8 Famous Movie Moments That Weren’t In the Original Script

Major Hollywood film making requires a significant amount of planning. Given the high budgets, production deadlines, and the hours spent shooting the same take over and over again, actors generally have little leeway to adlib or react in a way that differs from how the scene is described in the original script. However, there are some situations in which an actor’s decision to go off script results in something brilliant and memorable. With that in mind, check out this list of 8 times when an improvised moment made its way into the movie.

1. Harrison Ford in Star Wars Episode II: The Empire Strikes Back

Near the end of The Empire Strikes Back when Han Solo (Ford) surrenders to the Empire and is about to be frozen in carbonite, Princess Leia (Carry Fisher) reveals her feelings for him, saying, “I love you.” In the original script, Solo responds with, “I love you, too.” However, Ford realized saying this would have been completely out of character, which is why he adlibbed an emotional “I know.” It’s regarded as one of the most beautifully improvised moments in cinema history.

2. Jim Carrey in Dumb and Dumber

In the van scene where Lloyd Christmas (Carrey) and Harry Dunne (Jeff Daniels) make Joe Mentalino (Mike Starr) miserable when the pair play a rowdy game of “you’re it” as he’s sandwiched between them, Lloyd asks, “Do you want to hear the most annoying sound in the world?” Before Mentalino has a chance to say “No,” Carrey’s character lets out an ear-piercing shriek that he thought up on the spot. Daniel’s surprised response was completely natural.

3. Dustin Hoffman in Midnight Cowboy

Midnight Cowboy generated a lot of controversy when it became the first X-rated movie to hit mainstream theaters. It even won the Oscar for Best Picture in 1969, and to this day is the only X-rated movie to ever do that. In a scene where Joe Buck (Jon Voight) and Ratso Rizzo (Hoffman) are walking across a busy Manhattan street, Hoffman is nearly hit by an actual taxi. He pounds the hood of the car with his fist and scolds the driver, “Hey! I’m walking here! I’m walking here!” Contrary to popular belief, the original shot wasn’t included in the movie, but Director John Schlesinger liked Hoffman’s reaction so much that he added it to the script. They put an extra into the taxi and filmed it a few more times until they had the scene they wanted.