10 Facts About Iconic Movies That Can Take Any Hardcore Fan by Surprise

The highest-grossing movie of all-time is Avatar (2009) and the first superhero movie to ever be nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture was Black Panther (2018). These are general facts about films that a lot of us know about. However, some facts about famous films and even TV shows are a lot less talked about even though they might be even more fascinating. We collected a few of them here and we’re sure they could make your jaw drop!

1. Billy Zane wore a wig in Titanic.

We bet you could’ve never guessed that it’s not Billy Zane’s real hair we see in the legendary 1997 film. In real life, the actor is actually bald, but the director must’ve thought that Rose’s posh fiancé needed a healthy head of hair to be more convincing.

2. Margaret Atwood appeared in a brief scene in The Handmaid’s Tale.

Margaret Atwood, the author of The Handmaid’s Tale, had a cameo in the first episode. She played the role of an aunt. The scene was more of a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it appearance that lasted just seconds.

3. The Mummy prop that went wrong.

The cast and crew of The Mummy had to endure many troubles, including sandstorms and snakes, while shooting the action comedy in Morocco and the Sahara. Actor Brendan Fraser revealed the rope scene with his character Rick O’Connell caused more than trouble for him. The stunt team tied the rope so tight that it choked him before he passed out.

4. Jennifer Coolidge almost turned down her role in The White Lotus.

Though show creator Mike White wrote the role of Tanya with Coolidge in mind, she almost passed on the role, stating that she did not feel physically in shape.

5. The father’s sweater in Coraline is paying homage to something.

One interesting detail in the movie, Coraline, is that the girl’s father can be seen wearing a sweater from Michigan State University. This was a personal touch added by the producer, Bill Mechanic, who is a proud alum of Michigan State.

6. Carol from Friends was replaced.

Jane Sibbett played Carol in Friends from the start, popping up in 15 episodes total. But not everyone knows that Carol looked a little different in her first episode. Actually, the mother of Ben appeared in one of the episodes as actress Anita Barone.

7. Top Gun: Maverick is one of the sequels that has taken the longest to be released.

The second installment of Top Gun arrived 36 years after the first film’s release. This is one of the longest periods in cinema history between a movie’s premiere and its sequel.

8. It took Keira Knightley years of therapy to recover from Pirates of the Caribbean.

Keira Knightley was just 17 when she made her first appearance as Elizabeth Swann. Though she was young, she starred alongside the super famous Johnny Depp. All of a sudden, fame was hard for her to handle, and Knightley even shared later on that it took her many long years of therapy for her to be able to deal with the fame.

9. Iwan Rheon almost played John Snow on Game of Thrones.

Iwan Rheon, best known for his role as Ramsay Bolton, was almost cast in a very different role on the show. As unbelievable as it sounds, he originally auditioned for the part of Jon Snow.

10. Hugh Jackman could have played the role of Captain Jack Sparrow.

When creating the character of Captain Jack Sparrow, screenwriter Stuart Beattie had Hugh Jackman in mind. He named his fictional hero after the actor. However, he was not cast for the role. The reason is that back then he had been well-known in Australia but not yet internationally.

Bonus: Michael Jackson wanted to buy Marvel so he could act in Spider-Man.

Michael Jackson was really desperate to act in Spider-Man. He was genuinely interested in buying Marvel for that very reason. However, owning the company would never give him the part. To achieve that, he would also have to be the director. Anyway, he was unable to secure the rights to Marvel and we all saw the famous superhero played by Tobey Maguire.