The Saint was my third outing with George Gibbs, and another proper old-school action film made at a time when the big moments still had to happen for real in front of the camera.

We worked across a range of practical effects, including chase work, explosions and a lot of very close fire effects. One of the biggest sequences we shot was for the film’s original ending. It involved some of the largest fire and explosion work I had ever done on a stage at that point — and, even now, it still ranks among the biggest I’ve been involved with.

Unfortunately, much of that sequence never made it into the finished film. The footage below is from the alternate ending, which is surprisingly difficult to find anywhere else, so apologies for the quality. It is worth sticking with it to the end, because the scale of the practical effects just keeps building.

The stunt work was exceptional. Watching those guys working right in amongst the fire and explosions was something else

It was also my first real experience of working around a major Hollywood star who could be extremely demanding on set. Val Kilmer was a fascinating character and, at times, could make life pretty difficult for the people around him. For me, it was an education in dealing with these type of actors.

Between working with George again, the scale of the fire work, the extraordinary stunt performances and the experiences behind the scenes, The Saint is one of those productions that taught me a great deal and has stayed in the memory ever since.