While filming the horror show, Barnes requested that director Keith Thomas try to frighten him as much as possible on set. "Keith had these clapperboards that we sort of came up with together because I said to him on the phone the first time I chatted to him: 'I want to be [scared]. I want you to unsettle me because I'd like to be tricked. I like these reactions to be organic, so if you want me to be scared like make a loud noise,'" Barnes explained.
Thomas found a noise from the movie "Return to Oz" that scared Barnes as a child and played it over a speaker during certain scenes to make Barnes feel uneasy. "And it absolutely worked," Barnes said.
Reflecting on the experience, Barnes said that he trusted del Toro and Thomas to make the show "awful," while he focused on bringing the human part and real reactions to things. Although Barnes admitted that he doesn't typically watch horror because he doesn't "like feeling sweaty and uncomfortable," he couldn't pass up the opportunity to work with del Toro.
Overall, Barnes' request to be scared on set speaks to the level of dedication and commitment that he brings to his craft, even in the face of fear-inducing situations.
