23 Storylines That Had To Be Changed Due To Actors’ Reluctance To Do The Scene

Article created by: Monika Pašukonytė

Are you that kind of person who needs to analyze every film or TV show that you have finished watching? To find out if actors get along together, who are their real life partners, how old are they, how the filming process went, etc. or do you just finish watching and move onto the next one? In any case, probably many of you will agree that reading about conflicts that arose during filming and learning about a few things that happened behind the scenes is always interesting!

So it should come as no surprise that everyone, including the most well-known actors, has beliefs and boundaries that they refuse to cross. As a result, there are also quite a few scenes and actions that they have chosen not to take, which resulted in a totally different ending to the scene or the need to come up with a new solution for everyone.

• Read More: 32 Storylines That Had To Be Changed Due To Actors’ Reluctance To Do The Scene

#1 Viggo Mortensen Refused To Return Lord Of The Rings Character Aragorn In The Hobbit Films

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#2 Glenn Close Refused To Break Down Crying On Camera

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#3 John Krasinski Refused Filming Scene Where Jim Cheats On Pam

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#4 Zendaya Refused To Have Her First Kiss While Filming

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#5 Keanu Reeves Refused To Follow Director’s Orders To Yell Insults At Winona Ryder To Make Her Cry

On the "Bram Stoker's Dracula" set, Keanu Reeves refused to follow director Francis Ford Coppola’s orders to yell insults at Winona Ryder so she would cry for a scene.

In an interview with The Sunday Times, Ryder revealed that Coppola instructed his male actors to insult her in order to make her emotions seem believable. In the scene that they were filming, Ryder was lying on a bed next to Gary Oldman's Dracula, who was going to turn into a mound of rats. 

"But Keanu wouldn't, Anthony wouldn't … the more it happened, I was like… It just didn't work. I was, like, really? It kind of did the opposite."

Keanu Reeves (Jonathan Harker), Bram Stoker's Dracula, 1992

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#6 Morgan Freeman Disagreed Filming The Shawshank Redemption's Initially Scripted Ending Scene

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#7 James Corden Declined To Film A Scene That Included Making Fun Of Obese People

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#8 Denzel Washington Refused To Share A Kiss With Julia Roberts

Denzel Washington refused to share a kiss with Julia Roberts In the mystery-thriller "The Pelican Brief”.

Washington chose not to kiss the actress even though there was romantic spark between their on-screen personas. He made reference to the underrepresentation of Black women in romantic roles when he discussed his cautious approach to kissing his female co-stars. According to reports, he stated to Newsweek, “Black women are not often seen as objects of desire on film. And they have always been my core audience.”

Denzel Washington (Gray Grantham), The Pelican Brief, 1993

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#9 Mike Myers Threatened To Leave The Show If “Bohemian Rhapsody” Wasn't Featured

Mike Myers (Wayne Campbell) in "Wayne's World" threatened to leave the show if “Bohemian Rhapsody” wasn't featured. 

Myers persisted in fighting for the song during the pre-production phase. He thought it was a work of art that would go great with Wayne, Garth, and the group as they cruised the town. At some point, he threatened to leave the movie if the producers wouldn't allow him to use "Bohemian Rhapsody."

Mike Myers (Wayne Campbell), Wayne's World, 1992

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#10 Robert Downey Jr. Refused To Follow The Original Scrip Tand Added The Now-Famous Shawarma Joke

In the closing moments of The Avengers, Robert Downey Jr. plays an injured Iron Man who wakes up and asks his fellow superheroes if they have "ever tried shawarma." However, the scene's original script called for him to wake up and ask, "What's next?" Entertainment Weekly reports that Downey thought the line wasn’t lively enough.

Joss Whedon, the writer, concurred and on the day of filming, wrote multiple rewrites of the sequence in a notebook, including the now-famous shawarma joke.

Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), The Avengers, 2012

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#11 Emma Watson Refused To Shoot A Scene That Featured Cannibalism

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#12 Bruce Lee Refused To Film A Fight Scene In Which He Would Lose To Robin

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#13 Jim Carrey Has Refused To Film A Scene In Dumb And Dumber That Would End The Film With A Happy Ending

Jim Carrey has refused to film a scene in Dumb And Dumber that would end the film with Harry and Lloyd getting on the bus for a happy ending. 

