka, albeit with a new cast.

From the homepage