For the most part, actors stick according to the script. Sure, there will be moments where they ad-lib or add additional detail to a scene based on their interpretation of the character they're playing as. But they're usually following what the script-writer gave them or the creative directions of the director. We happened to find a bunch of scenes where the actors were actually genuinely reacting to their situations rather than following a script. If you want to see what those scenes might be, just continue scrolling.
Dining Room Corpse In Rocky Horror Picture Show
This scene in Rocky Horror Picture show involved actor Tim Curry whipping the tablecloth off of the table at which the guests were dining. Waiting underneath was a surprise to all but Curry.
While all the actors were aware of the tablecloth bit, nobody had known that it would reveal a corpse. That's why everyone seems extra shocked in the film. If you watch it, you'll notice the diner on the right unphased by the removal of the cloth, but jumping a little upon seeing the body.
Gruber's Death In Die Hard
There are many times where an actor must actually be dropped from a height to enact falling. While they have safety measures to make this possible, falling is still innately scary to everyone.
That's why when Alan Rickman's character Gruber was supposed to be killed, the director decided the best thing to do was count to three, but drop him early. The look on his face is his true reaction to the thought of falling to his death.
Elf Jack-In-The-Box Scene
If you've ever played with a jack in the box, you'd know how stressful they can be. The suspense of not knowing when it's going to burst out is something quite akin to watching a horror movie.
That's why this scene worked so well in "Elf". and instead of leaving them to pop by random chance, all of the toys were remotely controlled by the director to pop out. Will Ferrel's reactions to this were truly genuine.
Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory Chocolate Room
It's no secret that children love candy. That's obviously what made "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" so exciting. But the director decided to do something that made this movie even more magical for its cast.
The children were not shown the chocolate room prior to going into it. So when they did eventually go in for the scene, their reactions to the place were ones of true bewilderment. Who wouldn't be amazed by a room full of edible everything?
The Chronicles Of Narnia's Narnia Reveal
The kids from the "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" movie weren't the only ones who were surprised by their set. The kids who starred in The Chronicles of Narnia were also surprised by the setting.
To get the best reactions to a place that is supposed to feel like another planet, it really is best to capture the actors' first impressions. So the kids in the movie weren't shown the set until it was actually time for them to appear there.
Campfire Scene In Easy Rider
It's pretty tough for an actor to depict the effects of drugs during a performance, especially when they have neither tried the drug themselves nor observed anybody under the influence of drugs.
That's why the director of "Easy Rider" decided that the best idea would be to allow them to try it out for themselves. That's why they did such a good job with this scene--they were really high
Biggus Dickus Scene In Monty Python's Life Of Brian
There is no shortage of innuendoes and wordplay jokes in the Monty Python movies. If you've ever seen one, you'd know that most of their parodic humour relies on these as well as some slapstick comedy.
The soldiers in the famous "Biggus Dickus" scene were not aware of what was about to happen. They were simply told not to laugh, but they couldn't hold themselves back when this scene was taking place.
Character Reveal At The End Of Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
The "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise is one of the most exciting stories to ever be told on screen. Even though it was based on a theme park ride at Disney, this series of movies have managed to capture the hearts of everyone who watches it. Apparently, that goes for the cast, as well.
According to the DVD commentary, at the end of "Dead Man's Chest", the actors were expecting to see the character Anamaria walk down the stairs. To their surprise, Captain Barbossa was revealed to be making a comeback, which was kept so secret that his actor wasn't even credited.
Back To The Future Part II Hanging Scene
Sometimes movie stunts can take a dangerous turn. That's what happened during the scene where Marty McFly gets hanged in the second part of "Back to the Future" trilogy. Michael J. Fox didn't do his own stunts, and it's hard to get a face shot of someone hanging without the actual actor doing the job.
In order to make it more real, they actually had him attempt to hang himself. They decided to remove his stand after the first two shots didn't look realistic enough. Although he attempted to keep his hands positioned carefully to not choke, this time he messed up and nearly hanged himself. He passed out and was saved and the movie got a realistic scene out of it.
Boyz N The Hood Gunshots
During the filming for "Boyz n the Hood, the actors frequently used guns that were either fake or had no ammunition inside of them. But during one particularly confrontational scene, things changed quite drastically.
The actors were given guns that would make realistic gunshots (most likely due to the use of blanks), and when people started shooting, everyone was genuinely scared and started to hide and run like anyone really would.
