When Dewey was signed to work on The Abyss with director James Cameron, it seemed that he had at last found the starring role meaty enough for his feline taste.
But the project was doomed.
Though sources can rarely agree on the details of anything, everyone who was on the set with Dewey and Cameron agrees that the tension was palpable right from the outset. One crew member, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, "Things seemed to be going well for the first day or two. But we had to shoot the last scene early on in filming, and that turned into trouble. Dewey made a joke about how the underwater city, which rose to the surface, looked like 'the Play Doh creation of an inept three-year-old'. He was right, of course, and he meant it in jest, but Cameron was royally p.o'd. Mysterious 'accidents' started happening while Dewey's scenes were being shot. One time a knife shot past his head during a scene - Cameron claimed to be practicing knife juggling. You just can't work like that."
So Dewey walked, and Ed Harris took over the role. Below, a scene from his abortive turn as Bud Brigman.
Dewey's abandoning the project started rumors in the industry, and the cat had a tough time finding movie roles. So, not discouraged, he turned to the small screen.