10 Genius Techniques Directors Used To Get Great Movie Performances

8. William Friedkin Refrigerated The Bedroom Set To Keep The Cast Uncomfortable - The Exorcist

William Friedkin has quite the reputation for being a hothead filmmaker who will do whatever it takes to get the desired performance out of an actor.

On The Exorcist, this included randomly firing guns on set to startle actors - loaded with blanks, at least - slapping Father William O'Malley across the face and yanking Ellen Burstyn on a harness so hard she sustained a severe back injury.

But this is all messed-up, old school Hollywood abuse and there's nothing really clever about it.

What was very smart, however, was Friedkin's decision to have Regan's (Linda Blair) bedroom be refrigerated to temperatures below zero, in order to keep cast members Blair, Max von Sydow and Jason Miller believably anxious and uncomfortable. It also ensured that their icy breath would be visible on-screen.

Given how much of the movie ends up taking place in the bedroom, and how brilliantly convincing their antsy performances are, it was a smart choice, albeit one that came at considerable discomfort to the cast.

In subsequent years, Blair claimed shooting the film caused her to develop a real hatred of being cold.