9 Surprising Movie Facts You Probably Didn’t Know

Film production is full of surprises. Some of the iconic movies we know and love could have looked entirely different if key roles had been cast with different actors. There are also unforgettable scenes that were completely improvised, making them even more impactful than if they had been scripted. Thanks to the creativity of producers, screenwriters, and even voice actors, the films we cherish today have become legendary and continue to inspire generations.

1. The author of the book wanted Henry Cavill to play Edward Cullen in Twilight.

The roles of both Bella and Edward were nearly taken by different actors. The author of The Twilight Saga had originally envisioned Henry Cavill, our beloved Superman, as the perfect choice for Edward. However, Cavill was too old to play the 17-year-old character, as he was already 24 when the movie was being made.

2. Emily Blunt and Anne Hathaway both cried while losing weight for The Devil Wears Prada.

At first, Anne had to gain weight, so she dieted on junk food, but later she was asked to lose 10 pounds. Her costume designer said: “This isn’t going to work. You have to fit into couture. Lose 10 pounds,” to which Hathaway said, “It was a nightmare. It took me about a month to gain it and 2 months to lose it!”

Emily was asked to lose weight, which left her sobbing. “I was thin for my height. I was basically stuck with fruit, vegetables, and fish. I wouldn’t recommend that. Emily Blunt and I would clutch at each other and cry because we were so hungry.”

3. Jennifer Lawrence dislocated a rib because she was hyperventilating on the set of Mother!

There was one scene in the movie where Jennifer came out with a dislocated rib after hyperventilating too much, so the production had to take a break for a while, and Jennifer was put on oxygen. “I have oxygen tubes in my nostrils, and Darren’s like, ’It was out of focus; we’ve got to do it again.’”

The crew set up a “happy place” for Jennifer, so she could manage the extreme material, it had gumballs and a TV playing the Kardashians. Although unusual, this helped her get focused until the next take.

4. James Corden could’ve played Charlie in The Whale

“I was going to play that part, and Tom Ford was going to direct.” James said that while he was on the verge of getting the part while, at the same time, he was also worried that he might be too young (44) to play this character compared to Brendan Fraser (54).

Not only that, but Corden also auditioned for Samwise from The Lord of the Rings trilogy when he was in his 20s. “Every single person in London auditioned for The Lord of The Rings. Everybody. And I auditioned for Samwise. I was doing the accent and everything! ’Mr. Frodo!’”

5. Some of the dinosaur noises in Jurassic Park are the sounds of tortoises mating.

The sound designer of Jurassic Park had a lot of work to do for this movie, as he had to come up with the many sounds that the dinosaurs make. The velociraptors actually weren’t noises from irritated animals, rather, they were the sounds of tortoises mating.

“It’s somewhat embarrassing, but when the raptors bark at each other to communicate, it’s actually a tortoise mating sound. I recorded that at Marine World...the people there said, ’Would you like to record these 2 tortoises that are mating?’ It sounded like a joke, because tortoises mating can take a long time. You’ve got to have plenty of time to sit around and watch and record them.”

6. Leonardo DiCaprio called his role in The Revenant the hardest performance of his career.

Each actor in the movie needed to have their timing perfect since the cameras were moving around constantly. It was also difficult because of the weather since it was a snow movie, and they had 7 feet of snow melt in a day. This resulted in the production shutting down a few times.

While he was diving in South Africa, there was a shark that almost ate DiCaprio. “A great white jumped into my cage when I was diving in South Africa. Half its body was in the cage, and it was snapping at me.”

7. Matthew McConaughey could’ve played Jack in Titanic.

Matthew and Kate Winslet first got recorded on video to see how they would look together on screen. After that, he got a hug from one of the crew members and thought that he had impressed them. “I really thought I got the part.”

However, he never got picked to play this role. It was given to Leonardo DiCaprio instead. This was because Leo had a more romantic, wholesome, charming, and charismatic look — which was what they were looking for in Jack Dawson.

8. The drowning scene in Kingsman wasn’t an act.

In the movie, when the new Kingsman recruits had their first night’s sleep interrupted by a splurge of water coming into their dorm, it all went wrong. The producer said that, during the scene, “I shouted ’action!’ and the computer got it wrong and vrrrrssshh, everyone was 20 feet down underwater. Cameras, sound guys. People were in waders full of water, panic, everyone diving in, and pulling people out.”

He said that “those actors weren’t acting. They were absolutely terrified. It was awful for the first day of filming.”

9. A real person inspired DreamWorks to create the image of Shrek.

Maurice Tillet, famously known as The French Angel, is believed to have inspired the character of Shrek. Born in 1903, he was a strikingly handsome child, earning him the nickname The Angel. However, at 17, he developed a rare condition that caused abnormal bone growth, significantly altering his appearance.

Remarkably, Tillet was highly intelligent and reportedly fluent in at least 16 languages.

While Stein’s original illustrations of Shrek bore little resemblance to Tillet, the final DreamWorks adaptation drew noticeable comparisons to his distinctive features.

Stay tuned and don’t miss our other article, where we’ve compiled even more fascinating facts about iconic movies — sure to surprise even the most hardcore fans!