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."

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.
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