At the end of the movie, Harry and Lloyd walk home without money and without transportation, capping off their experience. At that moment, a bus full of bikini-clad ladies approaches the couple and asks if they would mind being their "oil boys." In true Dumb manner, they advise them that a town is a few miles away.

It was not, however, always the plan for how the movie would end. The bikini bus concept eventually surfaced, but it appeared that the movie's studio believed that the couple should board the bus for a happy ending. Peter commented, "They're too dumb to get on the bus," indicating that the Farrellys weren’t up for this.

Carrey himself supported Farrelly, knowing that concluding the film in another moment of tragedy was the best way. The actor basically said, ‘I am not stepping foot on that bus. I won’t do it.’

Jim Carrey (Lloyd Christmas), Dumb and Dumber, 1994

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#14 Mahershala Ali Refused To Film An Intimate Scene

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#15 Michelle Rodriguez Refused To Film A Cheating Scene

Letty Ortiz (Michelle Rodriguez) who is the mechanic and street racer in the Fast & Furious refused to film a cheating scene on Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) with Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker).

Letty is Dominic Toretto's proud girlfriend and eventually wife, and Rodriguez believed it would be completely out of character for her to cheat on him. The actress told The Daily Beast that she didn't believe a Latin girl would cheat on an alpha with a pretty boy, and that she "basically cried and said, I'm going to quit" while urging the writers to drop the idea.

Michelle Rodriguez (Letty Ortiz), Fast & Furious, 2015

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#16 Mink Stole Refused To Set Her Hair On Fire

Mink Stole refused to set her hair on fire in John Waters’ film "Pink Flamingos”.

During a 2020 interview with Another, Stole stated: “John wanted me to set my hair on fire in the film, and I originally agreed to do it before I realized that was absolutely insane.”

Mink Stole (Connie Marble), Pink Flamingos, 1972

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#17 Taron Egerton Declined To Film An 'Uncomfortable' Intimate Scene

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#18 Lena Headey Refused To Appear Naked At The Conclusion Of Thrones' Fifth Season

Lena Headey refused to appear naked at the conclusion of Thrones' fifth season. Cersei, the realm's queen mother, is punished for her multiple misdeeds, including adultery with her twin brother Jaime Lannister, by having her hair shaved and being forced to strip naked for a long, agonizing walk around King's Landing before her followers.

However, Headey requested to be partially clothed, but because Cersei is naked in the books, filmmakers insisted on staying true to the character. Finally, producers came up with a solution. Though Headey would walk the walk personally, a naked body double would walk beside her, with Headey's head later overlaid onto the double's body using CGI.

Lena Headey (Cersei Lannister), Game of Thrones, 2015

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#19 Isla Fisher Declined To Film A Scene In Which Her Character Stripped Naked

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#20 Ben Affleck Refused To Wear A Yankees Baseball Cap

Ben Affleck refused to wear a Yankees baseball cap in “Gone Girl”.

In an airport scene in New York, Ben Affleck's character, Nick Dunne, attempts to blend in by wearing a baseball cap. David Fincher thought it would work best for the film if the character wore a Yankees cap.

But Affleck, a devoted Red Sox fan, would have none of it. “I said, ‘David, I love you, I would do anything for you,’” He recalled. “‘But I will not wear a Yankees hat. I just can’t. I can’t wear it because it’s going to become a thing, David. I will never hear the end of it. I can’t do it.’ And I couldn’t put it on my head.”

They eventually reached a compromise - Ben Affleck ended up wearing a Mets cap.

Ben Affleck (Nick Dunne), Gone Girl, 2014

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#21 Kirk Cameron Refuses To Kiss Any Woman Other Than His Wife

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#22 Robert Reed Refused To Say A Line That, According To Him, Didn’t Make Sense

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#23 Cole Sprouse Refused To Film A Scene Because He Was Cold

Cole Sprouse, who played Jughead, refused to film a final scene at the end of season 3 in which Betty Cooper, Archie Andrews, and Veronica Lodge stood around a fire, drenched in blood and burning their garments.

