Bob Geldof is terrified of blood and found the razor blade scene extremely difficult to film. He was only supposed to shave his eyebrows. Feeling himself seized by the role, he improvised the scene and shaved his entire body. This scene was inspired by Pink Floyd founder Syd Barrett (as was much of the album), who became mentally ill and left the band in the late 1960s. According to the band, Barrett once left a crowded dinner party, went home, shaved his head, and went back, behaving as though it was the most normal thing in the world. Some of the people who were close to Syd during his decline had to leave the theater during the scene, because they found it so disturbing.
