Initially unable to get the quiet, menacing performance he wanted from Kinski, Herzog began winding up his leading man before each scene, letting him explode and then waiting for the comedown before rolling the cameras. This worked up to a point, when Kinski went a bit Full Metal Jacket and fired three gunshots at the film crew. Declaring that he was through with filming, Kinski made to leave the location, only for Herzog to pick up a gun containing two bullets and calmly tell the actor that if he took another step away from the cameras, he would first shoot him and then himself.