7 Times Actors Demanded Changes for Their Characters and It Actually Worked Out Fantastically

Producers and directors are fortunate to work with brilliant actors and actresses, but it takes a team to make big decisions for a movie. That’s why working together to create iconic movies is the key ingredient, and even the cast must take part in the process. Celebrities like Angelina Jolie did a great job at adding a final touch as the cherry on top of our favorite movies.

1. Angelina Jolie, Maleficent

Angelina Jolie’s idea was to get her nose covered in prosthetics to make her character look scary in Maleficent. She and the makeup team came up with the idea to cover Jolie with stuff on her cheekbones. Others thought it was too much. However, she liked the idea since it looked scarier that way. Lady Gaga’s cheekbones inspired what she wore in the “Born This Way” music video, and she even asked to have contact lenses that look like goat eyes.

2. Catherine O’Hara, Schitt’s Creek

In the beginning, Catherine O’Hara wasn’t sure how she wanted her character Moira Rose’s accent to sound. However, she did consider her as “someone who is learning a different word every day and tried to slip them into conversations as much as possible.”

The fact that the character traveled across the world in the past made this idea of an accent change even better, and she describes it as “oral mementos of her world travels.” The character picked up particular dialects, which was a way for her to hold onto the past regarding her travels.

3. Scarlett Johansson, Black Widow

Black Widow is a character who is full of mystery, and Johansson didn’t want her solo movie to be about her origin story. “I didn’t want it to feel superficial at all. I only wanted to do it if it actually fit where I was with that character. I had spent such a long time peeling those layers away — I felt that unless we got to something deep, then there was no reason to make it.”

The movie is about many difficult things, such as trauma and pain, and Johansson’s character, Natasha, is a brave and empowering character. She wanted to portray the character as human, not some “super-human” with no feelings. “By elevating the genre, I hope we can also talk about self-doubt and insecurity and shame and disappointment,” said the actress.

4. Emma Corrin, The Crown

Emma Corrin said she wanted to depict Princess Diana’s eating disorder, bulimia, in The Crown. The crew had been working on her body language in an honest way to show this eating disorder, otherwise, it would be offensive to people who have been through it. “I don’t think we should shy away from those conversations. Diana was very candid about her experience with bulimia, and I so admire that,” shared the actress.

5. Dwayne Johnson, Rampage

In the movie, Rampage, the gorilla, George, was initially supposed to die boldly, but The Rock (who was also the producer of the movie) said he wanted to change that. “I don’t like a sad ending. Life brings that — I don’t want it in my movies. When the credits roll, I want to feel great.”

However, the director, Brad Peyton, was more on the side of George dying in the end, as he expressed, “I was definitely on that side, that it was more earned thematically that George would die.”

6. Cate Blanchett, Ocean’s 8

Cate Blanchett played the character Lou in Ocean’s 8, and initially, the character was named after the actress herself. However, Blanchett didn’t agree with this and said, “Guys, this isn’t really appropriate anymore. I don’t think we should name the character after me.” The writers agreed and said it was a “fair point.” The actress and the character are both wise-cracking types, so the writers wanted to name them the same way, but Blanchett wanted some separation between them due to their differences.

7. Dacre Montgomery, Stranger Things

In the past, Montgomery talked about how he wanted the creators of the show, the Duffers, to humanize Billy a bit with his toxic father in season 2. Then, in season 3, the crew added Billy’s biological mother, and this showed the pain she gave him when she left. “Billy’s mother hadn’t really been explored last season, unlike his father, but I really wanted to get a glimpse of her. It’s a credit to the Duffers’ collaborative nature that they included it, and that they even let me pitch ideas,” said Montgomery.

What was your favorite movie or show from this list? Do you think it would’ve made a big difference if the actors hadn’t requested these changes?

Angelina Jolie has consistently used her platform to challenge societal norms and advocate for women’s rights. In a bold move, she recently addressed societal pressures on women’s bodies, emphasizing the importance of self-acceptance and challenging conventional beauty standards.