Iconic Hollywood Moments Improvised:
It takes a lot of brain-storming in the writer’s team to make dialogue or a scene not only famous but iconic. But unlike popular beliefs, not all actors conform to the given scripts. Legends improvise their dialogues and scenes that end up being famous for generations. We have enlisted some of the well-known and most discussed movie scenes that were unscripted.
1. The Silence Of The Lambs
“The Hiss”
How are the most blood-curling moments in Hollywood’s history improvised? Even this famous hiss of Hannibal was not a part of the script. Anthony Hopkins is best known as the cannibal Dr. Hannibal from the classic horror, The Silence Of The Lambs. He left a strong impact in the twenty-minute scene and took home an Academy Award for it. This creepy hiss was thought by the actor on the spot to scare actress, Jodie Foster. Well, it worked well on the audience as well.
2. The Dark Knight
“Slow Clapping”
Heath Ledger gave us the Joker who is to be remembered for generations to come. The late actor could get deep in the character and forget himself. He set the bar so high that it’s next to impossible even for the most talented actors to fill his shoes. One of the many hard-hitting moments was when Joker clapped and gave a viciously cold expression. This unsettling scene was improvised by the actor. Only legends can improvise moments that become iconic.
3. Taxi Driver
“You Talking To Me?”
If we asked everyone to raise their hands if they haven’t used this phrase, we bet there will be none. This widely used phrase was said by Robert De Niro in Taxi Driver. What’s more interesting is that such a famous dialogue was ad libed and it blended well with the sociopathic character.
4. The Shining
“Here’s Johnny”
Such a famous yet spine-chilling phrase from one of the scariest thrillers that Hollywood has ever seen. No one but only the rare talent, Jack Nicholson could do justice to this human form of evil with his wicked expressions. The part where the mother and son frantically try to hide from the insane father, the latter suddenly emerges and announces himself as “Here’s Johnny!”. Who knew that this ad-libed dialogue inspired by the Johnny Carson Show would end up giving chills to the world.
5. The Godfather
“The Cat”
The calm and cold style approached by the head of a mob family while sentencing a man to be beaten up exhibited his merciless nature. Marlon Brando’s Vito Corleone stroking a cat calmly while deciding a man’s fate looked nothing less than the devil. The cat that became significant to give the dramatic effect was not even in the script. It was found by Brando, astray on the sets, right before the shoot.
Even the cat seemed to have enjoyed it so much that its loud purr had to be edited out.
6. Raiders Of The Lost Ark
“Sword Vs. Gun Scene
It was unlikely of Indiana Jones to not get into a tussle with his whip and end it immediately with a gunshot. His battle with the robe man was planned to be a big and extended one but it had to be cut short as Harrison Ford got food poisoning. So, the modified scene had Indiana Jones pull out his gun and shoots the man with his usual swag. This scene did well for both Indiana and the audience.
7. Good Will Hunting
“Farting Wife”
When Matt Damon’s therapist played by Robin Williams shared a personal story to break the ice, it sent both Matt and the audience into light bursts of laughter. Though it seemed like the thoroughly spoken story was scripted, it was made up by Williams on the spot while the camera was rolling. Taken by surprise, Damon broke into genuine laughter.
8. Dumb & Dumber
“Annoying Sound”
Jim Carrey is a natural comedian who doesn’t need prior practice to act wild and hilarious. In this classic comedy, the part where the duo had to start an annoying argument over jelly beans as per the script, the actors knew better of their characters and adopted a different route by making the annoying sound that became a huge success.
9. Shaun of the Dead
“Ed in Pub”
This comedy went to become so huge that it became a cult classic. In one scene when Nick Frost was cheering up Shaun with random stories, the laugh we see on the latter was 100% real as half of the stories were made up on the spot. Even the p*rnstar story was not in the script.
10. Tootsie
Title
Dustin Hoffman did an incredible job in this Academy Award winner as a struggling actor who disguised himself as a woman. This title of the movie was taken from Dustin’s nickname used by his mother. When he was a baby, she used to call at him as “ How’s my tootsie wootsie?”
