10 Astonishing Things You Didn't Know About Iconic Movie Scenes

1. Stanley Kubrick Factored In Alex's Pet Snake Because He Found Out Malcolm McDowell Was Terrified Of Them - A Clockwork Orange

Aside from being renowned as one of the all-time great movie directors, Stanley Kubrick was also renowned for being a cruel, cold and unsympathetic b*stard, whose idea of "inspiring" his actors usually meant shouting, embarrassing or making them so nervous that they'd do whatever he told them to do without question.

Just ask Shelley Duvall about her experience on The Shining.

Malcolm McDowell, who played Alex DeLarge in Kubrick's adaptation of A Clockwork Orange, also suffered at the hands of his director, who may or may not have been insane at this point. Upon discovering that McDowell had a phobia of snakes, Kubrick decided to write in that Alex DeLarge had a pet snake, despite the fact that such a thing wasn't mentioned in the book, and made no real difference.

This might have been more understandable had the scene in question required McDowell to be scared of snakes. It doesn't. At all. He's playing a character who keeps one as a pet, after all.

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