James Cameron Saved a Rat During His Most Brutal Shoot — And Almost Lost His Lead

The Abyss is one of those legendary shoots where everything that could go wrong basically did... and then James Cameron gave CPR to a rat. Yes, really. Let me walk you through the chaos, the near drownings, and the tiny animal that outlived the PR nightmare.

The rat, the myth, the desk buddy

Mid-shoot, Cameron was demonstrating the movie's oxygenated water tech with a live rat named Beady. The demo went sideways, Beady almost drowned, and Cameron personally performed CPR to revive him. He says he did it in part to make sure the production could earn the 'No Animals Were Harmed' certification. Then things got unexpectedly sweet: Cameron kept Beady around, and the rat would hang out on his desk while he wrote Terminator 2. According to Cameron, Beady lived a long life and did not seem traumatized by any of it.

'Beady and I bonded over the whole thing. I saved his life. We were brothers. He used to sit on my desk while I was writing Terminator 2, and he lived to a ripe old age. He did not seem particularly traumatized, though I know the film is outlawed in the U.K. because of 'animal cruelty.'

Quick note on that last part: Cameron says the film is banned in the U.K. for animal cruelty. What has actually dogged The Abyss over there is the controversy around that rat-breathing scene, which has been treated differently in different releases.

Meanwhile, the humans were almost drowning

The movie was shot at an abandoned nuclear power plant with a 35-foot-deep water tank. Cameron dove in with about 40 pounds of weight strapped to him, ran out of air underwater, ditched his gear, and bolted for the surface. A safety diver intercepted him mid-ascent because a rapid rise could have been dangerous; Cameron could not get air from the proffered mouthpiece, panicked, and punched the guy to break free and reach the top. Not great!

Ed Harris, who plays Bud, had his own near-death moment filming the climax. Instead of using the breathing-liquid setup seen in the movie, he was working off his own air. A diver was a beat late getting to him, and Harris has said he genuinely thought that might be it. His summary of the experience: brutal and scary. He got through it, but it was close.

So how does Harris feel about Cameron now?

Surprisingly zen. Harris has said he was satisfied with the final film overall, except for the last 10 minutes, which he considered a letdown. As for Cameron, despite the director's early-career reputation for being... intense, Harris calls him incredibly talented and smart, and says it has always been good to see him in the years since.

'I like Jim. He is an incredibly talented, intelligent guy. In subsequent years after filming, it was always good to see him.'

Cameron himself does not look back fondly on his first big deep-water adventure, but he also credits the experience with making Titanic possible. Painful, but formative.

Quick stats, if you are curious

• IMDb: 7.5
• Rotten Tomatoes: 76% critics, 83% audience
• Runtime: 139 minutes

The Abyss is available to rent on Apple TV. If you put it on tonight, just know the best behind-the-scenes character was a rat named Beady who survived Hollywood and the ocean and then retired to a writing desk. Honestly, same.