Apollonia Kotero, Prince and a near-death experience on ‘Purple Rain’
It’s easy to forget sometimes that a major reason for Prince’s global breakout was due to his film Purple Rain. Grossing $70million worldwide, against its $7.2m budget, the movie was a huge success and skyrocketed Prince’s career thanks to the incredible soundtrack. But tragedy almost struck the set.
After the triumph of his 1982 album, 1999, Prince wanted to level up. The record had caught the attention of the mainstream and was the beginning of a new era of commercial success for the artist, but he wanted more. Prince told his manager that he would only re-sign his contract if he got to star in a film. When every studio rejected Prince’s idea, his manager, Robert Cavallo, stepped in to produce the semi-autobiographical movie.
The history of the 1984 film Purple Rain is well documented. Writing his most famous album on set to soundtrack the tale, Prince penned the epic ‘When Doves Cry’ in under 24 hours when an extra song was needed for one scene. Becoming a cult classic movie and essential viewing for fans of the artist, Purple Rain even earned the guitar god an Oscar.
But for this co-star, Apollonia Kotero, the movie could’ve been tragic. Cast to play Prince’s love interest and the singer of Apollonia 6, Kotero was shot to notoriety after the movie was released. The on-screen chemistry between Kotero and Prince was so good, in fact, that many believed they were actually an item.
While Prince wasn’t her boyfriend, Kotero considers him a hero. During the filming of one of the most well-known scenes from the movie, Kotero fell seriously ill, leaving the musician to come to her rescue.
The infamous lake scene sees Kotero stripping off and diving into a lake when Prince, or The Kid, tells her she has to purify herself in the waters of Lake Minnetonka. Kotero revealed the true nature of the scene during an interview with The Current, telling the publication that the lake was below freezing when she took the plunge.
Kotero remembers having to break ice on the surface of the lake. By the end of the fourth take, production placed her in a warm tent to try and recover as an on-set nurse diagnosed her with hypothermia.
“All I remember is everything started to fade to black, and [the nurse] said, ‘She’s going into hypothermia, we have to call the ambulance,’” Kotero remembered. “And I just thought to myself, oh no, god, I don’t want to die now! I want to finish this movie.”
Fading in and out of consciousness as the film’s medical team panicked about their co-star’s health, word of Kotero’s situation got back to Prince. Rushing to see if she was OK, Kotero recalled the moment Prince came into the medical tent.
“I’m a fighter, I’m strong, I can do this. And then Prince came in, because I remember feeling his warmth, he held me, and he says, ‘Please don’t die. Please don’t die, Apollonia.’ And his voice kind of cracked,” she remembers.
Recalling a moment of determination and clarity, a drive to survive came over the actor: “I remember just like in the movies, you kind of fast forward, and then I started to see images, and it was him, and I just remember, once I was able to talk, I just said, ‘No, I’m not going anywhere! I have to shoot more, we’ve got to get more in the can, man! I’m not going anywhere, we’ve got to shoot some more!’ And he kind of chuckled.”
Reflecting on the film, the way it changed her life, and how Prince impacted her that day, Kotero added, “He saved me, with his warmth and his love and compassion.”
