20 accidental movie filming mishaps that were left in the final cut

While filming a scene in Django Unchained, Leonardo DiCaprio cut his hand on broken shards of glass. The skilled actor remained in character for the duration of the scene, despite a seriously bloody hand, and the intense cut made it into the movie. 

Jim Carrey’s accident in How the Grinch Stole Christmas added more humor to the film. In one scene, Carry was supposed to pull a tablecloth out from under everything stacked on the table, knocking everything off. Instead, he accidentally pulled the tablecloth out without knocking anything over. Carrey finished the scene by returning to the table to do what he was supposed to do in the first place. 

Not all accidents are scary. Some are hilarious. In Star Wars: A New Hope, a Stormtrooper hit his head against a sliding door. He most certainly wasn’t supposed to, but the moment caught on camera was included in the film. 

In one scene in Scream, Skeet Ulrich accidentally hit Matthew Lillard in the head with a phone. Lillard remained in character and improvised a reaction. The moment was too good to keep it out of the film. 

No one can accuse Viggo Mortensen of not being dedicated to the part. While filming The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, the actor broke his toe while kicking a helmet. The moment was too good to leave out of the final cut thanks to Mortensen’s reaction. 

While filming the prison cell scene in The Master , Joaquin Phoenix accidentally broke the toilet. Phoenix didn’t realize that he was even capable of breaking the toilet, but it added to the scene.

Ironically, while playing Achilles in Troy, Brad Pitt injured his Achilles’ tendon, the injury turning into his own Achilles’ heel for the movie. Filming was delayed by nearly a year after the incident, but the scene was left in the movie. 

In one scene in The Princess Diaries , Anne Hathaway fell on a set of bleachers because they were wet from rain. The accident fit with Hathaway’s quirky and awkward character, and it was genuinely hilarious, so it stayed in the film. 

While filming Apocalypse Now, Martin Sheet cut his hand during the scene in which he punched a mirror. Rather than pause production to have someone tend to his injury, Sheen insisted they continue filming, and the moment made it into the final cut. 

In the pool scene in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Jane Russell was knocked into the pool by a diving dancer. Russell wasn’t supposed to end up in the pool, but the accident made for an unforgettable movie moment. 

Ellen Burstyn’s character in The Exorcist had to fight her demon-possessed child. In one fight scene, the apparatus pulling Burstyn to the ground worked a little too well, seriously injuring Burstyn’s spine in the process. The accident made for great footage, but Burstyn had permanent back issues because of it. 

In Midnight Cowboy , Dustin Hoffman was nearly hit by a taxi because they were shooting amid actual traffic. Hoffman improvised well after the near accident, and the scene became iconic. 

In one scene in The Godfather , James Caan and Gianni Russo had to fight. Per Russo, Caan took the scene work a little too seriously, and Russo ended up with elbow and rib injuries. Francis Ford Coppola thought it was too good to leave out, and the fight scene made it into the Oscar-winning movie. 

In the first installment of the iconic film series, a random person on the street didn’t realize that Sylvester Stallone was acting in a film. The person thought Stallone was just on a run and threw the actor an orange. Stallone caught the fruit and kept going. 

Mirrors have proven to be dangerous scene partners. While filming a scene in Nightcrawler , Jake Gyllenhaal was instructed to hit a mirror. The actor did so, but he went a little too hard and wound up cutting his hand. The accident remained in the film. 

During a scene in The Birdcage , Robin Williams fell down. The fall was accidental, and Williams’ and Hank Azaria’s reactions were genuine, but the hilarious moment stayed in the film. 

Tom Cruise broke his ankle while filming a scene for Mission: Impossible - Fallout. Basically, a trained stunt man at this point, Cruise acted through the injury and the take was good enough to make the final cut.  

In the scene where Robin Williams as Mrs. Doubtfire stuck his face into the cake so that he wouldn’t be recognized, the frosting from the cake started to melt under the set lighting. The melted frosting accidentally dropped off Williams’ face and into a cup of tea. 

In true Cher Horowitz fashion, while filming Clueless , Alicia Silverstone mispronounced the word “Haitians.” She genuinely thought she was pronouncing it correctly, but director Amy Heckerling didn’t correct Silverstone because she thought it was funny. 

George MacKay wasn’t supposed to fall in one of the war scenes in 1917. He was hit by an extra. However, MacKay got back up and kept going with the scene, making for a wonderful accidental moment.