20 Things You Didn’t Know About Trainspotting

Though Ewan McGregor was quite happy to do the work in terms of getting his head around what it took to convincingly portray a heroin addict for the flick, having the star actually shoot up for the shoot was perhaps a step too far for all concerned.

But far from choosing to dodge the uncomfortable visual of an addict piercing a needle into their skin throughout the film, Danny Boyle and his crew had an impressive trick up their sleeves. For the close-up sequences that involved the aforementioned shooting up, a prosthetic arm was designed, equipped with pulsing veins and even little drops of blood that would arise on the back of the skin being pierced by the needle.

As far as prosthetic alternatives go this incredibly detailed piece of make-up magnificence takes some beating, and still seems too legit-looking to be true upon a rewatch all these years later.