On the set of the forthcoming movie Best F(r)iends which reunites the infamous Tommy Wiseau with Greg Sestero, his on-and-off-again pal who starred in The Room director Justin MacGregor needed Wiseau to let a resurrected evil clown choke him.

Beforehand, MacGregor demonstrated how the scene would unfold. It needed to be physical, a little violent even, or risk looking phony. But Wiseau wasnt having it.

Tommy became really, really upset, MacGregor told HuffPost by phone earlier this month. He just went on a tirade about, Dont you know anything about real acting? You never touch an actor like that.

Thats right: Wiseau, a cult figure known for writing, directing, financing and co-starring in the proverbial worst movie ever made, insisted he was the one who knew a thing or two about real acting. MacGregor, worried he wouldnt be able to get the necessary shot, humored him. Youre right, youre right, the 25-year-old director said. They rehearsed a gentler version of the same altercation. It looked like shit, so, unbeknownst to Wiseau, MacGregor told the actor portraying the clown to strangle him with the same ferocity originally planned.

And Tommy blew up, MacGregor recalled. We have behind-the-scenes footage of it, too. He rained down on the clown-man actor, not on me, because as far as Tommy was concerned, I had given the direction to do it softly, and the clown man ignored me. Basically, we got the shot, its amazing, and it plays so well in the film. I threw the clown under the bus that day, but I would do it again. That happened a few times, where I had to be sneaky and creative to get something out of Tommy that he wasnt going to do.