1.
In How the Grinch Stole Christmas, the Grinch was supposed to knock over everything on the table when he pulls the tablecloth. However, Jim Carrey accidentally performed the trick flawlessly, and everything stayed where it was on the table — this resulted in Carrey improvising pushing everything off.
2.
One of the most devastating moments for Walt in Breaking Bad was when he kidnapped Holly and she called out for her mom. This happened organically on set — the child actor was calling out for her real mother and Bryan Cranston just went with it. The episode’s writer, Moira Walley-Beckett, said, “What was extraordinary was that Bryan went with it. … It broke his heart wide open. It was more than I could ever have hoped for in the writing.”
3.
According to audio commentary for Scream, Skeet Ulrich didn’t mean to hit Matthew Lillard in the head when he slammed the phone down — the fake blood on his hand made it slip. Lillard then improvised his iconic line: “You fuckin’ hit me with the phone, dick!” Lillard’s reaction was so good, it was kept in.
4.
Joaquin Phoenix studied wild animals in captivity for his prison cell scene in The Master. Smashing the toilet wasn’t in the script; it was just a part of him going berserk. “I didn’t intend to break the thing,” Phoenix said. “I didn’t know that was possible.”
5.
In The Princess Diaries, Mia’s fall on the bleachers was completely accidental — Anne Hathaway really did fall (the bleachers were slippery because it had just rained) but it was so funny it was left in.
6.
In Stranger Things, the hilarious moment where Murray drops his eggs and looks at Jonathan to say “oops” suggestively was a happy accident — Brett Gelman dropped his eggs accidentally and just went with it.
7.
According to a story Jane Russell recounted in Blonde Heat: The Sizzling Screen Career of Marilyn Monroe, she was not supposed to fall in the pool during “Ain’t There Anyone Here for Love?” in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. One of the dancers, Ed Fury, accidentally pushed her in with his foot. He was then fired because he tried to claim co-choreographer credit for the mistake.
8.
The famous Midnight Cowboy scene where Rico slams his hands down on a taxi that almost hits him and yells “I’m walking here!” was the result of an accident. They didn’t have the money to create a full set with extras, so they used a “stolen shot” — using a hidden camera on a real street. At one point the characters cross the street — they had rehearsed and timed the dialogue so they could cross when the signal was green. But in the first shot, a car ran the light and almost hit them. Staying in character, Rico yelled, “I’m walking here!”
9.
One of Modern Family’s running jokes was the result of a happy accident — Ty Burrell actually tripped while going down the stairs in a Season 1 scene, and improvised, “Gotta fix that step!” The trip and ensuing line became one of the show’s longest-running gags.
10.
The Rocky training scene where Rocky is thrown an orange in the Italian market happened similarly — the passerby thought he was a real runner and really did throw him an orange. Sylvester Stallone caught it and went with it.
11.
Victoria Justice struggling to catch the mic in the Victorious opening credits was completely accidental — it was such a naturally funny moment, they kept it in.
12.
In Zoolander, Ben Stiller had actually forgotten his line after JP Prewitt explained why he was using male models, so he just repeated his last line again. The actor playing Prewitt, David Duchovny, ad-libbed a reply, and the exchange ended up in the film.
13.
Similarly, Dwayne’s iconic “baby, please!” line in A Different World was actually because Kadeem Hardison forgot his line — he was actually asking costar Jasmine Guy for help. It became one of the most quotable lines of the series.
14.
According to the documentary I Am Heath Ledger, the real reason Heath Ledger licked his lips so much as the Joker in The Dark Knight was to keep his makeup from coming off. It ended up becoming a signature part of his character.
15.
The moving scene in House of The Dragon when Viserys loses his crown and Daemon helps him was unscripted — his crown really did fall, and Matt Smith improvised around it.
16.
Costar Hank Azaria revealed that Robin Williams’ fall in The Birdcage was accidental. “If you watch that little piece of film again, you’ll see me laughing and Robin laughing. It’s one of those things that happens that you never really think they’re going to use, but I was so emotionally upset in the scene — I was supposed to be crying — that I just pretended that he was making me cry even more. But I was actually laughing.”
17.
In Cheech & Chong’s Up in Smoke, the dog that eats Chong’s burrito was a real stray that just wandered up and ate the burrito. It wasn’t in the script.
18.
The scene in Mrs. Doubtfire where Daniel sticks his face in a cake to avoid being recognized was planned — but the crew didn’t realize the heat from the lighting would melt the frosting, causing it to fall into Mrs. Sellner’s tea.
19.
Screenwriter Robert Towne revealed that John Huston genuinely mispronounced Gittes’ name while filming Chinatown, and that the director, Roman Polanski, decided to keep it in. “That was Roman as much as it was Huston,” Towne said.
20.
Similarly, in Clueless, Alicia Silverstone similarly came up with pronouncing “Haitians” that way. Well, sort of. She actually thought it was pronounced that way, and the director, Amy Heckerling, thought it was so funny that she declined to correct her.
21.
And in Schitt’s Creek, Catherine O’Hara called it “a joke or a mistake” the first time she pronounced the word “baby” as “bébé.” It become one of the most hilarious jokes in the series.
22.
In 1917, Schofield wasn’t supposed to fall — an extra ran into him, causing him to fall over. He got back up again and kept running. Screenwriter Krysty Wilson-Cairns said she screamed when he fell, and that it was like “watching your team mess up a field goal at the Super Bowl.” When George MacKay got up, director Sam Mendes yelled to keep filming, “and out of that came a sort of movie magic, I think, personally,” Wilson-Cairns said. “I’m obviously a little biased, but it’s one of my favorite scenes of the film.”
23.
The scene in Friends where Chandler bangs his head on the metal drawer (while cuffed in Rachel’s boss’ office) was accidental, and Jennifer Aniston’s reaction was real.
24.
Lamorne Morris also really did stub his toe in this New Girl scene where Winston and Schmidt circle each other like they’re about to fight. He and Max Greenfield hilariously improvised around it, with Schmidt claiming credit for Winston’s toe pain.
25.
The famous shot of Daniel Craig as James Bond walking out of the water in Casino Royale was not meant to happen. “It was actually by accident,” he said. “Where we filmed, off the Bahamas, it’s just one of those places where there is a sand shelf and the sand shelf happens to be three feet deep. Because the idea was, I was supposed to swim in and sort of float off, but I swim in and stand up. And it was just one of those things.”
26.
Calvin slicing open his hand in Django Unchained was accidental — DiCaprio actually sliced it, and kept going with the scene despite bleeding. It made the scene even more terrifying, and Calvin seem even more unhinged.
27.
And finally, this isn’t an actor mistake, but it’s so cool I had to include it. The swastika falling in Inglourious Basterds was accidental — the fire burned wayyy hotter than expected and caused it to fall.
What’s your favorite TV or movie mistake that ended up being awesome? Let us know in the comments!
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