Ron Perlman holds only the highest respect for Sean Connery. He even told BBC that he believes Connery is not only the best James Bond, but also “the only Bond.” So there’s no way on Earth that Perlman would spit in the veteran actor’s eye — unless he had a good reason.

In this case, that reason was simply that the script called for it. Perlman’s character in “The Name of the Rose” was supposed to launch a loogie right into Connery’s face. He told Entertainment Weekly that he was awed to be working with such a revered actor, and he “certainly didn’t have the chutzpah to spit in the guy’s eye.” So he tried to be nice and only pretended to spit.

However, this simply wouldn’t do for Connery. According to BBC, he told Perlman, “You know, Ron, if you don’t spit in my eye, I have nothing to play.” He explained it would be so much easier for him to react if he had a real glob of spit dripping down his face. After that, Perlman decided well, he’d better spit then, since Connery insisted. So he let loose a big one. His spit must have exceeded Connery’s expectations, because Perlman recalls the actor saying (via Entertainment Weekly), “Yeah, that was pretty good spit there.”