15 Movie Moments That Caught The Actors By Surprise
There are many instances in cinema history when an actor stars in a scene that even they didn't know about.
Whether it was accidental or intentional, these scenes caught their actors by surprise, allowing them to give a more believable reaction to something they didn't expect. But that isn't always a good thing, as the following list will show. So with that in mind, here are 15 movie moments the actors didn't know about.
WARNING: SPOILERS AND SENSITIVE CONTENT AHEAD!!!
15.Tony's Funeral — Avengers: Endgame
It's no secret that Marvel Studios is very secretive about its films and will do anything to prevent spoilers from leaking out. In fact, the filmmakers lied to plenty of their actors in Endgame when they said that Tony Stark's funeral was a wedding. So imagine the cast's reactions when they showed up on set, wondering where RDJ was at, and they heard the truth.
14.Chestburster Scene — Alien
13.The Hammerpede — Prometheus
In another Alien-related scene, Ridley Scott employed similar scare tactics while filming the prequel film Prometheus. In the movie, one of the scientists is killed when a snake-like creature slithers into his mouth. Later on, his fellow crew members find his corpse and are horrified when the alien shoots out of his mouth. The actors in this scene had no idea the body (a dummy attached to a wire) would suddenly move, so they were actually freaked out when it happened.
12.Barbossa's Return — Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest
11.Hans Falls — Die Hard
10.Projectile Vomit — The Exorcist
9.That Butter Scene — Last Tango in Paris
This scene and the way it was filmed are absolutely horrific and abusive. It would certainly not work today. In director Bernardo Bertolucci's film, Marlon Brando's Paul begins a sexual relationship with Maria Schneider's Jeanne. But there is a scene in which Paul violates her using a stick of butter as a lubricant. Schneider knew about the rape scene, but she didn't know that the butter would be involved until right before they started shooting. Schneider said she felt "humiliated" and "a little raped, both by Marlon and [Bertolucci]."
8.The Final Bird Attack — The Birds
7.That Iconic Ending — The Graduate
Embassy Pictures/United Artists / Via Gyfcat
One of the greatest endings in cinema history came in the 1967 film, The Graduate. After Benjamin crashes Elaine's wedding and flees with the bride, the couple sits on a bus, and their happy smiles slowly fade as they become uncertain about their future together. However, both actors weren't told to change their faces in any way when the scene was filmed. They just relaxed as the cameras kept rolling, as the director came up with the idea for this ending during shooting.
6.Pretty Much the Whole Movie — The Blair Witch Project
5.The Farting Wife — Good Will Hunting
4.Slamming the Box — Pretty Woman
Disney / Via Giphy
You may be surprised to hear that Pretty Woman's most iconic scene was actually just a prank on Julia Roberts. Before the scene was filmed, director Garry Marshall told Richard Gere to "wake her up a little" by slamming the box on her hand, and the shot of Roberts actually laughing has since become ingrained in everyone's memories.