Exploding Warehouse In Fifth Element
When explosions happen in movies, you might think it's all special effects. During this particular scene of "Fifth Element", however, the pyrotechnics were certainly real, as Gary Oldman can tell you.
When the warehouse exploded in the movie, it was so large that it melted part of Gary Oldman's costume. No one mentioned its size to Tricky (the actor playing "Right Hand") who was seen in genuine shock when the explosion happened.
Close Encounter Of The Third Kind Cary Guffey's Acting
It's not always easy working with kids in movies. Many of them are unaware of the nuances needed to make a good performance on set. They are just children, after all, and may not be so interested in the creative process.
That's why Steven Spielberg needed to use toys and other crew members dressed as clowns in order to make actor Cary Guffey give the reactions that he wanted. The way Guffey acted in some scenes was actually his response to these gifts.
The Fugitive Interrogation Scene
Interrogations can be truly hectic and stress-inducing, so, in order to capture the feeling of a real interrogation, Harrison Ford was not given a script for this scene while playing as the framed Dr. Kimble.
He knew all the answers to the questions he'd be asked, but he had no idea what those questions would be. The interrogators really pushed him during this scene by arguing around in circles and using other tactics which made Ford genuinely frustrated and uplifted this scene.
Every Phone Call From Ghost Face In Scream
If you think about what it must be like to be in a horror movie, you might think that it's not as scary as the movie itself because you know it's not real. That doesn't necessarily help out the creep factor, though.
In "Scream", the actors were never introduced to the voice of the man on the phone, and anytime they would get a call they were actually speaking to him, which was really creepy because they had no idea what he'd be like.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Antagonist Reveal
Scream wasn't the only horror movie where the actors were unaware of the villain. In "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" director Tobe Hooper kept the antagonist's costume a secret from the cast.
So when he revealed himself to Allen Danziger's character, his scream was real. That's because he was unaware of what he should be looking for, so when the cue came he was scared out of his pants.
Sloth Lives In Se7en
People who are dead are supposed to stay dead. And when someone is supposed to be dead in a movie it's typically easier to use a stand-in or dummy of sorts instead of the actor trying to hold still.
David Fincher never told actor John C. McGinley that the Sloth was, in fact, still living, so he expected a dummy in place of an actor. When the actor for Sloth then revealed to be alive, his reaction was of pure shock because that would scare anybody.
Final Scene In The Graduate
After a rather intense scene where Benjamin breaks into Elaine's wedding only to run out with her, the two find themselves aboard a bus on a trip to anywhere-but-here.
After they sat down, they were still elated from the moment, but then their faces slowly drain away as the adrenaline from the escape dies down. This wasn't scripted, but rather the director chose not to tell them when they were going to make the cut, and their faces naturally faded creating a look of energy crash.
Pirate Ship Reveal In The Goonies
While the original cut didn't actually make it into film, we still thought to add this one to the list. Similar to other entries, the director thought it would make a good scene to keep the reveal of the pirate ship a secret until the scene was shot.
When they did finally see the sheer scope and scale of the ship, Josh Brolin shouted out "Holy s**t" in surprise. Because of this, the scene had to be reshot, but they were nonetheless shocked at every take.
Apocalypse Now Glass Breaking Scene
In the opening scene to "Apocalypse Now", Captain Benjamin Willard walks into his room and punches a mirror, shattering it and causing his hand to bleed. The mirror was not a prop and this was not part of the script.
It was actor Martin Sheen's 36th birthday, and he was on set heavily intoxicated. This actually made the scene rather good, as it perfectly portrayed Sheen's character. Still, the damage was real and wasn't an act.
Pretty Much All Of The Shining
In what is arguably the most iconic scene of any horror film ever made, Shelley Duvall was genuinely scared when her character's husband came crashing through the bathroom door with an ax in hand. But this scene isn't the only scene where Duvall is only partially acting.
Throughout the whole filming process, director Stanley Kubrick did what he could to keep her stressed like not complimenting her or making her repeat takes over and over to drive her insane. One scene actually held the Guinness record for most retakes for a scene with dialogue at 127 takes, but another scene in the film took 148!
The Blair Witch Project Forest Hunt
This film was iconic in the horror movie world for its attempt to seem real. Setting a standard for found footage films, this movie had actors carrying around the camera and promotional material for the film attempted to make the actors seem like they had actually gone missing.
In order to make it even more real, the actors were only provided a small outline of instructions for the movie, and this scene, in particular, was kept under wraps so that the cast wouldn't know what was going to happen. It really freaked them out.
