U.S. Steel allowed filming inside its Cleveland mill, including placing the actors around the furnace floor, only after securing a $5 million insurance policy. Other filming took place in Pittsburgh. Hunting the deer The first deer to be shot was depicted in a "gruesome close-up", although he was hit with a tranquilizer dart. This was not a whitetail buck, which is native to Pennsylvania, but a red deer which is native to Eurasia. The stag that Michael lets escape was the same one later used on T.V. commercials for The Hartford Vietnam and the Russian roulette scenes The Viet Cong Russian roulette scenes were shot with real rats and mosquitoes, as the three principals (De Niro, Walken, and Savage) were tied up in bamboo cages erected along the River Kwai. The woman who was given the task of casting the extras in Thailand had much difficulty finding a local to play the vicious-looking individual who runs the game. The first actor hired turned out to be incapable of slapping De Niro in the face. The casting agent then found a local Thai man, Somsak Sengvilai, who held a particular dislike of Americans, and so cast him. De Niro suggested that Walken be slapped by one of the guards without any warning. The reaction on Walken's face was genuine. Producer Deeley has said that Cimino shot the brutal Vietcong Russian roulette scenes brilliantly and more efficiently than any other part of the film.Deeley, p. 175 De Niro and Savage performed their own stunts in the fall into the river, filming the drop fifteen times in two days. During the helicopter stunt, the skids caught on the rope bridge as the helicopter rose, which threatened to seriously injure De Niro and Savage. The actors gestured and shouted to the crew in the helicopter to warn them. Footage of this is included in the film. According to Cimino, De Niro requested a live cartridge in the revolver for the scene in which he subjects John Cazale's character to an impromptu game of Russian roulette, to heighten the intensity of the situation. Cazale agreed without protest, but obsessively rechecked the gun before each take to make sure that the live round was not next in the chamber. While appearing later in the film, the first scenes shot upon arrival in Thailand were the hospital sequences between Walken and the military doctor. Deeley believed that