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Vincent D’Onofrio Says ‘Men in Black’ Director Forbade Notes and Called His First Take ‘Horrible’

The actor says the hands-off demand forced him to build the character alone.

Overview

  • D’Onofrio, in an April GQ interview, said a producer told him Barry Sonnenfeld would only share the script if he promised never to discuss his acting, the character, or his performance with the director.
  • Entertainment Weekly identified the producer as Stacey Sher, who relayed the request that left D’Onofrio to craft Edgar the Bug without input from Sonnenfeld.
  • He created the character’s stiff, off-kilter movement by having custom leg braces made at an orthopedic store and wore them for weeks to lock in the gait.
  • He based the voice on John Huston in Chinatown and George C. Scott in Dr. Strangelove, then arrived on set for a barn scene where Sonnenfeld cleared the crew and called the early take “horrible” before letting him continue.
  • The two never discussed the performance during the shoot, the film later grossed more than $580 million, and D’Onofrio says Sonnenfeld eventually called the result fantastic.