Chestburster Scene in Alien
This is one of the most terrifying and iconic scenes in the "Alien" franchise and the horror movie scene in general. Actors were only told that an alien would make it's appearance, how or when.
When the scene happened, the actor for Kane suddenly started convulsing before the chestburster, well... burst through his chest. This unbelievable moment left the whole cast in shock as this was something they didn't expect.
Stranger Things Billy Fight Scene
In a scene from season 3, Eleven is fighting Billy who became possessed by The Mind Flayer. During this scene, Eleven was supposed to collapse into Michael from exhaustion.
As it turns out, the scene was a really tough one on the actress and it tired her out in general. Exhausted and crying, Elevens actress, Millie Bobby Brown, really ended up collapsing backward with Michael looking toward the directors in concern.
"It" Pennywise Reveal
The actors from "It" were not told about Bill Skarsgard's costume for the terrifying demon cloud. This way, they would have more genuine reactions to his reveal when they finally saw it.
Their first time seeing him was during a scene where they watch some old footage on a projector. Because they had never seen him before, these kids were truly terrified by what they were about to go up against.
Spiderman: Homecoming Car Scene
Before they started hanging out a whole bunch, Spiderman and Ironman weren't exactly the best of friends. That's part of what made their interactions so great. During a rather awkward encounter in the car, Peter hugs Tony not realizing he's just opening the door.
The thing here is that the hug was totally improvised by Ben Holland. Robert Downey Jr.'s response to the whole thing was meant to save the scene after this stunt and it just solidifies the whole thing.
Spiderman's Death In Avengers: Infinity War
This wasn't the only scene that Tom Holland improvised. Care to take a guess what it was? It was one of the more popular scenes from the movie that people talked about while leaving the theater.
The scene where Spiderman could feel his impending doom was unscripted and surprising. The way he acted during his death helped to make everyone's emotions feel so real.
Now You See Me Escape Trick
During a particularly suspenseful scene in "Now You See Me', Isla Fisher's character attempts to escape from a water tank while chained down. There's a reason this scene ended up so well.
Isla Fisher did her own stunts in this movie. During one of the takes, her chain got stuck and she actually started to drown. Because everyone thought it was part of the scene, she wasn't rescued for about 3 minutes, given plenty of real footage to work with.
The Haunting Of Hill House Car Scene
Victoria Pedretti as Nell was tasked with popping out of the back seat of a car to scare the living lights out of her character's sisters. She was able to do an amazing job with this simple trick.
She decided to pop out of the back seat earlier than anticipated. Even though they knew when she was supposed to come out, this trick caught them off guard and their genuine reactions were used for the scene.
Kevin's Performance In Riverdale
Actors Casey Cott and KJ Apa got together to add in an extra surprise to the performance. Completely out of left field, Kevin runs over and kisses Archie with everyone around watching.
Shocked, the other actors were a sea full of different faces that makes this part of the scene priceless. Surprises like these are always the best way to elicit genuine reactions from people for a scene.
Riverdale Ice Scene
During an intense scene where Cheryl nearly drowns, Archie comes to her rescue by punching through a sheet of ice to save her. You would think that they take extra precations to prevent injury.
Well, they did, yet somehow, despite there being a mat for cushioning, Archie's actor managed to break his hand in the process. He must have really been feeling the moment to end up doing that.
Joker's Single Tear In Joker
There's a scene in the Joker film where the Joker is making faces in the mirror. As creepy as it is, this scene has quite a bit of good acting piled into it. That single tear he shed was his own doing, not the script.
He hadn't heard any of the music to the movie until this scene. During it, he got to hear the music for the first time. This single tear was actually his reaction to hearing the music for the first time.
To All The Boys I've Loved Before Cellphone Lock Screen
This romantic film was full of so many good moments. Lara Jean and Peter Kavinsky are definitely relationship goals and this bit from the movie was definitely proof of that.
Upon first glance, Lara's lock screen seems to be an ordinary, yet sweet tribute to their relationship. As it turns out this wasn't a picture of the characters sleeping together, but a photo of the actors when they fell asleep for real on set.
Bird Box Blindfolds
This movie had people at the edge of their seats with all the anxiety-inducing suspense of Sandra Bullock not being able to take off her blindfold. As it turns out, that's exactly what made this movie so good.
During the entire shooting, Bullock was using a real blindfold that prevented her from doing anything easily. We guess that's what it takes to enact something like temporary blindness so genuinely.
