Animals were harmed in these films
In the 2017 remake of 'Baywatch' starring Zac Efron and Dwayne Johnson, they shot the iconic slo-mo running scene, except Efron trips and falls, getting left in the sand. Apparently, this was an unscripted fall but it worked so well they left it in!
Martin Sheen went full-on method actor for his role as a troubled military officer in 'Apocalypse Now.' For the scene where he gets blind drunk and has a break-down in his hotel room, Martin Sheen got blind drunk and had a break-down in a hotel room. He was so out of it that he smashed a mirror with his hand and continued to roll around the bed spreading blood all over the sheets.
In a moment of despair, Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn kicks a helmet in anger and falls to the ground with a cry. This display of emotion was not simply a great feat of acting, as Mortensen actually broke two of his toes when he kicked the helmet!
In a highly tense scene from 'Django Unchained,' Leonardo DiCaprio's character is confronting those of Jamie Foxx and Christoph Waltz. He slams his fist on the table in anger, smashing a glass and continuing the scene with a bloody hand. This wasn't part of the plan, DiCaprio cut his hand accidentally, but he just carried on giving a great performance.
Napoleon's brother, played by Aaron Ruell, goes on the road with their dad to become a door-to-door Tupperware salesman. He attempts to demonstrate the strength of the Tupperware to a potential customer by driving over it in his van and showing that it stays intact. In an unplanned twist the box explodes into pieces, but Ruell stays in character and improvises. It was much funnier than the original scene so they kept it in the movie.
He was walking and talking when suddenly a taxi enters the shot and prompts Hoffman's famous improvised line: "Hey! I’m walking here!"
Jim Carrey absolutely nailed his portrayal of the Grinch. In fact, he was a little too perfect! In a fit of rage he was supposed to rip the tablecloth off a loaded table, throwing the items to the floor. Incredibly, Carrey accidentally did the impressive tablecloth trick and removed it without disturbing a single pot or pan. He improvised by running back over to the table and knocking everything off with his hands.
George C. Scott plays an incredibly energetic General Turgidson in Stanley Kubrick's 'Dr. Strangelove.' He's giving an animated speech as he walks across the stage and accidentally falls down the steps! He continues speaking and gets to his feet without breaking character. It fit so perfectly with his frantic character that Kubrick decided to use that take.
Al Pacino plays a stubborn colonel with a vision impairment in this 1992 drama. Pacino studied for the role and trained himself to keep his eyes unfocused to give a more realistic portrayal. However, this meant he genuinely had difficulty seeing, and so he fell over a trash can in the street at one point! It seemed to fit the story so the director kept it in.
While filming the famous star-studded line-up scene in 'The Usual Suspects,' director Bryan Singer became extremely frustrated because actor Benicio del Toro was making his fellow actors crack up by farting in between each take! The scene was supposed to be serious, but the director gave up and went with humorous versions where they were all struggling to keep a straight face.
An error made by Ben Stiller during the shooting of Zoolander became one of the funniest moments for his notoriously air-headed character. When the hand model played by David Duchovny explains the evil plot, Stiller forgot his next line so he just repeats his question, "But why male models?" Duchovny played along, responding as if Zoolander hadn't understood the explanation at all.
Ian McKellen plays the physically imposing Gandalf in 'The Lord of the Rings' movies. A friend to the hobbits, he struggles to fit comfortably in their small homes. In a scene where he visits Bilbo Baggins, played by Ian Holm, he bangs his head on the low door frame! This wasn't scripted, but it worked perfectly.
In 'Rain Man' when Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise are crammed into a phonebooth together, Hoffman managed to work an unscripted fart into the scene. Both actors rolled with it, Tom Cruise giving the perfect reaction, and it was included in the final cut.
Tom Felton played the snarky, villainous character of Draco Malfoy. Harry Potter uses a potion to transform himself into one of Draco's sidekicks, but forgets to remove his glasses. He tries to explain them away, claiming he was reading. Felton improvises the line, "I didn't know you could read," as he'd forgotten his real line!
Jim Carrey plays the theatrical and nefarious Count Olaf in 'Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events.' When the Baudelaire orphans inform him of their parents death, Carrey decides to re-do his reaction to the news. He even calls out "line!" and gestures off-screen to the script supervisor. It played perfectly with his character's narcissism and lack of empathy, so they kept it in!
