Iconic Movie Lines That Weren’t Scripted

From the creative minds of the actors and actresses in the production, impromptu lines appear that perfectly fit in with the rest of the movie, and since it strikes such a chord, the director usually decides to keep them in. Here’s a little secret: most of these unplanned lines become the most famous line in the film! Read on to find out about these 40 iconic movie lines that are not in the original script.

One of the iconic lines in the movie was, “You can’t handle the truth!” This happens when Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee (Tom Cruise) is questioning Colonel Nathan Jessup (Jack Nicholson) during the trial, and Kaffee says, “I want the truth.” In the script, Nicholson should have said the line, “You already have the truth!” However, he changed it to “You can’t handle the truth!” which we think is better than the original.

Sean Connery, playing Professor Henry Jones, ad-libbed the line: “She talks in her sleep,” as a response to being asked how he knew that Elsa was an ally to the Germans. When it was said while the film was being shot, everybody just fell on the floor in hysterics. Spielberg, the director, said, “Well, that’s in,” and staying true to his word, it survived the final cut, and sure enough, people loved it!

In one of the most famous scenes in the film, Voight and Hoffman are walking when Hoffman is almost hit by a cab. He hits the front of the cab and shouts, “Hey! I’m walkin’ here!”. Years later, Hoffman said in an interview that it was improvised. The actual footage was real—it was a low-budget production that didn’t hire any extras, so the actors had to film with radio mics to do the dialogue while walking on a real street on Sixth Avenue.

Moments before Han Solo gets frozen alive in carbonite, Princess Leia tells him that she loves him. “I know,” he responds. The original line was, “I love you too,” but Ford didn’t feel that it would fit his character. He approached George Lucas, who was supportive and said to Ford that he could say whatever he liked. When the camera started rolling, Ford said the words, “I know,” which remains iconic today.

In one of the scenes, a truck drives by John Malkovich, and a rowdy youth yells, “Hey Malkovich, think fast!” and hits a can at his head. They can hit the actor, who lets out a loud expletive. The truth is, the line was not on the script itself. It turns out that the extra in the scene was drunk, but thankfully not the one driving, and just decided to do it. The director loved the scene, and because of the candid reaction from Malkovich, he realized that he should keep it on the final cut.

The iconic scene is set in a tunnel, where Dr. Richard Kimble tries to appeal to Gerald, the US Marshal played by Jones, by saying, “I didn’t kill my wife.” According to the initial script, Jones was supposed to say, “That’s not my problem.” Jones instead said the very in-character response, “I don’t care.” Thanks to the improvised line, Tommy Lee Jones was able to win an Oscar Award.

Joe Pesci’s “Funny how?” moment is not in the actual script but was improvised. The scene takes place at a restaurant, with Henry and others listening to one of Tommy’s stories. As everyone laughs, Henry tells Tommy he’s a funny guy, which Tommy doesn’t take well. “Funny how? Do I amuse you?” As tension builds, Henry tries to explain himself, but Tommy keeps pushing him about it, asking if he sees him as a “clown.” The director loved the ad-lib and just went on with it.

Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) organizes to help a prostitute escape her pimp. As he locks himself up in his apartment, Bickle talks to himself in the mirror. De Niro deserves full credit for this performance—not just because of his acting but also because he came up with the iconic line “You talkin’ to me?” on the spot. The script itself had no lines for De Niro to recite, simply stating, “Bickle speaks to himself in the mirror.” De Niro came up with all the lines on his own.

Chief Martin Brody (Roy Schneider) speaks after the viewers get their best look yet at the terrifying, massive great white shark in the movie. Scheider famously added the line in himself, but it turns out he didn’t just think of it off the top of his head. Carl Gottlieb, who co-wrote the screenplay, revealed the story behind the iconic line. The producers were known to be stingy, and crew members were constantly asking them to get a bigger boat to carry the equipment and craft services. The line was so natural that they decided to retain it in the film.

Lee Ermey was technically hired as a technical advisor for the movie, as he has experience as a Parris Island Marine drill instructor. However, the director couldn’t find the right actor for the role, so he hired Ermey. It’s said that he improvised over half of the lines in the film.

