Director Danny Boyle gave the stars of his new film Trance a real hypnotic experience by bringing famed illusionist Derren Brown onto the set.

The movie stars James MCAvoy as a fine art auctioneer who teams with a criminal gang to steal a painting, but has to utilise the services of a hypnotherapist when a blow to the head means he no longer remembers where he stashed the artwork.

Boyle wanted to give his cast a real experience of hypnotherapy to help them understand the movie, so he asked Tv mentalist Brown to pay them a visit.

MCAvoy agreed to undergo hypnotherapy with Brown, along with his co-stars Rosario Dawson and Vincent Cassel, but Boyle decided against trying it out himself.

He says, "I am too much of a control freak. They relaxed a lot and went a bit sleepy - but nothing much happened. I loved Derren's work but used to think people on the show (Brown's Tv series) would be actors who were hired. Then I thought it's strange how you don't find anyone a few years later moaning that they were paid £200 to pretend."