11 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.

We at Bright Side recalled some cases when actors and actresses added something to the filming process and the movie only became better because of it. The bonus part at the end will tell you how an accidental slip of the tongue inspired the scriptwriters to create a cult ending to a series’ entire season.

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 be very nice and eventually stayed in the flick. Additionally, some shots became the basis for the film’s promotional campaign and formed the updated image of James Bond.

Mike Myers insisted on changing Shrek’s accent.

Mike Myers is the one who voiced the popular character, Shrek. He was doing it using his Canadian accent. However, after looking at 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 hours of work and about an extra $5 million. But all of the expenses paid off — the producer of the cartoon, Steven Spielberg, stayed pleased and Shrek became one of the most famous Scottish characters in pop culture of the 21st century.

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 girl’s character created by scriptwriters. Witherspoon considered Annette too shy and weak-willed. The actress worked over the character herself, rewrote several phrases, and eventually created a deep and multifaceted character.

Jason Isaacs changed the appearance of his character, Lucius Malfoy.

Initially, the costume designers of Harry Potter chose a striped suit and a black-and-white wig for Lucius Malfoy. The actor, Jason Isaacs, refused 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 throwing his head back. This added arrogance to his character, which became an integral part of Lucius Malfoy.

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 it 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.

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.

Bonus: It was David Schwimmer who came up with the slip of the tongue, “I Ross, take thee, Rachel.”

Many of us remember the mistake Ross made during his wedding with Emily. The scriptwriters were racking their brains about how to finish the fourth season. David Schwimmer helped them. In one of the episodes, the actor replaced the name Emily with Rachel, saying, “Rachel, the taxi’s here.” The series creators liked this mistake so much that they reproduced it in the final episode of the season, in the legendary wedding scene.

Do you think actors can improvise when shooting flicks or is it better to strictly follow what the director says?