This ad-lib took place in the scene where Paulie Gatto (Johnny Martino) double-crosses Vito Corleone. Peter Clemenza (Richard Castellano) and a henchman take Paulie outside the city, where he’s shot in the back of the head while Clemenza goes to pee. When Clemenza goes back to the car, he tells the henchman to “Leave the gun.” That line was in the script, but Castellano threw in the line, “Take the cannoli.” The director loved it and decided to keep it.

Hannibal Lecter, played by Anthony Hopkins, has minimal screen time with only 25 minutes of the 120 minutes run time. When he delivered his line, “I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti.” Lecter pauses, then makes a gross hissing sound. The hissing sound is not included in the script, but it made the movie more impactful. Hopkins is a talented actor who didn’t rehearse the sound yet fits well in the movie. With his performance, he earned an Academy Award for Best Actor. We say he deserves it!

Early in the movie Dr. Sean Maguire, played by Robin Williams, tells the story of how he met his wife, missing the sixth game of the 1975 World Series to have a drink with his future wife instead, saying, “Sorry guys, I gotta see about a girl.” At the end of the film, the character of Matt Damon, Will Hunting uses the same line in a handwritten note. Dr. Maguire was just supposed to stand in the doorway with a voiceover, but instead, he uttered, ”Son of a b*tch. He stole my line.”

His original reply was just a simple, “My name is Forrest Gump,” but Hanks decided to mimic Benjamin Blue; thus, the creation of “People call me Forrest Gump.” The director loved the improvised line so much and thought that it fits so well with the character.

However, as Batty’s replicant lifespan beats down to zero, he instead chooses to save Deckard. The original script was a long soliloquy, but the night before filming, Hauer altered his lines without telling director Ridley Scott. He added the phrase, “like tears in the rain,” which perfectly fits the movie and is considered the greatest line in sci-fi history.

According to the director, the whole scene was improvised, including Carey’s famous line, “most annoying sound in the world,” and the duo’s rendition of “Mockingbird.” Jim Carrey deserved a standing ovation in this performance!

When Nada, the drifter played by Roddy Piper, walks into a bank to eradicate some of the aliens hiding behind human masks, he says the classic line, “I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick a** … and I’m all out of bubblegum.” Piper later revealed that the director told him to say whatever he felt like. The line has been parodied countless times since.

With his iconic line, “You’ve got to remember that these are just simple farmers. These are people of the land. The common clay of the new West. You know—morons.” Wilder added the phrase, “You know—morons,” which adds humor to the line making the movie even funnier as a result.

There were so many changes while making the movie – one of them being Brando showing up on set far more overweight than he needed for the script. The director resorted to using close-up shots and loose, black clothing to hide Brando’s figure. Brando made up approximately 50 percent of the final lines heard in the movie, including his famous long monologue on the horrors of war.

Toward the end of the movie, Louis Tully, played by Rick Moranis, holds a party for many of his clients. According to director Ivan Reitman, the entire scene was ad-libbed. Reitman later revealed, “Rick just made all of it up as he was doing it.” In that case, we consider Moranis a genius!

It’s hard to imagine that there were scenes in the movies that were just improvised. Imagine DeCaprio coming up with the “king of the world” line all by himself. Well, he did—it was not in the original script. The actor said it when he got on the boat prior to the shoot. James Cameron was so enamored by the line that he insisted it should be on the script as a way to add a little carefree joy to the romance scene.

Humphrey Bogart said the famous line to Ingrid Bergman while teaching her how to play poker during an onset break. This was overheard by the director, who loved it. He went on to ask Bogart to say those words on set in front of the cameras.

John Belushi’s character, John “Bluto” Blutarsky, seems to be a lovable yet immature one, but the “I’m a zit” skit made his fans love the movie even more. It’s said that Belushi added it to make his character more endearing to the audience.

“And What Did That Produce? The Cuckoo Clock.” It’s good that the director, Carol Reed, chose to keep it in the movie. Adding those lines in a 1940s movie was a brave move, and the audience surely would clap more if they knew that Welles improvised that line.

