Danny DeVito on How Young Actress Was Swung By Pigtails in ‘Matilda’ Scene

The story behind one of Matilda’s most unforgettable scenes is a true lesson in movie magic.

In 1997, Danny DeVito, who directed, produced, and starred in the film, sat down to share details about how it was made as bonus material for its DVD. During the conversation, he talks about how the scene where Miss Trunchbull swings Matilda’s classmate, Amanda Thripp, by her pigtails, came to be.

DeVito revealed that the scene showing actress Jacqueline Steiger as Amanda in the high-energy moment didn’t involve any editing help but rather, careful and precise filming.

“We had a crane, we had a very, very big crane. It went up and came down and we put her in a harness,” he shared, explaining the young actress “loved being in the harness.”

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“The thing about Jacqueline I remember really well is that she read. Constantly, she read as much as Matilda,” he said.

Footage shows Jacqueline on set, reading the 1988 Roald Dahl novel Matilda, as she was hooked up to the harness. They test lifting her off the ground, with the actress appearing to enjoy the stunt.

In one scene, they work on her harness as she talks to the film’s star, Mara Wilson, revealing that the “codeword” she can yell to the crew if she got dizzy was “jellybeans.” The two girls snickered over the idea of Jacqueline screaming out the candy mid-scene.

For the scene to come to life, Jacqueline also wore “special braids,” “so we could swing her around in a wide shot, top down. Then we’d have to glue them back on.”

The other kids in the cast watched in amazement, with DeVito reminding them, “you’re horrified,” as they saw Jacqueline swinging in what was referred to as the “pigtail hammer throw.”

The care scene in handling the moment with Jacqueline, and the congratulations she’s met with as the scene wraps, is heartwarming to watch, nearly 30 years after the film’s release.