Bruce Willis’ stunt double literally fell down the elevator shaft in Die Hard
One thrilling moment in Die Hard sees Bruce Willis’ John McClane precariously climb down an elevator shaft hanging off the strap of a machine gun, which then snaps and causes him to fall. Originally, McClane was meant to successfully climb down, but the stuntman fell for real (it wasn’t as far down as it looks), and it was decided this made the scene more exciting.
Jennifer Grey’s laugh and Patrick Swayze’s irritation are real in Dirty Dancing
A practice montage in Dirty Dancing sees Jennifer Grey’s Baby burst out laughing when Patrick Swayze’s Johnny runs his finger over her armpit as part of the dance routine. This was unplanned. Grey genuinely laughed because she was ticklish, and the tired frustration we see on Swayze’s face is also completely real.
Leonardo DiCaprio is really bleeding in Django Unchained
Leonardo DiCaprio gives probably his scariest performance in Django Unchained as Calvin Candie, and one of the film’s most sinister moments comes when Candie slams his hand down on a table, smashing a glass and cutting himself. What makes this all the more chilling is that it was completely unintentional; DiCaprio really did cut himself, but refused to break character and continued the scene.
Martin Sheen drunkenly smashes a mirror for real in Apocalypse Now
Early on in Vietnam war epic Apocalypse Now, we see Martin Sheen’s Captain Benjamin Willard drunkenly breaking down in his Saigon hotel room. Sheen, who was going through personal troubles of his own at the time, was indeed drunk for real whilst shooting this scene, and the moment where he punches a mirror and breaks it really happened, and was entirely unplanned.
Jane Russell wasn’t meant to fall in the pool in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
In Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Jane Russell performs the final moments of musical number Ain’t There Anyone Here for Love? by the side of a swimming pool, where she crouches down as a succession of men dive over her. One of these men accidentally clipped Russell, pushing her into the water. The filmmakers liked this so much they incorporated it into the scene’s choreography.
Ben Stiller genuinely forgot his line in Zoolander’s “But why male models?” scene
The title character Zoolander is a bit dim, as demonstrated when – following a lengthy explanation from David Duchovny of a nefarious plot involving male models – he asks a second time, “But why male models?” As in-character as this seems, it wasn’t planned. Ben Stiller repeated the line as he’d forgotten what he was meant to say, and Duchovny’s bewildered “Are you serious?” response was ad-libbed.
Cary Elwes really is knocked out by Christopher Guest in The Princess Bride
In The Princess Bride, when Cary Elwes’ Westley meets Christopher Guest’s Count Rugen, the villain ends up knocking him cold by bashing him on the head with the hilt of his sword. This scene played out a lot more real than intended. Elwes told Guest to hit him for real, and with the sword heavier than either man realised, Elwes was genuinely knocked out.
Joaquin Phoenix really smashes a toilet in The Master
In The Master, when Joaquin Phoenix’s Freddie is thrown in a jail cell alongside Philip Seymour Hoffman’s Lancaster Dodd, he throws a huge tantrum, in the course of which he kicks and smashes the toilet. This wasn’t meant to happen: it was a genuine vintage porcelain toilet, not a prop, and Phoenix had not meant to break it.
The Usual Suspects cast are really laughing in the line-up scene
In the iconic line-up scene of The Usual Suspects, the five central criminals find it difficult to keep a straight face. The scene wasn’t originally meant to play out this way, but the actors were genuinely struggling not to burst out laughing, in large part because Benicio del Toro couldn’t stop breaking wind.
Forest Whitaker really falls down a hill in Platoon
When we first seen Forest Whitaker’s Big Harold in the opening moments of Vietnam war drama Platoon, he slips and falls down a hill. This was a genuine accident: Whitaker hadn’t been directed to fall. Director Oliver Stone chose to keep it in the film, feeling it added a dash of reality, as such mishaps could genuinely happen during warfare in such treacherous terrain.
