Vincent D'Onofrio was banned from talking to Men In Black director Barry Sonnenfeld about his part in the film.
The 66-year-old actor was cast as Edgar the Bug - an alien who takes on the form of a human after landing on Earth - in the 1997 Will Smith blockbuster and Vincent has now revealed he was left baffled by a bizarre request from the director ahead of the shoot.
In a video for GQ, the Law and Order: Criminal Intent star explained a producer on the film said Sonnenfeld was interested in hiring him but had one request, saying: "[She said] 'But he's asked me to ask you that if I'm going to give you the script that I have to promise' - and this is the absolute truth and Barry and I have talked about it since - ‘I would have to promise that I would never speak to him about acting or the character or anything that had to do with my performance. That I would just say yes and then I would just do it'."
Vincent agreed, but he was left confused by the role, saying: "I started reading this [script and the] alien comes down and takes the body of a guy and then wears the skin for the whole thing. And I couldn't talk to the director about it.
"I had no idea. And the lines were kind of wonky and weird and sort of like punchlines. I had to figure it out."
Vincent started watching documentaries about insects in a bid to understand the role but gave up. He then went to an orthopedic store to have leg braces made to help give his character a strange gait.
He explained: "[The character was a] 20-foot alien packed into this body ... [It would be] tough for him to move."
However, his performance didn't go down well with Sonnenfeld when the finally started shooting - and Vincent was convinced he was going to get fired.
He said: "I'm doing the first scene, which took place in a barn. Now remember, Barry has no idea what I'm going to do. Cause I wasn't allowed to discuss it with him. I promised I wouldn't.
"So, I start this monologue, and I walk in, and I get halfway through, and Barry calls cut ... The first AD turned with this microphone and said: 'Barry would like to clear the set.' So, you know, I started to walk off, and then I heard: 'Not you, Vincent.' Okay. I could be getting fired. We'll see.
"[He asked me to do the scene again]. He cut at the same place again. And he goes: 'Are you going to do that the whole time?' That's what he said.
"And I said to him: 'Yeah, it's pretty much my plan. Like, I don't have a plan B. Like, this really is it' ...
"[Sonnenfeld said] 'My god, this is horrible. It's horrible' ... He just kept shaking his head and he said: 'But let's continue and see what happens' ...
"We just kept on shooting and I just kept on doing that character the way that I brought it in, full out, and I didn't get fired."
Vincent went on to reveal he spoke to the director about it years later and Sonnenfeld admitted he did actually like the performance.
The actor added: "That was a pretty big amount of trust he put in me to pull that character off for him. And I can never thank him enough for that."
