15 Times Actors Stepped Away From the Script and Directors Said, “That’s Actually Pretty Cool”
Some actors and actresses are such good fits for their roles, we can hardly imagine anyone else in their place. All because they not only follow what the movie director says, but they also create the flick together with them — and they’re not scared to improvise.
Emma Watson refused to wear a corset on the set of Beauty and the Beast.
Emma Watson decided to make her character more active and mobile. The actress refused to wear corsets while shooting the flick to let Belle easily ride a horse and dance. Her costumes were all light and beautiful, and they weren’t too tight on the waist, never hindering her character’s movements.
Gerard Butler wasn’t supposed to scream the phrase, “This is Sparta!”
The scream of King Leonidas, “This is Sparta!” was not actually in the plan of the scene. According to the director, Butler was supposed to whisper those words. The actor asked for another take. His scream almost made everyone on the set laugh, but the director liked it. This is how an unplanned take stayed in the movie.
When shooting Titanic, Kate Winslet decided to spit at her character’s fiancé.
Kate Winslet offered another variant of her character’s behavior at the beginning of the panic in the ship. Rose rushes to help Jack, while Cal is trying to stop his fiancée. According to the script, the girl was supposed to jab Cal with a hairpin. However, instead, Rose spits at her fiance’s face. The director approved of Winslet’s decision because earlier Jack was teaching Rose to spit and she managed to use the skill right away.
The scene where Daniel Craig is coming out of the water was not in the script of Casino Royale. The actor simply wanted to take a swim.
While shooting a scene on the beach, Daniel Craig decided to fool around. The actor pretended he was swimming in shallow waters and then suddenly got up and came out of the water. The shot turned out to look incredible and was eventually incorporated into the flick. Additionally, some of the shots became the basis for the film’s promotional campaign and formed the updated image of James Bond. Despite the fame and popularity that the actor gained, he did not want to play James Bond for a long time.
Mike Myers insisted on changing Shrek’s accent.
Mike Myers is the one who voiced the popular character, Shrek. He was initially going to use his Canadian accent. However, after reviewing the draft version, Myers decided to change his character’s accent to Scottish. It seemed to the actor that Shrek belonged to the working class, which, according to Myers, sounds like this.
This decision cost the animators many additional work hours and about an extra $5 million. But all of the expenses paid off — the producer of the cartoon, Steven Spielberg, was pleased and Shrek became one of the most famous Scottish characters in the pop culture of the 21st century. Mike Myers often showed his wit in other films as well.
Reese Witherspoon “rewrote” her character before the start of Cruel Intentions.
Reese Witherspoon didn’t want to play Annette in Cruel Intentions because the actress didn’t like the character the scriptwriters had created. Witherspoon considered Annette too shy and weak-willed. The actress worked on the character herself — she rewrote several phrases and eventually created a deep and multifaceted personality for Annette. Since then, the actress has grown as a professional, while her appearance looks almost unchanged.
Jason Isaacs changed the appearance of his character, Lucius Malfoy.
Initially, the costume designers of Harry Potter had chosen a striped suit and a black-and-white wig for Lucius Malfoy. The actor, Jason Isaacs, refused to wear this look and offered to replace it with a wizard’s gown and long, white hair.
Later, the actor confessed that he was trying to keep the hair as straight as possible, and that’s why he was always tilting his head back. This added arrogance to his character, which became an integral part of Lucius Malfoy. By the way, if the actors in the Harry Potter saga had resembled the description of their characters in the books, they would have looked very different.
Joaquin Phoenix got an idea to get into the fridge while shooting Joker.
While shooting the kitchen scene, Joaquin Phoenix suddenly started to empty the contents of the fridge and then got inside, and shut the door. The film crew was surprised but didn’t stop filming — Phoenix’s colleagues were intrigued to see what the actor would do next. This is how one of the most powerful moments of the flick was born. By the way, Joaquin Phoenix is not only an extraordinary actor but a magnificent person as well.
Samuel L. Jackson asked for a purple sword from the director when shooting Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones.
George Lucas set a rule: good guys get blue or green light swords, while bad guys get red ones. Samuel L. Jackson asked the director to provide his character, Mace Windu, with a light sword of the purple color. According to the actor, this would help his character stand out from the crowd of warriors in the final of the flick Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones. Lucas agreed, and Jackson was happy.
In the Dumb and Dumber movie, Jim Carrey’s phrase, “No way...that’s great. We’ve landed on the moon!” was improvised.
Jim Carrey often improvises on set, and the movie, Dumb and Dumber, was no exception. The scene where Lloyd is leaving a cafe and sees an old newspaper on the wall was not supposed to cause a strong reaction in his character. However, Jim Carrey reacted to it so expressively that the take ended up staying in the flick and became one of the funniest moments.
In The Avengers, Robert Downey Jr. passed on his own habits to his character.
Ironman, played by Robert Downey Jr., inherited the actor’s love for snacks. For example, when he suddenly appears in the frame with a pack of snacks, he doesn’t get lost and gladly offers Hulk and Captain America to have a bite too.
Michelle Rodriguez refused to let her character cheat on her lover.
Michelle Rodriguez was very serious about her role in The Fast and the Furious movies. She didn’t want to play the ’trophy wife’ of the main character. Instead, the actress thought her character through to the last detail. And when the writers proposed the idea of Letty cheating on Dominic, Rodriguez got into an argument with them. The star was even ready to leave the project just so she wouldn’t have to play a dishonest heroine. The filmmakers ended up making some concessions.
Maya Hawke made her character revolutionary in the Stranger Things universe.
Before the start of Stranger Things season three, Maya Hawke was given complete freedom to create her character. And she did a good job. It was the actress’ decision for Robin to become the first major LGBTQ+ character in this universe. The star said, “The reason she has all these hard walls is that she doesn’t feel like she fits in. She feels like an odd one out. She’s gay, and nobody knows that.”
The most touching scene in Spider-Man: No Way Home wasn’t invented by the writers.
According to Tom Holland, the scene where the three Spider-Men embrace was not in the script. This moment first happened in real life. The actors were so happy to be together on the same set that they began to hug each other. For Tobey Maguire, it was his big return to the cinema after almost 10 years, and, overwhelmed with emotion, he embraced his colleagues. The director saw this image and decided to add it to the script.
Zoë Kravitz shows Catwoman, not as someone glamorous but rather wild.
Zoë Kravitz hadn’t been to the manicurist for a long time, and her nails had grown long. So the actress had the idea to do the same with her character Catwoman. The actress insisted that the nails should not be painted with nail polish but left natural. That way, the heroine would look like a wild animal, not a glamorous superheroine.