Aurora's Playtime In Maleficent
Maleficent is definitely one scary lady. That's why the only child that was able to actually take on the role of Aurora was the child of Maleficent's actress, Angelina Jolie.
When you watch how they interact, you would think that this was perfectly staged to fit the narrative of the movie. But what was really happening was Jolie's daughter trying to grab her mom's attention. How sweet!
Crabb's Clapping In Harry Potter
It's easy to get carried away when there are people clapping. Heck, some of us have started clapping with the crowd when it's coming from the TV. Well, Malfoy didn't think Crabb should be applauding Gryfindor.
When he began to clap, Malfoy stopped the boy from doing so. While this seemed perfectly apt for the occasion, Crabb's actor honestly made a mistake and his dreaded looks are of him realizing he'd messed up.
Grey's Anatomy Kiss
"Grey's Anatomy" is no stranger to drama and over-the-top scenes. This one is one that was totally improvised and actually quite cool for a series that deals with a lot of drama.
In this scene, Jessica Capshaw improvised a kiss between herself and Camilla Luddington. She was only supposed to kiss Joe, but it was very in character for her role, and the look on Joe's face was amazing.
Steve Carrel's Goodbye On The Office
While the last episode of "The Office was definitely a hard one for the characters considering Michael was about to go away. But it was also equally hard for the actors to say goodbye as well.
In the scene at the airport, Pam rushes to say goodbye to Michael in an act that was totally from her own emotions. Carell's genuine surprise and heartfelt hug gave this scene a really touching ending.
Supernatural Extra Dialogue
In Supernatural, you often hear the main character, Dean, saying his famous catchphrase, "Son of a b***h". Because of his overuse of this, he decided it would be funny to add it in when it wasn't scripted.
This scene has him interacting with Jared Padalecki's character, who wasn't at all expecting the sudden outburst. He couldn't help but to bust out laughing and the director liked the scene so much that he decided to keep it.
Death Of Marshall's Father In How I Met Your Mother
Jason Segel was totally blindsided to find out that his character, Marshall, was about to be told of the loss of his father. This lack of information led to a genuine reaction from the actor.
Because they didn't tell him, all of his reactions from the scene were totally genuine, as he was jus as surprised as we were to find out the bad news. He really hit the mark this time around.
Friends Practical Joke
There is no shortage of hilarious scenes on "Friends". Considering its long running, it isn't not all that surprising that there would be some improvised scenes somewhere in the 10 season series.
In one episode, Ross and his son Ben run up the staircase around the corner with Rachel running after them. Then, he threw a dummy of himself down the stairs and, thinking he actually fell for real, caused Jennifer Aniston to scream wildly.
Good Will Hunting Therapy Scene
During a scene where Matt Damon's character goes in for a therapy session with Robin William's character, Williams tells Damon a made-up story about his character's wife's farting problem.
Apparently, the story was so funny that Matt Damon actually broke character and started laughing his brains out. Genuine laughter is always the best and most contagious laughter, so we're happy this worked out.
Pretty Woman Jewelry Box Scene
One of the most iconic scenes in this movie went completely unscripted. When Julia Roberts stuck her hand into the jewelry case that Richard Gere presented to her, he decided to prank her by closing the box on her hand.
We all know what it feels like when we expect something to happen and something totally different happens instead. Here, Roberts gets that same feeling and is unable to control her smile at this harmless joke.
Super Troopers Squawking Officer
Nobody expects their children to shout obscenities at them, but when they do it's a recipe for disaster. That's precisely what goes on in this scene from the movie "Super Troopers".
The husband and wife in the car that the officer pulled over are actually his real-life parents. They had no idea what he was about to say to them, only to bear witness to some of the most bizarre shoutings a man can produce.
Love's Sex Scenes
Most of the time, scenes depicting sexual intercourse are done in a way that the actors don't actually have any intimate relations with one another. This movie, however, was an exception.
Due to the movie's nature, they wanted to depict real scenes because the main character is one who is literally addicted to love. These real scenes helped to make that vision a reality and were shot live and in 3D.
El Topo Consummation Scene
Some scenes in movies are faked while others are faked in a way that feels very real. This one, while graphic, was certainly consensual, but it didn't feel consensual due to the nature of the contract and the actual scene itself.
While the actress in the scene where El Topo takes her for his muse, she was obviously told what would be happening. However, their contact with each other was limited and they were strictly enforced to not create a relationship to make the scene feel real. The director/actor himself even said of the scene "And I really… I really… I really raped her."