Kane Hodder had spent years bringing Jason Voorhees, the most feared killer in slasher cinema, to life. But on the set of Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan, in 1989, he came across a line he was unwilling to cross.
The script called for a simple scene: a dog barked at him when he arrived in the city, and Jason kicked it. Hodder refused immediately.
His argument was as simple as it was firm: Jason could murder dozens of people throughout the saga, but he would never harm an animal or a child. For him, that was the only moral rule that defined the character.
The director listened and gave in. The scene was rewritten: instead of the dog, Jason ended up destroying a portable radio belonging to some young people on the street.
Decades later, that decision by an actor behind a hockey mask remains one of the favorite stories among fans of the franchise.