Vincent D'Onofrio reveals bizarre request from Men In Black director

Vincent D'Onofrio was banned from talking to Men In Black director Barry Sonnenfeld about his part in the film.

The 66-year-old actor was cast as Edgar the Bug - an alien who takes on the form of a human after landing on Earth - in the 1997 Will Smith blockbuster and Vincent has now revealed he was left baffled by a bizarre request from the director ahead of the shoot.

In a video for GQ, the Law and Order: Criminal Intent star explained a producer on the film said Sonnenfeld was interested in hiring him but had one request, saying: "[She said] 'But he's asked me to ask you that if I'm going to give you the script that I have to promise' - and this is the absolute truth and Barry and I have talked about it since - ‘I would have to promise that I would never speak to him about acting or the character or anything that had to do with my performance. That I would just say yes and then I would just do it'."

Vincent agreed, but he was left confused by the role, saying: "I started reading this [script and the] alien comes down and takes the body of a guy and then wears the skin for the whole thing. And I couldn't talk to the director about it.

"I had no idea. And the lines were kind of wonky and weird and sort of like punchlines. I had to figure it out."

Vincent started watching documentaries about insects in a bid to understand the role but gave up. He then went to an orthopedic store to have leg braces made to help give his character a strange gait.

He explained: "[The character was a] 20-foot alien packed into this body ... [It would be] tough for him to move."

However, his performance didn't go down well with Sonnenfeld when the finally started shooting - and Vincent was convinced he was going to get fired.

He said: "I'm doing the first scene, which took place in a barn. Now remember, Barry has no idea what I'm going to do. Cause I wasn't allowed to discuss it with him. I promised I wouldn't.

"So, I start this monologue, and I walk in, and I get halfway through, and Barry calls cut ... The first AD turned with this microphone and said: 'Barry would like to clear the set.' So, you know, I started to walk off, and then I heard: 'Not you, Vincent.' Okay. I could be getting fired. We'll see.

"[He asked me to do the scene again]. He cut at the same place again. And he goes: 'Are you going to do that the whole time?' That's what he said.

"And I said to him: 'Yeah, it's pretty much my plan. Like, I don't have a plan B. Like, this really is it' ...

"[Sonnenfeld said] 'My god, this is horrible. It's horrible' ... He just kept shaking his head and he said: 'But let's continue and see what happens' ...

"We just kept on shooting and I just kept on doing that character the way that I brought it in, full out, and I didn't get fired."

Vincent went on to reveal he spoke to the director about it years later and Sonnenfeld admitted he did actually like the performance.

The actor added: "That was a pretty big amount of trust he put in me to pull that character off for him. And I can never thank him enough for that."