Ridley Scott recalls his experience hiring 200 real skinheads to shoot Apple’s iconic "1984" Macintosh Super Bowl commercial. Directed by Scott, who was fresh off the dystopian sci-fi classic Blade Runner, the “1984” commercial debuted during Super Bowl Xviii and introduced Apple’s Macintosh personal computer. Inspired by George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, it portrays a dystopian world in which a crowd of uniformed, bald men passively watch a Big Brother-like figure ranting on a giant screen, until a lone runner, wearing a white tank top featuring an illustration of Apple’s new product, hurls a sledgehammer at the screen.

In an interview with GQ, Scott recounted his experience filming the ad, which he shot with 200 real skinheads as extras. Scott sought a visually striking audience locked into an oppressive gaze to juxtapose with athlete Anya Major's vibrant, rebellious presence. The director wanted to avoid the expense of shaving a woman's head,...