One of the most famous scenes in the James Bond movies is the moment in 'Dr. No' when Ursula Andress walks out of the sea in her white bikini. In a modern twist, the 2006 'Casino Royale' shows an incredibly buff Daniel Craig emerge from the ocean. However, this scene wasn't part of the script.
The clumsy storm trooper in 'A New Hope' has become a beloved piece of 'Star Wars' history among fans. As a group of storm troopers enter a room with guns raised, one at the back of the group bonks his helmeted head on the door frame! George Lucas even added sound effects in newer releases to emphasize the impact.
Hobbs gets some hate as he arrives at a barbeque, one of the characters saying "Hey Mia, you better hide your baby oil!" Johnson responded with a totally unscripted line saying "You better hide that big-a** forehead." The unexpected joke caused Ludacris to do a genuine spit-take! The whole interaction was kept in the final cut.
Dwayne Johnson joined the 'Fast & Furious' team as Hobbs in 2011. His improvised banter led to one of the funniest moments in 'Fast & Furious 6.'
Chris Pratt's clumsy superhero role in 'Guardians of the Galaxy' made it pretty easy for him to get away with real-life blunders during filming. As he holds out the precious orb in one scene, he accidentally drops it and disappears out of the shot to pick it up again. It was a complete accident but added some extra humor to the scene.
In the movie adaption of 'The Outsiders,' Matt Dillon plays Dally, a smooth-talking teenage gangster. In the scene where he visits a movie theater and tries to hit on the girl in the row in front of him, he falls out of his chair in his attempts to look cool. It was totally unscripted!
Sources: (Brightside) (YouTube)
See also: Cursed? Bizarre film facts you probably didn't know.
In this scene from 'Almost Famous,' Kate Hudson's Penny asks Patrick Fugit's William if he wants to go to Morocco with her. He answers "yes," but apparently Fugit wasn't happy with his delivery of the line so he says, "Ask me again," and answers again. The director loved the interaction so much that he used it in the final cut. It's a sweet moment, and far more interesting than original scene.
Hardcore fans of 'The Princess Diaries' may remember a scene where Anne Hathaway is hanging out on the bleachers at her school. As she steps from one to the other, her foot slips between the benches and she lands on her behind! It totally fits with her awkward character, but was a genuine accident.
They needed a shot of him swimming, but while trying to film the scene he hit a sand bank in the water and had to stand up and walk out. The cameras were rolling and they realized he had accidentally recreated the famous scene!
A Freudian slip perhaps? The nervousness matched his character's experience so the mistake stayed in.
Dustin Hoffman and John Voight are a dream team in this New York-based drama. Hoffman, who we already know is the king of improvisation, almost got run over by a car while filming a scene on the streets of the Big Apple.
In this scene of 'Blazing Saddles,' Gene Wilder makes the famous "moron" speech. Cleavon Little is supposed to keep a straight face throughout the scene but is clearly struggling. In the end, he completely breaks character and bursts out laughing. It's a beautiful moment!
A young Leonardo DiCaprio got so flustered when Kate Winslet undressed in the infamous drawing scene that he fumbled his line. He instructed her to lie down on the bed, then remembered he was supposed to say couch and corrected himself.
Over the years there have been TV shows, websites, and YouTube channels dedicated to pointing out the hilarious mistakes that directors left in their movies, such as the car that appears in the background of a scene in 'Braveheart'...
It's easy to forget that some of the biggest blockbusters in history are packed with mistakes that we don't even recognize because they actually made the film better! A good director knows that truth is stranger than fiction. Sometimes an unscripted moment, a fall, or a blundered line, can actually add something raw (and hilarious) to a scene.
Click through the gallery to see some of the best actor mistakes that ended up in the final cut because they added something invaluable.
Biggest actor mistakes that were kept in the movie
These moments were too good for the blooper-reel
MOVIES Film trivia
Over the years there have been TV shows, websites, and YouTube channels dedicated to pointing out the hilarious mistakes that directors left in their movies, such as the car that appears in the background of a scene in 'Braveheart'...
It's easy to forget that some of the biggest blockbusters in history are packed with mistakes that we don't even recognize because they actually made the film better! A good director knows that truth is stranger than fiction. Sometimes an unscripted moment, a fall, or a blundered line, can actually add something raw (and hilarious) to a scene.
Click through the gallery to see some of the best actor mistakes that ended up in the final cut because they added something invaluable.