10 Things You Didn't Know About Starship Troopers

Back in the late 90s, CGI was still in its infancy, and despite having been used to stunning effect in films such as Terminator 2 and Jurassic Park, early in the decade, there were still many difficulties involved in incorporating computer-generated creatures into live-action sequences.

One such issue was having something for actors to react to when there was no real physical presence on set. A tried and tested solution was to use a tennis ball on a stick to indicate height, location and direction of movement and it's generally an effective method. However, in order to elicit a more emotional and dramatic response from his actors, Paul Verhoeven did things a little differently.

Instead, Verhoeven became the Arachnids himself and whenever an alien presence was required on set he would jump around screaming, swearing and lunging at his actors, getting right in their faces in an effort to pump them up during filming.

Having a mad Dutchman on the loose on set, shrieking and generally acting like a lunatic, might not be quite the same as having a nine-foot warrior bug bearing down on you, but it's probably not too far off.