Which was the most uncomfortable scene an actor ever had to shoot?

Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio in The Abyss.

The scene is legendary because it caused her to storm off set and threaten not to finish the film if James Cameron forced her to do any more takes.

Spoilers

In the scene, Mastrantonio's character, Lindsey, has just drowned and been hauled back to the oil rig, and her husband Bud (Ed Harris), along with their crew mates, are trying to revive her. Mastrantonio was soaking wet and freezing cold, lying on a metal grate. Her shirt was torn and her breasts exposed, and Harris had to shake her, scream at her, and repeatedly slap her across the face (to which she, of course, could not react, and had to play dead).

Two or three takes would have been uncomfortable. But Cameron, ever the perfectionist, insisted on doing it over, and over, and over again, by some accounts for as long as eight hours. Just when he thought he finally had the take he wanted, it was discovered that the camera had run out of film, and he wanted her to film it yet again.

That's when Mastrantonio snapped, and broke down completely. She screamed at Cameron, “we are not animals!”, then stormed off the set, saying she would quit the film if he didn't wrap the scene.

Mastrantonio refused to promote the film or even discuss it. She did not take part in any interviews or making-of documentaries, and also vowed that she would never work with Cameron again.

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Submitted August 19, 2022 at 12:15AM by potatoheadf https://ift.tt/qIjrNHu