"The only reason why that happened is because Cole was cold that night," KJ was quoted as saying by TVLine. She said, "It was scripted all four of us and he was like, 'I don't wanna do it,' so he didn't."

Cole Sprouse (Jughead), Riverdale, 2019

• Read More: These 29 Historical Facts Will Mess With Your Perception Of Time

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Viggo Mortensen declined to return Lord of the Rings character Aragorn in the Hobbit films.In an interview with The Guardian, the actor discussed that he had conversations with a producer on the film about resuming his part in the prequels. He stated,“Before they started shooting, back in 2008, one of the producers did ask if I would be interested. I said, ‘You do know, don’t you, that Aragorn isn’t in The Hobbit? That there is a 60-year gap between the books?'”Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn), Hobbit Films, 2012 Glenn Close, who portrayed Kathryn Bennett, the first female Vice President of the United States Air Force One refused to cry on screen.The actress told Vanity Fair that an emotional outburst was initially visible on the page. "One thing I remember, they had a scene around the table where she broke down crying."Not only did she refuse to cry on camera, but she also explained why it didn't make sense given the context of the story: “I said, ‘I will not do that.’ I don’t think it would happen. Not my vice president,” she emphasized. “My vice president would not break down into tears. She would step up to the challenge. So they changed it.”Glenn Close (Kathryn Bennett), Air Force One, 1997 In the season 8 episode "After Hours" of The Office, Jim (John Krasinski) travels to Florida for work, and Pam's (Jenna Fischer) maternity leave replacement, Cathy (Lindsey Broad), attempts to make a move on him."That's the only time I remember putting my foot down. 'Cause [Greg] was saying, 'You're going to actually make out with her in this scene.' I remember saying things that I never thought I'd say before, like, 'I'm not going to shoot it,'" Krasinski recalled in a recent interview with People. He added that during discussion with Greg he said that if they show Jim cheating to the audience, they will never come back, implying that the scene would be a bridge too far for any fan.John Krasinski (Jim), The Office, 2011 Rocky Blue (Zendaya) refused her first on-camera kiss while filming the American sitcom Shake It Up. Instead, her character kissed the other character's cheek."I remember going on Shake It Up and saying, 'I'm not going to do this. "I'm going to kiss him on the cheek because I haven't been kissed yet, and I don't want the kiss to be caught on camera," Zendaya said in an interview with British Vogue.Zendaya (Rocky Blue), Shake It Up, 2010 Morgan Freeman disagreed with The Shawshank Redemption's initially scripted ending scene which director Frank Darabont had planned. In an interview with The Daily News, Freeman discussed Frank Darabont's original concept, which included Red playing Andy's gifted harmonica during their reunion scene. However, Freeman considered the scene to be a little too conventional to go for, describing it as meaningless. "Frank believed I should be playing the harmonica Andy gave me. "I refused...it was asinine, cliched, unnecessary, and overkill," Freeman added. He highlighted his desire to keep the finale natural by praising Andy and Red's friendly reunion.Morgan Freeman (Ellis Boyd Redding), The Shawshank Redemption, 1994 James Corden declined to film a scene in Hollyoaks when he played school janitor Wayne that included making fun of obese people. The scene showed the character's bedroom covered in posters and images of fast food. He told the New Yorker Magazine, "I thought they were just being nasty about anyone who was overweight." I remember saying to the guy, “I don’t know one person who would take a picture of a hot dog and a burger and stick them on the wall.'” He refused to start filming until the posters were taken down.James Corden (Janitor Wayne), Hollyoaks, 1999 Emma Watson refused to shoot a scene in which Danny McBride is a cannibal and holds Channing Tatum by a leash, reports 'Esquire' magazine in This Is the End. Watson left the set after refusing to film a scene that featured cannibalism."The scene was not what was originally scripted, it was getting improvised, changed drastically and was not what she agreed to," Seth Rogen shared on Twitter.Emma