Emily Blunt delivered this sarcastic line as part of a caustic phone conversation. Like many impromptu scenes, this line was inspired by an event Blunt witnessed off-set. She overheard a mom tell her child this and decided it worked for the script. What a funny back story with a marvelous result!

Because the movie has a lot of “guy talk.” The line, “Picture a girl who took a nosedive from the ugly tree,” might be immature for some, but it’s evocative—and it’s also an improvised line. It didn’t come about from the mind of a screenwriter but Matt Damon.

During the scene where Zoolander learns about the evil plot to use male models for political attacks, Ben Stiller forgot his line (in real life). Rather than call for a break, Stiller repeated the line as actor David Duchovny decided to stay in character. “You serious? I just told you that a moment ago.” It worked well. What genius actors!

To be honest, this classic line from Aliens wasn’t actually a part of the script despite being one of the most iconic lines in science fiction. However, James Cameron, the director, loved it and kept it in the film. Thank goodness he knows a good line when he hears one.

The thing is—that the waxing scene was not fake. Yes, what you see is what you get. Steve actually did the wax, and the pain that we watched on the screen is real. It just so happened he screamed Kelly Clarkson’s name when he was getting waxed on cam.

For the most part, the barbs and banter came included in the script thanks to J.K. Rowling and her co-screenwriters. However, one little line wasn’t meant to be part of the movie. When Malfoy told Harry (who had used a potion to look like Goyle) that he was surprised he could read, it was an ad-libbed insult the actor had made up. It worked well, so they kept it in.

Frozen was one of those animated movies that also added a spontaneous line from the cast thanks to Josh Gad, the voice of Olaf the snowman, who’s everybody’s best friend. “I’ve been impaled.” We wish there could be more of that in the future!

Who could ever forget the fake orgasm scene in the diner? At the time, it was a groundbreaking scene that brought sexuality to the forefront of popular culture. The line “I’ll have what she’s having” was a zinger that just had to be written by a great screenwriter, right? This joke was suggested by Billy Crystal, the actor who played Harry—and was immediately approved.

This scene involves two characters asking one another what tipped them off to the other being gay. The entire scene was all about teasing. All the jokes you hear during this scene are improvised by the two actors, Paul Rudd and Seth Rogen, who look like they had a lot of fun filming it.

Because of its big production, the movie was carefully planned. From the costumes, settings, prosthetics, characters, and of course, the script. The line, “I need a vacation,” wasn’t planned at all, though. This came out of Arnold Schwarzenegger and ended up making everyone chuckle enough to include it in the final cut.

The three lead actors were talented at adding realistic ad-libs to the script. Due to the large amount of improvisation they did during filming, all three leads got writing credits at the end of the movie. Nice one!

In the climax of The Avengers: Endgame, Thanos repeats his “I am inevitable” line from Avengers: Infinity War. However, Iron Man has tricked Thanos and says, “And I…am…Iron Man.” The line wasn’t in the original script for this film. In the original script, he remains speechless and snaps his fingers.

Holland explained in an interview that the lines he said in the scene were not in the original script. “A technique I do if I’m trying to cry is I’ll say a phrase over and over again,… In that scene, it was “I don’t wanna go,” and I just thought I would say it out loud. It’s really good in the film.” And he’s right. Bravo, Tom!

Murray also spoke about the Cinderella story. He said that in those days, he was able to do just about anything in front of the camera. He was in character, and he was wired to his character’s persona. He came up with the line to entertain the movie crew. It ended up entertaining everybody.

Matthew McConaughey’s character, David Wooderson, is known for his recognizable “alright… alright… alright,” delivered perfectly by McConaughey, inspired by Jim Morrison’s stage jesting on a live Doors album. Matthew said the inspiration came in between takes while listening to Morrison play.

This supernatural romance film was in part made with the improvised talent of the actors and actresses in the movie. Whoopi Goldberg altered her dialogue in the script to fit her persona. She revamped it to fit with her Whoopian style: “Molly, you in danger, girl!”