Michelle Rodriguez played the character of Captain Trudy Chacon in Avatar. Although she was a controversial actress at the time, Cameron chose her for the role based solely on her acting skills. He was impressed with her portrayal of Captain Trudy and regretted his decision to kill off her character in the first Avatar film. Cameron felt that the character of Trudy had amazing integrity, and that's who Michelle Rodriguez is as a person.
Although Captain Trudy did not survive the battle of Na'vi against humans, her appearance in Avatar had a positive impact on her career. She is grateful to Cameron for turning her luck around, and there might have been a possibility for her to appear in the billion-dollar sequel if her character had survived.
James Cameron's decision to cast Michelle Rodriguez in Avatar was inspired by a female pilot he met during one of his adventure trips. Cameron was impressed with her pilot skills, and after she performed a crazy difficult maneuver off of a glacier, he was inspired to create a character based on her in his science fiction film. Rodriguez was offered the role after Cameron thought of her, despite not auditioning for it.
Although Rodriguez's character did not appear in the sequel, she had the opportunity to work with Cameron in the 2019 cyberpunk action film Alita: Battle Angel, where Cameron served as one of the producers of the film. Cameron's regret about killing off Captain Trudy shows how he values his characters and the actors who bring them to life.
