Top 10 Times Actors Forgot Lines But They Still Used the Take

Welcome to MsMojo, and today were counting down our picks for the times actors went up on their lines and it somehow made the whole scene better.

#10: Give Me the Line Again

Lemony Snickets A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)

In this scene, Jim Carreys villainous thespian meets the orphans hes agreed to take in. His callous reaction to their parents death isnt dramatic enough the first time, so he asks for another chance at it. Funnily enough, this was Carrey himself stumbling over the next line. He stayed in character to ask for another shot at the line. Count Olaf is an actor, though, and a particularly hammy one at that. Hed want to get this reaction right. The filmmakers decided to leave it in to highlight the characters dedication to being dramatic, if a little tasteless.

#9: Missed Cue

A Knights Tale (2001)

Heath Ledger stars as knight William Thatcher in this contemporary spin on a medieval story about jousting in the 14th century. Filmed in the Czech Republic, A Knights Tale used a lot of locals as extras. In a scene where Ledgers character is introduced by Paul Bettanys Geoffrey Chaucer, the crowd is meant to cheer. Well, when the time came, the Czech extras didnt cheer. If theyd been given a cue, theyd either forgotten it or didnt understand it. Mark Addy, playing Thatchers friend, took this as his cue to remind the extras that it was their time to shine. It serves as a great, if unplanned, punchline to an awkward moment.

#8: In My My Book

Diner (1982)

Barry Levinsons Baltimore-set comedy sees a lot of scenes where the friends are just hanging out. Overlapping dialogue, unfinished lines, and naturalistic acting means the movie proudly shows off its rough edges, and its performances feel very real as a result. One scene has Steve Guttenbergs character criticising Mickey Rourkes character. He cant quite get the line out. He and his fellow actors even seem to break character over the line flub. It was kept in, only adding to the easygoing, informal atmosphere of a bunch of guys just shooting the breeze together.

#7: The Bed The Couch!

Titanic (1997)

When Rose asks Jack to paint her like one of his French girls, the entire scene is dripping with eroticism. He instructs the nude Rose to take her place on the bed, but of course, he means to say couch. That was a real Freudian slip by actor Leonardo DiCaprio, and the suggestive mistake turns out to be the perfect left hook of humor for the scene. Jacks easygoing nature and usual coolness seems to disappear in this moment. We know exactly whats on his mind. Director James Cameron made the wise choice to keep his mistake in the final cut.

#6: Mr. Gittes

Chinatown (1974)

Throughout Roman Polanskis neo-noir mystery, the menacing and filthy rich Noah Cross constantly mispronounces private eye Jake Gittes last name. Rather than calling him Mr. Gittes, Cross repeatedly calls him Mr. Gitts. Legendary director-turned-actor John Huston simply kept forgetting how Jack Nicholsons characters name was meant to be said. Polanski thought it fit the character well. Is he simply uninterested in getting the investigators name right, or is it a power move on his part? Either way, it adds a lot of shading to a character whose creepiness relied on his murky intentions and use of soft power.

#5: Petersens Testimony

Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)

This 3-hour historical courtroom drama fictionalizes the real-life trials of German officials accused of war crimes under the Nazi regime. In it, several famous actors were called in to play brief but significant roles as witnesses to the defendants abuses of power. Montgomery Clift played Rudolph Petersen, a man who was forcibly sterilized by court order. Clift, who was plagued by a substance use disorder after a tragic car accident that also scarred his face, had trouble remembering his lines. Rather than force him to commit the dialogue to memory, director Stanley Kramer felt that his stumbling, half-remembered version of the story was more fitting for the traumatized man. The role saw Clift nominated for an Oscar.

#4: Thank You, Spider-Man!

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)

Actor Ruben Rabasa didnt just forget his line. He forgot what movie he was in. Playing a barista who serves Paul Rudds Ant-Man, Rabasa gives the superhero an enthusiastic thank you on behalf of the entire city. Unfortunately, he confuses Ant-Man for Spider-Man in the process. Rudds response is priceless. He accepts this gesture with the sagging shoulders of a man whose ego has been shattered. Its the perfect punctuation on the accidental punchline. For a mistake, its so tonally in-line with the Marvel Cinematic Universes ironic stance on its superheroes that its hard to believe it wasnt scripted.

#3: Let Me Touch Your Hair

My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)

Nia Vardalos writes and co-stars in this raucous romantic comedy about the culture shock of two families becoming one. Canadian comedy legend Andrea Martin plays Vardalos Aunt Voula, a lovably overbearing Greek woman who fails to grasp the meaning of vegetarianism. In one scene, Martin holds her hands up to actor John Corbett and begs him to let her touch his hair. This wasnt scripted. She just forgot her lines. So, Martin stayed in character and did the only thing she could think of. She asked to hold actor John Corbetts hair. They played it off so well it ended up in the movie.

#2: The Watch Monologue

Pulp Fiction (1994)

Christopher Walkens brief appearance in Quentin Tarantinos genre-bending crime classic basically amounts to a long, memorable monologue about a watch. Tarantino is a master of distinctive dialogue. But he does love giving his characters a lot to say, and even the most professional performer might have trouble. There are at least two moments where Walken seems to freeze. His eyes go blank for a moment before he continues on. Some sources assert this is because he forgot his next lines. Whether its a mistake Tarantino decided to leave in or a conscious choice the actor is making to depict the soldiers shell-shock, no one seems to know.

#1: Why Male Models?

Zoolander (2001)

Being beautiful and stupid is hard work. Ben Stiller nailed the role of the impossibly vain model Derek Zoolander but one his funniest moments wasnt planned. The characters complete self-absorption and lack of understanding about anything are actually what made this mistake work so well. During a scene where a shady and mysterious David Duchovny explains a massive conspiracy in the fashion underworld, Stiller forgets his line. Instead of breaking character, he just repeats his question, Why male models? His mistake and Duchovnys in-character response both make it into the finished film.

Did any of these movie mistakes surprise you? Which one was your favorite? Let us know in the comments.

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