We all know how important a script is in a movie or TV series, and how determinant it can be for the success of such production. All of our favorite scenes and lines in movies and TV are the result of arduous workdays and a team that planned them down to the slightest detail, providing each actor with all the necessary elements to shine and portray their character at their best. That is why it is so important for the actors to have their script well studied when they get in front of the camera.

However, even though most of the scenes that comprise our favorite productions stick to a script, sometimes an actor breaks away from it and ends up fully enhancing a scene. This can happen for many reasons, ranging from fortuitous accidents to situations plotted by the crew or cast. Many times, an actor’s mistake or any other error while shooting a scene ends up being more convincing than what was planned originally and ends up in the final version. On other occasions, especially in dramatic or touching scenes, the actor’s feelings overwhelm them, and end up contributing to that moment. Such was the case in Spider-Man: No Way Home, where, in the midst of the final battle, Andrew Garfield’s Peter Parker told the other two superheroes that he loved them. Some actors are particularly talented at improvisation, and they take advantage of every available moment to do so and enhance their scenes. Regardless of how it happens, there are many moments in movies and TV that weren’t planned but still turned into iconic scenes. These are some of the best ones from TV shows.

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10 Tormund’s Stare at Brienne — Game of Thrones

     Warner Bros.

There were many lovers throughout all the seasons of Game of Thrones, but there was one couple in particular that, even though it was not actually a couple, captured the audiences’ hearts: the one between Tormund (Kristofer Hivju) and Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie). This love did not seem to be reciprocated, as the knight was totally enchanted by this strong woman and tried everything in his power to conquer her. One of the most hilarious moments of this couple was totally improvised: as they were about to leave Castle Black, Tormund gave her a long stare followed by a smile that was not in the script, and Brienne, visibly uncomfortable, looked away in disbelief (via IndieWire).

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

9 Willow and Oz’s Chat About Animal Crackers — Buffy the Vampire Slayer

     20th Television

Willow (Alyson Hannigan) and Oz (Seth Green) are among the most memorable couples of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. However, at first, they were not at all part of the audience’s favorites. Everything started to change thanks to an innocent moment between them in Season 2, in which they talk about animal crackers as Oz notices that the monkey is the only one who wears pants. According to the actor, this conversation was entirely improvised by him, and Hannigan played along.

8 Kevin Kissing Archie — Riverdale

While Riverdale is not a series known for its musicality, it did feature some iconic musical moments over the course of its seasons. One example was the episode “Chapter Seventy-Four: Wicked Little Town” from the fourth season. In it, Kevin Keller (Casey Cott) performed “Tear Me Down” from Hedwig and the Angry Inch on Riverdale High’s annual variety show, wearing the character’s iconic hair and costume. Halfway through his performance, he did something that wasn’t in the show’s script, but was in Hedwig’s: he kissed a person in the audience. Said person happened to be Archie (KJ Apa), one of the main characters of the series, and they both shared that amazing and memorable scene.

7 Eleven Collapsing — Stranger Things

     Netflix

Shooting sessions can be extremely exhausting, especially for younger actors. And this, of course, can have consequences for them. That’s what happened during the third season of Stranger Things with Millie Bobby Brown, while they were shooting Eleven’s battle against Billy (Dacre Montgomery). She was so tired from working that, at the end of the scene, she collapsed and fell into Finn Wolfhard’s arms, which was not scripted, but still made it into the final version (via CBR).

6 Chris Pratt’s Line About Leslie’s Flu — Parks and Recreation

     NBC

Parks and Recreation boasts many memorable moments made possible by the cast’s talent for improvisation. One of the most iconic off-script lines takes place in the episode “Flu Season” from Season 3, where Leslie (Amy Poehler) shows up to work sick. Andy, played by Chris Pratt, tries to help her diagnose her illness online, and ends up claiming that she might have “network connectivity problems”. That later became one of the character’s most memorable moments.

5 Holly Begging for Her Mom While Being Kidnapped by Walter — Breaking Bad

     Sony Pictures Television

This TV moment was particularly impressive as it was ad-libbed by a baby. Over the course of Breaking Bad, Walt (Bryan Cranston) makes a lot of bad decisions, one of which is to kidnap Holly, his own daughter. After that, he stops at a public restroom to freshen up the baby, and in that moment, she breaks down crying for her mommy. That was not scripted, it simply happened because the baby saw her real mother on set, and Cranston seized the moment to deliver one hell of a scene.

4 The Fight Between Rue and Her Mom — Euphoria

     Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution

Euphoria is a show that features some very intense scenes, mostly involving fights between characters. A lesser known fact is that one of those scenes, possibly one of the most memorable ones, was totally improvised by the actors. This is the fight between Rue (Zendaya) and her mother (Nika King), when she scolds Rue for her drug abuse. The script simply called for a mother-daughter fight, and the director asked the actresses to carry it out as dramatically as possible, with no further instructions.

3 Jason Segel’s Reaction to Marshall’s Father’s Death — How I Met Your Mother

The scene where Marshall (Jason Segel) hears about his father’s passing is one of the most poignant shots in How I Met Your Mother. This is probably because Segel wasn’t acting: his reaction was completely genuine. Knowing that such an important scene required a genuine reaction, he asked not to read that part of the script, so he wasn’t aware of how they were going to break the news to his character.

2 Steve Carell and Oscar Nunez’s kiss — The Office

The Office has its share of awkward scenes, although this one probably ranks among the best of them. In the episode “Gay Witch Hunt” from the third season, Michael (Steve Carell) outs Oscar (Oscar Nunez) to the entire office by mistake. To make amends, he offers a seminar on queerness, which naturally goes horribly wrong. To prove that he accepts Oscar regardless of his sexual orientation, he gives him an unexpected and cringe-worthy kiss, which makes Oscar very uncomfortable. The script originally called for a kiss on the cheek, but Carell went ahead and winged it, resulting in a truly remarkable scene.

1 Ross’ Slip-Up at His and Emily’s Wedding — Friends

Wrapping up this list is one of the most legendary scenes in Friends, where Ross (David Schwimmer) mistakenly names Rachel in his wedding vows instead of Emily (Helen Baxendale), his future wife. While this scene was scripted, it was the result of an error made by the actor when reviewing the episode’s script. Originally, the writers had not defined how Ross and Emily’s wedding would end, until, at one point, the actor said “Rachel, the taxi is here”, when he was supposed to mention Emily. This mistake led to scripting the famous scene in which Ross gets confused during his wedding vows, something that completely changed the course of his and Rachel’s story.