12 Actors Who Made Small Changes to the Script and the Result Was Much Better

Actors are usually told to stick to the script and do their best in bringing their character to life. However, sometimes they get deep in their characters and discover something new that they feel it would be best to say or do. Or they feel like their character could have different hair or a slightly different attitude. And sometimes their proposals and ideas are accepted and the result is wonderful.

Now I’ve Seen Everything has 12 tremendous revelations that will show you how actors need to have freedom when it comes to playing and creating their movie roles.

1. Chris Hemsworth asked to change Thor’s attitude a little bit.

Chris Hemsworth has played Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since its first installment in 2011. However, before taking on the Norse God’s third adventure in Thor: Ragnarok, the actor said, “I was pretty bored with myself as the character.... so we said, ’Let’s do something different’”. In this way, director Taika Waititi allowed him to play a more fun and spontaneous character.

2. Emma Watson refused to wear a corset on the set of Beauty and the Beast.

Emma Watson decided to make her character more active and mobile. The actress refused to wear corsets while shooting the flick to let Belle easily ride a horse and dance. Her costumes were all light and beautiful, and they weren’t too tight on the waist, never hindering her character’s movements.

3. Gerard Butler wasn’t supposed to scream the phrase, “This is Sparta!”

The scream of King Leonidas, “This is Sparta!” was not actually in the plan of the scene. According to the director, Butler was supposed to whisper those words. The actor asked for another take. His scream almost made everyone on the set laugh, but the director liked it. This is how an unplanned take stayed in the movie.

4. Dacre Montogmery proposed ideas to make Billy more human in Stranger Things.

Dacre Montgomery played the despicable Billy in seasons 2 and 3 of Stranger Things. To round up his character, the actor proposed to the Duffer brothers to highlight his past and what the absence of his biological mother made him feel. The suggestion was accepted and was part of the narrative in the third season of the series.

5. Angelina Jolie rewrote the ending of the movie Wanted.

Angelina wanted to exclude any possibility of her participation in the sequel to the thriller Wanted which is why she insisted that her heroine dies at the end of the film. Timur Bekmambetov wasn’t ready to lose her in the first film, and that’s why he agreed to comply with Jolie’s request.

6. Jason Isaacs changed the appearance of his character, Lucius Malfoy.

Initially, the costume designers of Harry Potter chose a striped suit and a black-and-white wig for Lucius Malfoy. The actor, Jason Isaacs, refused this look and offered to replace it with a wizard’s gown and long, white hair.

Later, the actor confessed that he was trying to keep the hair as straight as possible and that’s why he was always throwing his head back. This added arrogance to his character, which became an integral part of Lucius Malfoy.

7. Michelle Rodriguez was fighting for her heroine’s fidelity.

According to the original version of the plot of Fast & Furious, Letty was supposed to betray Dominic, but the actress Michelle Rodriguez was perturbed by this plot. The celebrity was ready to refuse the role if they wouldn’t agree to change the plot. They finally decided to agree to Michelle’s’ request.

8. Meryl Streep wanted her character to look more human.

Meryl Streep insisted that scenes with a focus on more than her character’s professional achievements and bad temper be added to the script. For example, one of these scenes was where Andy entered Miranda’s room and found her crying because her husband had asked for a divorce. “I wanted a scene where she is without her armor, the unpeeled scene in the hotel room — just to see that face without its protective glaze, to glimpse at the woman in the businesswoman,” Streep said during an interview with Variety magazine.

9. Robert Downey Jr. changed the lines of the ending of the original Avengers movie.

In the original movie finale, Iron Man, after fighting the Chitauri and falling to Earth, was supposed to awaken with a start and ask, “What’s next?” But Robert Downey Jr. felt that the line sounded somehow unconvincing, and offered to fine-tune the script a bit. According to Joss Whedon, 3 pages of different options appeared in the script instead of just one line.

As a result, Tony Stark said, “Please tell me nobody tried to kiss me.” And then he invited other characters to hit up a good shawarma restaurant he knew in the neighborhood. This was how the famous scene was created where the Avengers silently gobbled up that shawarma.

10. It was David Schwimmer who came up with the slip of the tongue, “I Ross, take thee, Rachel.”

Many of us remember the mistake Ross made during his wedding with Emily. The scriptwriters were racking their brains about how to finish the fourth season. David Schwimmer helped them. In one of the episodes, the actor replaced the name Emily with Rachel, saying, “Rachel, the taxi’s here.” The series creators liked this mistake so much that they reproduced it in the final episode of the season, in the legendary wedding scene.

11. Crispin Glover preferred his villain to be a mute in Charlie’s Angels because he didn’t like his dialogue.

Crispin Glover played the villain in the sequel to the remake of Charlie’s Angels. He had initially turned down the role, claiming that his character’s dialogue was too bad. Later, he suggested that he should be a mute villain. Director McG agreed, and Glover was part of a movie without saying a single line.

12. Samuel L. Jackson insisted on changing his character’s hairstyle.

According to the original script, Jules was supposed to have an afro that would contrast with the sleek hair of his colleague, Vincent (John Travolta). But Quentin Tarantino’s assistant misunderstood the task and bought the wig that we eventually saw on-screen. The fact is, Samuel L. Jackson liked the wig’s style and insisted on changing the look of his character, even though Tarantino was initially against it.

Do you think that actors should have the freedom to make their own decisions about their characters? Or should they stay on the script exactly as it was written?