Denis Villeneuve films have a tendency to unsettle the actors involved. “Sicario” star Emily Blunt has spoken about how filming a scene where her character is attacked in her own home as having “quite a lasting effect” on her, telling The Guardian that shooting the scene all day made her feel like her “skin was on fire.”

“Prisoners” similarly demanded a lot from its actors. Villeneuve had to save Jake Gyllenhaal, who plays Detective Loki, from a scene the actor viewed as impossible. During the climax of the film, Loki finds Anna but is forced to shield her from her captor and rush her to hospital after being shot in the head himself (the bullet only grazes his head, in case you were wondering how he’s even alive after that). This was all too much for Gyllenhaal, who was rescued from having to juggle these considerations after Villeneuve chose to keep the camera focused mostly on Anna during the scene in question.

But when it came to Hugh Jackman, it seems he was affected by the film before he even agreed to star. The actor, speaking to Yahoo at the time of the film’s release, explained that when he first read the script, “I had a pit in my stomach reading it. In some ways it’s a classic genre movie … but at the end of the movie keeps you thinking and talking.” Thankfully, this seemed to be a selling point for him. Kelly Dover remains one of Hugh Jackman’s best roles, and it’s a good thing that “pit” in his stomach didn’t put him off.