Ed Harris

 Ed Harris has publicly refused to speak about his experiences working on "The Abyss" (1989), saying, "I'm not talking about 'The Abyss' and I never will." One of the few things he said about it was "Asking me how I was treated on 'The Abyss' is like asking a soldier how he was treated in Vietnam." Similarly, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio said, "'The Abyss' was a lot of things. Fun to make was not one of them."

Cast members had to become certified divers before filming began. The Deepcore crew started training together in the Caribbean one month before filming, in order to create a sense of camaraderie. Harris was not among them, as he was still filming another movie, so he got his certificate while training in a lake nearby. The actors playing the SEALs received a separate, military training. At the end of the shoot, Harris was the most accomplished diver (near-professional level) despite not having trained a single day in the actual ocean.

During underwater filming, Harris almost drowned a few times. One time was while filming the scene where he had to swim without a suit at the bottom of the submerged set, and the safety diver took very long to hand him a breathing regulator. However, the closest call came during the descent into the Abyss. Harris was wearing a helmet filled with liquid, and had to hold his breath while he was towed along a set. When he ran out of air, he gave the signal for oxygen, but his safety diver got hung up on a cable and could not get to him. Another crew member gave Harris a regulator, but it was upside down and caused him to suck in water. Underwater cinematographer Al Giddings saw what happened, ripped the upside down regulator, and gave him his own in the correct orientation. Later that evening, Ed broke down and cried.

The studio was considering Mel Gibson, Dennis Quaid, William Hurt, Harrison Ford, Kurt Russell and Patrick Swayze for the role of Virgil 'Bud' Brigman. Cameron suggested Ed Harris, but the studio was concerned about his lack of experience as leading man, as well as his receding hairline (something that Cameron felt added to his everyman appeal). Harris convinced the studio with a screen test where he wore a motorcycle helmet as a diving helmet.

Happy Birthday, Ed Harris!