Which Breaking the Surface are you looking for?
Other films share similar titles, so the cast is the quickest check. If Mario Lopez plays a diver, it is the Greg Louganis story. If you want the book, look for the Louganis and Marcus byline.
The memoir: what Breaking the Surface covers
Published on March 1, 1995, the book covers his back-to-back double golds in 1984 and 1988, his years hiding that he is gay and his coming out as HIV positive. It spent five weeks at number one on the New York Times bestseller list.
The day after it came out he sat down with Terry Gross for the Fresh Air interview, the best audio companion to the book.
The movie: cast, crew and where to find it
The television movie aired in March 1997 and runs about 95 minutes. Steven Hilliard Stern directed it from a script by Alan Hines.
Who plays who
- Mario Lopez as Greg Louganis, a performance that earned an ALMA Award nomination
- Bruce Weitz as his coach Ron O'Brien
- Jeffrey Meek as Tom Barrett
- Michael Murphy and Rosemary Dunsmore as Pete and Frances Louganis
TV Guide's listing describes a drama about his childhood difficulties, his coming out and his HIV diagnosis. It shows the film as not currently streaming. Availability changes, so check the listing before you search.
Should you read the book or watch the movie first?
Read the book if you want his own account, including the parts of his early life and family that a 95-minute film has to compress. Watch the movie if you want a quick, dramatized overview.
The movie is a dramatization. For what happened in the pool in Seoul, the head injury page sticks to reported sources.
Back On Board, the later documentary
Back On Board is a different film. It follows Louganis from 2011 to 2013 as a documentary. NPR notes it premiered on HBO. It shows the years after the book, including his financial worries, which the net worth page covers.
