There may be something to what you say, Bee-Dub. Poor Shane!

But what brought it to my mind was recalling a scene from one of the early Star Trek shows. William Shatner had to portray Captain Kirk in the grip of a hideous alien torture that causes acute pain to the entire central nervous system. Now, Shatner is an old hand at this kind of thing, and has it down pat. He convulses, jerks his head back, flings his arms apart, spreading fingers spasmodically, opens his mouth wide, and makes his eyes bug out maniacally, whilst uttering inarticulate sounds. You can see this in a number of different episodes. On this occasion, though, big Bill wanted to take it totally over the top, and reach a new level of emoting horror. Leonard Nimoy suggested the onion technique and volunteered to make the insertion with a freshly cut onion. Shatner had had a few puffs of an illicit substance just before rehearsal, and wasn't thinking straight at the time. He went for it. The resulting performance was pretty mind-boggling, and it suggested a degree of pain that was truly Shakespearian in its horror and grandeur.

I'm really surprised he didn't get an Emmy for the scene. It has never been equalled.