Watson, This Is the End, 2013 Bruce Lee, who played Kato in the Green Hornet television series, refused to film a fight scene in which he would lose to Robin.Because both Batman and Green Hornet were on ABC, a crossover between the two superhero shows was planned. However, the issue that arose during the production was Bruce Lee's first reaction to the ideas for the fight between the heroes.In the fight, Batman was matched with Green Hornet, while Robin faced Kato. The initial script planned for Kato to be defeated by Robin, which, according to Newsweek, bothered Lee. Van Williams shared that Lee "walked off" and refused to film the sequence, arguing “there’s no way that anyone would believe I go in there and fight Robin and lose.”Finally, the scene was rewritten and the fight ended up in a tie. Bruce Lee (Kato), A Piece of The Action, 1967 Mahershala Ali revealed that when he took the role of Tizzy Weathers in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, he agreed not to film an intimate scene with co-star Taraji P. Henson."So my old agent called me and said, 'Mahershala, you got the part.'" Ali recalled, according to Page Six. "I said, 'There's just one thing...'" There is an [intimate] scene when they kiss. If there is an [intimate] scene, I can't do it. The Muslim actor emphasized that he was trying to hold a space of respect for his religion. Mahershala Ali (Tizzy Weathers), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, 2008 Taron Egerton, who portrayed Eggsy in Kingsman: The Golden Circle, declined to film an 'uncomfortable' intimate scene. During an intimate encounter, Eggsy must insert a tracking device inside Cara’s (Poppy Delevingne) body. In an interview with ScreenRant, Egerton recalled, "It was a day that I was anxious about. The shot in the first film I was so anxious before we did it and Matthew didn’t tell me that I wouldn’t actually be in the shot." He continued saying “The way it was described in the script it was like ‘I’m going to do what?’ But it wasn’t me, it was a POV. In this one, I’m in the shot and I said to Matthew ‘I’m not comfortable doing this’. So it’s not my hand – it’s Poppy’s husband’s hand. He saved the world.”So when the actor declined, Poppy Delevingne's husband was brought in to film.Taron Egerton (Eggsy), Kingsman: The Golden Circle, 2017 Isla Fisher, who played Gloria Cleary, declined to film a scene in which her character stripped naked in Wedding Crashers.Gloria Cleary is Jeremy Grey's (Vince Vaughn) love interest and a comedic character in the film so the actress believed that if her character became naked, she would lose her comedic value. She told The Sydney Morning Herald, "I feel like if you have a female comic character, and then you see her breast, then she is no longer funny."Gloria was still seen partially naked, but a body double was recruited for the moment. Isla Fisher (Gloria Cleary), Wedding Crashers, 2005 Kirk Cameron (Caleb Holt) refuses to kiss any woman other than his wife, therefore in the film "Fireproof," he has to kiss the actress who plays his wife, which caused quite an issue.Cameron revealed that the producers used movie magic to get around the disagreement. They dressed his wife, actress Chelsea Noble, as the film's female lead and shot the scene in silhouette."So when I'm kissing my wife, we're actually husband and wife honoring marriage behind the scenes," he said.Kirk Cameron (Caleb Holt), Fireproof, 2008 Robert Reed, who played Mike Brady, refused to say a line in a season 4 episode of "The Brady Bunch" that, according to him, didn’t make sense.In the scene, Carol Brady, a stay-at-home mom, and Alice, the family's live-in housekeeper, compete to see who can create the best strawberry preserves. The New York Post stated that the initial script included Mike Brady entering a kitchen and stating that the house smelled like “strawberry heaven.”According to the site, Reed would fact-check every script, often utilizing the Encyclopedia Britannica as a reference. After conducting an investigation, Reed concluded that strawberries do not emit any smell when cooked. The actor believed the script contained inaccurate facts, and he wouldn’t say the line.Reed was even taken to the set where strawberries were being cooked, merely to be shown that the fruit does generate an odor when heated. However, the actor stuck to what he had learned from the Britannica.Robert Reed (Mike Brady), The Brady Bunch, 1973