Top 10 Times Movie Bloopers Made It Into the Final Cut
#10: Stormtrooper Bonk
“Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope” (1977) Stormtroopers – the frightening, minion-like army of The Empire. In the “Star Wars” franchise, they are the evil personified, which makes this clumsy misstep all the funnier. In “A New Hope,” there’s a scene where a group of stormtroopers enters a control room. One of them isn’t quite as smooth as the others and audibly hits his head onto the doorway with a loud bonk. The incident has been confirmed to be an accident, with many actors claiming fault for the head bang over the years. We don’t know if a bunch of people lied about their role as the trooper, or if there were a bunch of scenes of stormtroopers hitting their heads left on the cutting room floor. We’re hoping it’s the latter.
#9: Rich Falls
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“The Martian” (2015) Hey, even astrodynamicists lose their balance sometimes. Donald Glover – also known as Childish Gambino – plays a scientist named Rich Purnell in Ridley Scott’s “The Martian.” In one of Rich’s first scenes, a coworker wakes him up to have a conversation. After a few moments, Rich appears to have a revelation about something. He proclaims that he needs more coffee, swiftly stands up – and falls straight down, out of sight of the camera. Apparently, this fall was not planned – the other actor running over to ask Glover if he’s okay is really reacting to the accident. Scott liked the moment a lot, believing that it humanized Rich, so he decided to keep it in the final cut.
#8: Bleacher Fail
“The Princess Diaries” (2001) In 2001’s “The Princess Diaries,” Princess Mia Thermopolis isn’t the most graceful of teenagers. If you asked her, she would probably say she’s the last person in the world who could easily portray a sense of royalty. And that’s what makes this little accident such a perfect character moment. In a scene where Mia and her friend Lilly are talking on the bleachers, Mia suddenly slips and falls through the steps. Apparently, this was a total accident, causing actress Anne Hathaway to burst out laughing at her mistake. Director Garry Marshall found the moment so charming, he decided to keep it in the film.
#7: Kick to the Jaw
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“Mission: Impossible 2” (2000) Tom Cruise has made a name for himself as a guy who wants to do all of his own stunts. Unfortunately, in “Mission: Impossible 2,” he accidentally took things a bit too far. In a famous fight sequence that includes a knife centimeters away from Cruise’s eye, the famous actor actually kicked his fight partner in the face. Cruise placed a roundhouse kick squarely on Dougray Scott’s jaw, knocking the Scottish actor back for real. If you pay close attention, you can see Cruise react in horror to his mistake. Apparently, however, no one was horrified enough to leave it outside of the final cut.
#6: Spit Take
“Fast & Furious 6” (2013) Sometimes, good improv leads to another actor making a mistake. But sometimes, you end up keeping both in the final cut. Towards the end of “Fast & Furious 6,” the crew gathers together for a little family cookout. Luke Hobbs, played by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, arrives at the cookout where he improvises a funny line. In a quick comeback that no other actor knew was coming, The Rock makes fun of Tyrese Gibson’s character's forehead. Ludacris reacts to this line by spitting out his drink. Luda was reacting in real-time to The Rock’s sick burn, and the take was so funny it made the final cut.
#5: Breaking the Glass
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“Blade Runner” (1982) If you thought Daryl Hannah wasn’t a consummate professional, think again! But also, we think it’s probably okay to ask to pause a scene if you literally injure yourself while filming it. While making the 1982 science fiction classic “Blade Runner,” Hannah accidentally smacked her elbow through a window. The moment happens when her character, named Pris, is running away from William Sanderson’s character. While on the run, Hannah tripped over one of the many pieces of debris on set and crashed through a nearby car window. Hannah kept going, but she ended up cutting her elbow in multiple places. Director Ridley Scott kept the take, which really underscores the anxiety of the chase.
#4: Bonk
“The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” (2001) While filming Peter Jackson’s “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, Ian McKellen often had the difficult task of playing the very tall Gandalf opposite a bunch of very small hobbits. While filming inside Bilbo Baggins’ home, McKellen accidentally knocks his head against the top of an archway. Reportedly, Jackson found the moment so compelling and well-acted that he decided to keep it in the movie. But McKellen has a slightly different recollection. According to McKellen, the moment wasn’t an accident at all – he just decided to do it without telling Jackson. Whatever the case, it’s one of the moments that give us such a warm, fuzzy feeling about Gandalf.
#3: Farting Line-Up
“The Usual Suspects” (1995) Sometimes, a little mistake can help loosen up a set. Such is the case with “The Usual Suspects,” in which some bathroom humor helped unlock the key to an iconic scene. One of the most iconic moments from “The Usual Suspects” is the infamous line-up scene, which has been the subject of behind-the-scenes gossip for some time. According to writer Christopher McQuarrie, actor Benicio del Toro could not stop farting, causing the other actors to break out in laughter. Reportedly, del Toro farted about 12 takes in a row, and no one could keep it together. In retrospect, McQuarrie says he thinks the mistake actually improved the scene, making it into the amazing moment it is today.
#2: Candie Cuts His Hand
“Django Unchained” (2012) One of the marks of a good actor is to keep things moving, even if something unexpected happens. But in this case, if we were Kerry Washington, we might have a few words for one Leonardo DiCaprio! During a scene in Quentin Tarantino’s “Django Unchained,” DiCaprio’s deranged slave owner Calvin Candie slams his hand on a table and cuts it on a glass. Apparently, DiCaprio really did cut his hand, but kept the scene moving. It was a good choice – the blood all over Candie’s hand only serves to underscore how crazed the man actually is. However, there’s some debate that the blood he wipes all over Kerry Washington’s face is real; as the story goes, Tarantino was inspired when Leo cut his hand and used fake blood for the rest of the scene. Here’s hoping for Kerry’s sake that story is true!
#1: I’m Walkin’ Here!
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“Midnight Cowboy” (1969) There has been some discussion over the years about the truth behind this particular anecdote. We think it’s probably true, but we’ll leave you to do your own research. While filming “Midnight Cowboy,’ stars Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight are both in a famous scene where a taxi almost runs them down on the street. Hoffman smacks the hood of the cab and famously yells,[ “I’m walkin’ here!” ]According to Hoffman, this taxi’s entrance was not planned. The set was not closed, and the cab really almost ran down the two actors. When Hoffman said, “I’m walkin’ here,” he meant something along the lines of – “Hey! We’re filming a movie!” Luckily for Hoffman, it turned into one of the most famous movie moments ever.
