The Top 5 Improvised Movie Moments You Never Knew About

1. Shaun of the Dead (2004)

The script to this is good, but the improv was even better. The famous “ex-pornstar” rant from Nick Frost’s character was completely made up on the spot. The only reason they thought about cutting it was because Simon Pegg was laughing too hard during the scene.

2. Saving Private Ryan (1998)

Everyone knew Matt Damon and Tom Hanks would have great chemistry. This was proven when Matt Damon gave a heart-felt memory about him and his three deceased brothers all fighting over a girl. Do you remember the scene? Hopefully, it was amazing. Damon made up the whole thing; Hanks later told Damon that THAT was the moment he realized how great of an actor Damon could be.

3. The Dark Knight (2008)

No one can forget Heath Ledger’s impeccable performance as the Joker. The insanely famous question “How bout a magic trick?” still gives me chills. The amazing thing is that none of this was in the script. The extra that Ledger was addressing just went along with it, and then Ledger threw his head into a propped up pencil, ultimately killing the dispensable actor and consequently his career. Director Christopher Nolan loved the organic scene so much he kept it in the final production.

4. Anchorman 2 (2013)

What’s shocking is that not a single actor followed the script. Why? Because there was none! The producers rented out an 80’s looking newsroom and let Will Ferrell, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, and Dave Koechner just do whatever they wanted. You may doubt this from the expert level of production in the final news crew battle featuring a Minotaur. But again, all the scenes were improvised. Yes, even the sequence where Ron went blind and raised a shark…it was just luck that it tied to the plot so well!

5. The Lion King (1994)

Perhaps one of the most tragic scenes in movie history is when Mufasa falls in the stampede of wildebeests. This made me cry, question everything in my life, and ultimately never leave the grieving state of denial. What’s really funny is that Mufasa actually lands on his feet (cat law) and runs with the Wildebeests until they calm down outside the canyon. He assimilates to their herd so his son can become independent.* The artists just never included the resolution because Mufasa improvised his death so well it felt wrong to have him come back (on screen).

* The lion Simba finds was actually Mufasa’s twin brother, Larry, who died of food poisoning a week earlier in that same canyon.