Sigourney Weaver Grateful She Avoided Cameron's Brutal Abyss Shoot
The Aliens star reveals why she was relieved not to work with James Cameron on his notoriously difficult underwater sci-fi production that pushed actors to their breaking point.
James Cameron has built a reputation as one of Hollywood's most demanding directors, but no production exemplifies this more than his 1989 underwater thriller The Abyss. The $90 million film became legendary not just for its groundbreaking effects, but for the grueling conditions that nearly broke its cast and crew.
Weaver's Relief at Dodging Cameron's Toughest Production
Sigourney Weaver, who worked with Cameron on Aliens, recently shared her thoughts about the director's intense approach to filmmaking. Having experienced his demanding style firsthand, she expressed genuine relief at not being involved in The Abyss production. "He was wildly funny, witty. I can understand why that guy couldn't come out during 'Aliens,' because that was a tough shoot, especially for him. Let's put it this way: I'm glad I wasn't shooting 'The Abyss' with him," Weaver revealed.
The actress recalled how different Cameron became once filming wrapped on Aliens. While he maintained an intense, focused demeanor during production, he transformed into a more relaxed person afterward, showing his lighter side over dinner.
Standing Up to Cameron's Demanding Methods
During the Aliens shoot, Weaver witnessed Cameron's notorious perfectionism firsthand. She remembered a particular incident involving a young actress struggling with difficult props. Rather than staying silent, Weaver decided to intervene. "I sort of trundled up to him and I said, 'You know, when you yell at an actor, you yell at all of us, so understand that what she was doing actually was very hard. Maybe shoot something else while she gets used to doing this stuff the way you want it,'" she explained.
Surprisingly, Cameron took her advice well, showing a willingness to adapt his approach. Weaver later described him as fundamentally a good person who has mellowed over the years.
The Abyss: A Production That Nearly Broke Everyone
The Abyss starred Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, and Michael Biehn in a story about a civilian diving team recruited to search for a lost nuclear submarine. What made this production particularly brutal was that nearly half of all filming took place underwater in an abandoned nuclear power plant in South Carolina.
The cast endured more than 70 hours of work per week for six months straight. Harris later admitted the experience was so intense that he once broke down crying while driving home from set. Even Cameron himself faced life-threatening situations, nearly drowning when his oxygen supply failed during underwater filming.
Harris described one particularly difficult scene where his character attempts to revive Mastrantonio's character after she sacrifices herself. "We were guinea pigs, in a way, Jim wasn't quite sure how this was all gonna go down… [in the drowning scene I was] screaming at her to come back and wake up, and I was slapping her across the face and I see that they've run out of film in the camera—there's a light on the camera—and nobody had said anything. And Mary Elizabeth stood up and said, 'We are not animals!'" Harris recalled. The scene was so demanding that Mastrantonio reportedly walked off set.
Despite the harsh conditions, Harris holds no grudges against Cameron or the production. "It was very difficult, but it was worth it, I met some great people. The Abyss is a really great movie up until the last 10 minutes, which was the big disappointment. I like Jim. He's an incredibly talented, intelligent guy. In subsequence years after filming, it was always good to see him," he reflected.