Candyman star Tony Todd got $1,000 bonus every time he was stung by a bee

How much would you want to get paid every time you got stung by a bee on a movie set where you were likely to get stung by bees a lot?

For actor Tony Todd, the answer is $1,000, as he revealed in an interview with The Guardian about the making of the 1992’s Bernard Rose-directed horror classic, Candyman.

“I negotiated a bonus of $1,000 for every sting during the bee scene,” Todd said. “And I got stung 23 times. Everything that’s worth making has to involve some sort of pain. Once I realized it was an important part of who Candyman was, I embraced it. It was like putting on a beautiful coat.”

In Candyman, Todd plays an artist who turns into a supernatural killer after being killed by bee stings. The film is set in the once poverty-stricken Chicago district of Cabrini-Green.

The actor also teased the “reimagining” of Candyman, which is being directed by Nia DaCosta (Little Woods) from a screenplay by Jordan Peele and Win Rosenfeld.

“Let’s see what Jordan Peele produces with his sequel,” said Todd. “They’re planning to shoot entirely in Chicago, where Cabrini-Green has been torn down and gentrified — the new film will explore all that.

Watch the trailer for the original Candyman above.

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