40 Times Hollywood Stars Forced The Director To Change Tack — And Made Movie History

Movie stars can be a difficult bunch. With their often huge egos and sense of entitlement, they’re frequently known to insist that they get their own way – as the directors of these 40 films found this out. But that’s not always a bad thing: changes demanded by actors can sometimes lead to iconic moments. Here, then, are 40 times that actors got it right – along with a few times it went horribly wrong – featuring alterations to everything from the script to the movie title. You won’t believe what Marlon Brando did on The Island of Dr. Moreau...

40. Scheider steamrollers Spielberg

The most seminal line in Jaws is probably, “You’re gonna need a bigger boat!” But the quip by Roy Scheider’s Brody nearly didn’t make it into the famous shark-attack movie. No, the actor had to force in the cast’s in-joke about the small vessel provided by the stingy production team. He tried to deliver it at numerous points of the film, before Steven Spielberg finally relented and sanctioned it in the memorable climax.

39. Clash of the egos

If you’re unfortunate enough to remember the big money remake of ’80s B-movie Clash of the Titans, then we pity you. Interestingly though, the sci-fi flop from 2010 could have been quite different, had it not been for the meddling of its star Sam Worthington. Indeed, the arrogant Aussie threw his weight around to alter director Louis Leterrier’s vision of the film. He declined to don a toga and even ensured Bubo the old mechanical owl was dumped from the plot. Crikey!

38. Bogart bundled in legendary phrase

There’s a good chance you’ve seen the classic movie Casablanca. The 1942 film features some fine performances from the likes of Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. But the legendary motion picture only included the famous line “Here’s looking at you, kid” after Bogart went rogue and threw it in unannounced. The phrase was born out of the co-stars’ between-takes poker games, and director Michael Curtiz must have wondered what on Earth was going on when it was uttered!

37. Costly change of accent

Shrek’s strong Scottish drawl is a key part of the green ogre’s character and his down-to-Earth charm. But it only came to be due to actor Mike Myers, who voiced him in the original 2001 film and its sequels. Yes, after originally recording the whole script in his normal Canadian accent, Myers – who replaced the late funnyman Chris Farley – decided it didn’t feel right. He forced DreamWorks and the directors to let him re-record it with Scottish intonations – all at a cost of about $5 million dollars!