13 Devastating Scenes That Are So Good, But You Might Not Know They Were Improvised By The Actors

13 Devastating Scenes That Are So Good, But You Might Not Know They Were Improvised By The Actors

There are obviously MASSIVE spoilers ahead for several TV shows and movies!

1.First, in Little Women (2019), when Laurie and Jo have their conversation on the hill, where Laurie continually interrupts her with, "I love you, Jo," all of those weren't in Greta Gerwig's original script but were added by Timothée Chalamet while filming.

Jo telling Laurie he'd be ashamed of her, and Laurie constantly saying, "I love you, Jo"

When you read Greta's script, you can see that Jo was simply meant to just say everything uninterrupted to Laurie after he confesses his love, but in the finished product, Laurie is consistently saying, "I love you, Jo."

Sony Pictures Releasing

2.In The Last of Us Season 1, Episode 6 (2023), when Joel gives his emotional monologue to Tommy about his fear of failing Ellie, Pedro Pascal added in one of the most heartbreaking lines. "'All I know is that when I wake up, I know I've lost something,' that was something from Pedro directly," showrunner Neil Druckmann revealed.

Joel telling Tommy he's scared to fail Ellie and that's all he dreams about

3.And, in The Last of Us Season 1, Episode 9 (2023), when Anna holds Ellie after giving birth, her saying, "Oh, you're so tough," wasn't scripted. Showrunner Craig Mazin revealed it was Ashley Johnson's "natural maternal response," and it ended up being his favorite line in the scene. Ashley also voiced and did the motion capture for Ellie in The Last of Us video games.

Anna holding Ellie as a baby, while she cries, and Anna telling her she's so tough

4.In A Quiet Place (2018), right before Lee dies, he signs to Regan how he's always loved her. The script originally just had Lee saying, "I love you," but while filming, Millicent Simmonds suggested to John Krasinski that he change the line to what you see in the final film. Millicent said that John cried upon hearing her suggestion.

Lee using sign language to tell Regan, "I love you; I have always loved you"

Speaking about working closely with John on the sign language in the film, Millicent spoke about this moment, saying, "I changed some signs, too. At the end, when he signs, 'I love you,' I said I think he needs to say, 'I’ve always loved you,' because that covers the difficult period."

Paramount Pictures

5.In Succession Season 4, Episode 3 (2023), when Shiv, Roman, and Kendall hug following Shiv's press conference announcing Logan's death. The hug was not in the original script, but something Sarah Snook, Kieran Culkin, and Jeremy Strong instinctually did while filming.

Kendall, Shiv, and Roman hugging

6.In The Walking Dead Season 7, Episode 1 (2016), when Rick, Glenn, Abraham, Maggie, Daryl, and the rest of the group meet Negan for the first time, Michael Cudlitz improvised Abraham's now iconic line while Negan is bashing his head.

Abraham saying "Suck my nuts" to Negan as blood drips down his forehead

7.In The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (2023), when the tributes enter the arena for the Hunger Games, Sofia Sanchez instinctually grabbed Rachel Zegler's hand, and the moment between Wovey and Lucy Gray made the final cut.

Wovey walking next to Lucy Gray and holding her hand

8.In House of the Dragon Season 1, Episode 10 (2022), Matt Smith was the person who had the idea on set that Daemon should be the person to tell Rhaenyra that Luke had been killed.

Daemon walking up to Rhaenyra

9.In Euphoria Season 2, Episode 5 (2022), when Rue and her mom fight after her mom finds the drugs hidden in her room, the fight was improvised by Zendaya and Nika King. "[The script] said one line [of stage direction]: 'Rue and her mom have a fight,'" Zendaya recalled.

Rue telling her mom that she's scared to admit that she's a bad mother

10.In Past Lives (2023), when Hae Sung and Nora are standing outside waiting for his Uber, director and writer Celine Song revealed that Greta Lee and Teo Yoo didn't know exactly when the car would show up. So, some of the subtle, and heartbreaking, moments where they just stand in each other's company one last time were unscripted.

Hae Sung and Nora standing together, stealing glances, on the sidewalk

11.In Dead to Me Season 1, Episode 9 (2019), Linda Cardellini came up with the line Judy utters after finding out that Abe died and she didn't get to say goodbye. Creator Liz Feldman said, "That just came out of Linda. I don't know where it came from, but it certainly felt like it came from a very deep, real place."

Judy crying and saying, "I didn't get to say goodbye"

12.In Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany improvised Wanda and Vision's final goodbye before Wanda destroys the Mind Stone. Before filming the scene, Elizabeth and Paul talked a lot about what their characters mean to each other.

Vision telling Wanda she needs to destroy the stone, and saying, "You could never hurt me. I just feel you"

Paul said what was helpful in filming this important Wanda and Vision scene was having "a fantastic partnership that is just filled with trust and respect."

Marvel

13.And finally, in Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Tom Holland came up with Peter saying, "I don't wanna go" before he turned to dust in front of Tony Stark. When Tom wants to make himself cry on command, he repeats a phrase over and over again, and that's what inspired this.

Peter Parker repeating "I don't wanna go" as he embraces Tony Stark