Top 10 Times Actors Were Pranked Live on Camera
#10: Elijah Wood
Apparently, actor Dominic Monaghan shares a thing or two in common with the rascally hobbit he plays. During the Berlin leg of the press tour for “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,” Monaghan conducted an interview with co-star Elijah Wood via satellite. Only Wood didn’t know it was his co-star. Monaghan put on a German accent to portray ‘Hans Jensen’, an interviewer who doesn’t seem to do much research and asks some fairly inappropriate questions. The interview, which was filmed as a DVD extra, is a hilarious look at the camaraderie the actors built on set.
#9: Emily Blunt
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Sometimes, it seemed like Ellen DeGeneres was more interested in scaring the hell out of her guests than talking with them. During Emily Blunt’s 2015 appearance, Ellen decided to celebrate the fact that the British actress had become an American citizen with some patriotic songs. Wow, Ellen, that’s so nice. Surely, there’s no ulterior motive here. After making Blunt dress up as the Statue of Liberty and sing “Yankee Doodle Dandy” for her studio audience, Ellen watches with wicked glee as a man in an Uncle Sam costume comes out and scares the actress. Even in a state of panic and terror though, Emily Blunt is eminently dignified.
#8: “Game of Thrones” Extras
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It’s gotta be hard enough to be an extra on a show as elaborately-designed and dramatic as “Game of Thrones.” One wrong move or distracting facial expression and you’ve probably ruined the shot. While filming this very serious trial scene during the show’s fourth season, Peter Dinklage and Nicolaj Coster-Waldau surprised the extras and crew by doing a jaunty little dance. Their fellow actors loved it. We guess when they’re making a show this solemn, the actors have to let off some steam somehow. Actress Emilia Clarke also got in on the fun, pranking actor Joe Naufahu as he slept.
#7: Rose Leslie
This one is yet another prank between “Game of Thrones” actors. This time, between Jon Snow actor Kit Harington and now-wife Rose Leslie, who played Ygritte on the show. On April Fools Day, Harington hid a cast of his own severed head in the fridge to scare his intended. Her priceless reaction is one of genuine terror. Apparently, it scared her so badly, she warned Harington that if he ever did something like that again, he could consider himself single. Frankly, that’d be the least of our worries. We’ve seen what she can do with a bow and arrow.
#6: Shemar Moore
Even after a decade playing FBI agent Derek Morgan, Shemar Moore still couldn’t suss out that he was the victim of an on-set prank. When Moore mistakenly shaved his goatee before filming for the current episode was over, it created continuity problems between scenes. The crew decided to get him back by telling him he would have to wear green dots on his jaw and cheeks so they could digitally add the goatee back in. This was a lie. The crew upped the ante by adding big green lines on his face later in the day. It wasn't until his co-star broke down laughing that he realized he’d been had. His seriousness and professionalism is what makes it even funnier.
#5: Annie Murphy
When “Schitt’s Creek” star Annie Murphy had her first talk show appearance, co-stars Dan and Eugene Levy pranked her backstage. A writer for “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” went into her dressing room and pretended to be her personal assistant for the day, while the Levys fed her awkward lines through an earpiece. The unsuspecting Murphy manages not to squirm too much while the writer repeats her co-stars’ increasingly unusual requests. But when the Levys reveal themselves, it’s basically a love fest. There’s something so satisfying in knowing that they’re as charismatic in real life as they are on-screen.
#4: Benedict Cumberbatch
Benedict Cumberbatch and fellow co-stars of “Star Trek: Into Darkness” were the victims of a classic on-set prank by Simon Pegg and Chris Pine, with help from the crew. While shooting at a laboratory, the cast was told to apply something called “neutron cream” that was said to protect their neutrons from radiation damage. It went so far that Karl Urban and John Cho were tricked into filming a fake PSA. Still, it was Benedict Cumberbatch’s reaction that may have been the funniest. Cumberbatch signed a release form that gave away the joke, and didn’t realize it until he actually read the form on camera. Hey, they’re actors, not rocket scientists.
#3: John Krasinski
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The ongoing holiday prank war between Jimmy Kimmel and John Krasinski, who used to be neighbors, left chaos and destruction in its wake. Kimmel found a reindeer in his office bathroom and had his car gift-wrapped, while Krasinski had his entire house gift-wrapped. But nothing quite as dastardly as Kimmel’s 2015 prank. The longtime late night host printed up handmade flyers for a yard sale at Krasinski’s actual home. Posting the fliers all over Los Angeles, Kimmel invited the entire city to show up. As a final flourish, he soaked his guest with eggnog. All is fair in love and prank wars!
#2: Jennifer Aniston
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No one told her this take was gonna be this way. Jennifer Aniston’s co-stars decided to have a little fun on the set of “We’re the Millers.” In this blooper, Aniston, Jason Sudeikis, Emma Roberts, and Will Poulter were supposed to listen to TLC’s “Waterfalls”, but the track was switched out for the theme from “Friends.” Aniston’s surprise when the song begins to play is priceless and touching. It must be nice knowing that after all these years, there’s still a loyal following for the show that made her a star… even if your co-stars use its theme song to prank you.
#1: Daniel Radcliffe
It must be hard growing up on the sets of a popular fantasy series. All those awkward moments of adolescence are happening in front of cameras. Daniel Radcliffe found that out during the filming of “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.” While shooting a scene on the Hogwarts set, Radcliffe had asked that director Alfonso Cuaron place his sleeping bag near a girl he liked. Well, Dumbledore actor Michael Gambon had a fart machine placed in Radcliffe’s sleeping bag and activated it during the scene. Gambon even started stumbling over his lines, as if he didn’t know it was coming. Now that’s acting.
