14 Iconic Movie Moments That Caught The Actors By Surprise, And It Shows
Would it surprise you to learn that some of the most memorable movie scenes were never in the script?
Some of the most famous movie scenes ever filmed were not planned to look that way at all. A director changed the moment, a prop malfunctioned, or an actor was kept in the dark, and the result ended up becoming unforgettable.
That is what makes these scenes so fun to revisit, because the surprise on screen is often real. From superhero fare and horror classics to crime dramas and cult favorites, these moments show how a split-second reaction can become the thing audiences remember most.
Here are 14 iconic movie moments that caught the actors by surprise, and it really shows.
It is not uncommon for the film director to keep the actors in the dark about what’s going to happen next.
Silver Pictures / Warner Bros.1. Tony's Funeral — Avengers: Endgame
Marvel Studios is well-known for keeping its films under wraps and will go to great lengths to prevent spoilers from slipping out. In reality, when the producers told their actors that Tony Stark's burial was a wedding, they lied to many of them.
Imagine the cast's surprise when they arrived on stage, wondering where RDJ was, and were informed of the truth.
Marvel Studios / Via youtube.com2. The Hammerpede — Prometheus
While filming Prometheus, Ridley Scott employed fear techniques. One of the scientists is killed in the film when a snake-like creature slithers into his mouth and kills him.
His fellow crew members later discover his body and are shocked as the extraterrestrial shoots from his mouth. The actors in this scene had no idea that the body (a dummy hooked to a wire) would abruptly move, and they were genuinely startled when it did.
20th Century Studios / Via YouTube
3. Barbossa's Return - Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Davy Jones' pet Kraken destroyed the Black Pearl in the second Pirates film, taking Captain Jack Sparrow with it. It likewise ended with the remaining crew members encountering their old foe, Captain Barbossa, who had been miraculously revived.
However, the actors in the sequence were reportedly told that Anamaria, played by Zoe Saldana, would appear instead of Barbossa. So when Geoffrey Rush's character returned from the dead, the performers were as surprised as we were.
That kind of surprise can make a scene feel instantly bigger.
4. Hans Falls - Die Hard
Actor Alan Rickman was technically aware that his character, the wicked Hans Gruber, would die. It's just that stunt coordinator Charlie Picerni told Rickman that they would drop him on the count of "three," but Picerni insisted on dropping him on the count of "one."
As a result, Rickman's astonishment when he takes the leap was genuine.
5. Projectile Vomit - The Exorcist
When the possessed Regan sprays green vomit over Jason Miller's Father Karras in William Friedkin's horror classic, it's one of the most memorable scenes. But, unlike the other moments on our list, this one happened by chance.
The vomit was supposed to hit Karras's chest, but the secret device that fired it accidentally hit Miller's mouth, causing his disgusted reaction to become real. It also greatly angered him.
6. That Butter Scene — Last Tango in Paris
This scenario, as well as the way it was filmed, is horrifying and abusive. It would not function in today's world. Marlon Brando's Paul initiates a sexual relationship with Maria Schneider's Jeanne in director Bernardo Bertolucci's film.
However, there is a scene where Paul sexually assaults her while using a stick of butter as a lubricant. Schneider was aware of the rape scene, but she was unaware that butter would be used until just before filming began.
Schneider felt "humiliated" and "a little violated" by both Marlon and Bertolucci, she added.
United Artists / Via YouTube
7. The Final Bird Attack - The Birds
It's an understatement to say that Alfred Hitchcock was a jerk to Tippi Hedren on the set of The Birds. Hedren believes that the artificial birds that Hitchcock promised he would use during the scene where the birds nearly kill her character were substituted with real birds at the last minute.
Hedren was so badly injured that she had to rest for a week before shooting again, and Hitchcock is said to have done this to her because she turned down his sexual advances.
Some of these stories are a lot darker than the scenes themselves.
And speaking of surprises during filming, Ryan Gosling says his daughters added a funny twist to Project Hail Mary.
8. That Iconic Ending — The Graduate
The Graduate, a 1967 film, had one of the best endings in cinema history. The couple waits on a bus after Benjamin interrupts Elaine's wedding and departs with the bride, and their joyous smiles fade as they become unsure about their future together.
When the scene was filmed, however, neither performer was directed to modify their expressions in any way. They just relaxed as the cameras continued to roll, and the director came up with the ending idea while filming.
Embassy Pictures/United Artists / Via Gyfcat
9. The Whole Movie - The Blair Witch Project
The three main actors spent eight days in the woods with their cameras and no actual script. They just had a short overview of the film and some notes asking them to act a certain way during each day of filming for this horror film.
Overall, they had to make up their lines while out in the bush, and because they didn't have much food and the filmmakers startled them at night, their reactions became more genuine and horrifying.
10. The Farting Wife - Good Will Hunting
The humorous and emotional dialogues between Matt Damon and Robin Williams in this critically acclaimed drama film are adored by many. However, Williams improvised a scene in which both men discuss Sean's farting wife, and Damon couldn't help but laugh along with the rest of us.
Because even the cameraman was laughing while capturing this scene, the image was shaky. When even the film crew couldn't keep it together, you know Robin Williams is a comedy classic. Rest in peace, Robin...
Robin Williams had a way of turning a serious scene sideways.
11. Slamming the Box — Pretty Woman
You might be astonished to learn that Julia Roberts' most famous scene was actually a trick on her. Director Garry Marshall instructed Richard Gere to "wake her up a little" by smashing the box on her palm before filming the sequence, and the shot of Roberts truly smiling has since become entrenched in everyone's minds.
Disney / Via Giphy
12. Chrissie's Death - Jaws
Chrissie's terrible death at the start of Steven Spielberg's horror masterpiece is famous. And while the stunt lady portraying the unfortunate shark victim was aware that she would be pulled around in the water before dying, she had no idea when it would happen.
After filming the scene a few times, Spielberg had his team jerk on the harness she was wearing when she wasn't looking, causing her to feel terrified during the shot.
13. "Funny How?" - Goodfellas
This scene from Martin Scorsese's epic work, Goodfellas, will be familiar to any cinephile. However, you may not be aware that this scene was inspired by a real-life conversation Joe Pesci had with a mobster, which he shared with Scorsese, and the two agreed to include it in the film.
However, because it was not included in the shooting plan, the other performers, with the exception of Ray Liotta, were completely unaware that Pesci would deliver this monologue, and they were genuinely afraid of him while the sequence was being recorded.
That unscripted tension is exactly why the scene works so well.
I Am Your Father - The Empire Strikes Back
Everyone, even the cast of the film, was taken aback by this great moment in cinema. Almost the entire ensemble was kept in the dark about Darth Vader's fatherhood until the finished film was released. The filmmakers achieved this by having Vader's actor, David Prowse, claim that Obi-Wan killed Luke's father instead, with James Earl Jones later in the production dubbing the true speech. Irvin Kershner, George Lucas, and Mark Hamill were the only ones who knew the dialogue would be voiced over later, and they kept it a secret until the film's release.
Movie history loves a good secret.
Some directors believe that movies shouldn’t revolve around acting, but reacting. Introducing unexpected events helps them achieve the reactions they need to make the film work.
No matter how good of an actor you are, you can't fake true fear. We are glad that directors go through with such ideas because they make the movies more believable.
But somehow, we don’t think that all actors affected would agree…
Want more chaos with famous faces? Read about biggest stars who wanted the earth to swallow them whole.
