The task of a actor is to recite the lines written in the script but the history of cinema shows that this has not always been the case. Sometimes the lines were changed by the director, the producer, the screenwriter. Other times it was the actors themselves who refused. Here are five actors who said ‘no’.
All Star Wars fans know an iconic moment from the saga. Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) tells Han Solo (Harrison Ford) who loves him, and he doesn’t respond ‘I love you too’ but ‘I know’. This is a famous response and was improvised by Ford. The scene, however, was completely different. Leia had to tell Han:“I love you, I didn’t tell you before but it’s true” and Solo should have responded coldly:“Remember that, because I’ll be back”. However, Ford rewrote the scene in agreement with the director and changed the answer, which became one of the most famous in the history of cinema.
Christopher Lee was furious on the set of The Lord of the Rings, in whose saga he is famous for playing Saruman, as well as playing the role of Count Dooku in Star Wars. Christopher Lee he is also famous for having lent the face of another count, Dracula, in the 1958 film. He managed to instill fear without saying a word but his silence was not initially expected. The reason? Lee hated the script and thought it was surreal. The actor advised Hammer to use Stoker’s words but in the end they simply opted for a silent character.
Hattie McDaniel she is mainly known for her role as Mami in Gone with the Wind and for being the first African-American actress to win the Oscar. In the film, although it was widely present in the original work, the N-word was eliminated and the reason can be attributed to the actress, who refused to pronounce it:“I persuaded the directors several times and they readily accepted the suggestion”.
Unforgettable, for MCU fans also a joke of Robert Downey Jr. who in The Avengers, made his own Tony Stark say:“Have we ever tried shawarma [piatto tipico turco]?” instead of saying “What’s next?”. The reason? Downey Jr., who won his first Academy Award a few weeks ago, felt the joke wasn’t punchy enough. In the end, Robert Redford in The Way We Were by Sydney Pollack, alongside Barbra Streisand. The film features a series of intimate scenes between the two leads, and Redford disputed the line:“It’ll be better this time”, in reference to his performance between the sheets. According to the actor, it was hardly believable that his character could be an underperformer in bed.
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