10 Off-Script Movie Mishaps That Still Made It to the Final Cuts

Cool movie scenes can fool you. You might think they were all carefully planned and directed, but sometimes, that's not the case at all. It's actually surprising how some of the best and most iconic movie moments are just happy accidents that the filmmakers decided to keep on purpose.

Nightcrawler — Broken Mirror

In Nightcrawler, there's a particularly intense scene where Jake Gyllenhaal 's character, Lou, screams at himself in a mirror. This scene turned out to be more realistic than planned.

Gyllenhaal, who lost 20 pounds for the role to embody the character's hungry, coyote-like persona, got so engrossed in this improvised scene that he accidentally broke the mirror, resulting in cutting his hand.

Django Unchained — Candie's Bloody Hand

In Django Unchained, Leonardo DiCaprio 's performance as the slave owner Calvin Candie is unforgettable, especially in a scene where his character slams his hand on a table, breaking a glass.

What makes this scene remarkable is that DiCaprio accidentally injured himself during the take, slicing his hand open. However, he continued the scene despite the injury. This unscripted moment, with DiCaprio's genuine blood, was kept in the final cut of the film.

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers — Aragorn’s Broken Toe

In a scene from The Two Towers, Viggo Mortensen, who played Aragorn, kicks a helmet in a moment of anger and hopelessness. Director Peter Jackson had Mortensen repeat this action several times for the perfect take.

On the final attempt, Mortensen kicked the helmet so hard that he actually broke his toe. The pain and frustration he displayed were real, and this take was so impactful that it was the one included in the film.

Guardians of the Galaxy — Star-Lord Dropping the Infinity Stone

Chris Pratt, aka Star-Lord from Guardians of the Galaxy, is the king of being effortlessly cool and a bit clumsy. In one scene, Star-Lord is holding the Orb with Infinity Stone inside of it.

But, whoops, Pratt accidentally drops it. Instead of cutting, Pratt just picks it up and carries on like nothing happened. This wasn't scripted, but the director, James Gunn, loved it so much that he kept it in the movie.

The Godfather — The Cat

In The Godfather, there's a scene where Marlon Brando, playing Vito Corleone, is calmly stroking a cat while discussing some pretty heavy mob business. Turns out, this feline wasn't even supposed to be in the movie.

Director Francis Ford Coppola found the cat wandering around the studio and gave it to Brando to hold. The cat was so into its moment of fame that it purred super loudly, drowning out some of Brando's lines.

The Princess Bride — Westley’s Knocked Unconscious

In The Princess Bride, there's a scene where Westley, played by Cary Elwes, gets knocked out by Count Rugen. Well, Elwes actually got knocked out for real.

Christopher Guest, who played Rugen, was trying to be gentle, but he accidentally hit Elwes with a metal sword. They had to rush Elwes to the hospital, and the take where he got knocked out was the one they ended up using in the movie.

Foxcatcher — Head Through a Wall

In Foxcatcher, we have Channing Tatum really getting into his character, Mark Schultz. In a scene where he's supposed to headbutt a mirror, Tatum took his method acting to a whole new level.

He not only shattered the prop mirror but also put his head through the wall behind it. Despite cutting himself, Tatum didn’t break character, adding realism to the scene. This intense moment wasn’t scripted, but it was so powerful that it remained in the final cut of the film .

Blade Runner — Pris's Shattered Elbow

In Blade Runner, there's a golden blooper involving none other than Harrison Ford, reprising his role as Rick Deckard. In a scene with Ryan Gosling, Ford was supposed to throw a fake punch.

But he accidentally landed a real one on Gosling. Gosling later joked about it, saying it was kind of cool to get punched by Indiana Jones himself.

The Usual Suspects — Fenster’s Farts

The Usual Suspects, known for its intense drama and plot twists, had a hilarious, unplanned moment during the famous lineup scene. Benicio Del Toro, unable to control a bout of flatulence, had the rest of the cast struggling to keep a straight face for twelve different takes.

This unexpected moment of levity was not part of the script, but director Bryan Singer decided to keep it in the movie. It not only lightened the mood on set but also made it a memorable and unexpectedly funny part of the film.

The Hateful Eight — Precious Antique Destroyed

In one scene of Quentin Tarantino 's The Hateful Eight, Kurt Russell's character unknowingly smashes a genuine antique guitar instead of a prop. The guitar, a priceless piece from the 1800s, was meant to be switched with a replica for the destruction scene.

However, the swap never happened, and Russell ended up destroying the original by mistake. This costly error was kept in the final cut, making the scene painfully authentic.