Much like scriptwriters, actors also dedicate quite a lot of time and energy to studying and researching the roles they play in movies and TV shows. This extensive research along with years worth of experience in the industry equips the actors with a better understanding of the way certain emotions should be delivered in various situations. There have been various occasions where actors have insisted on adding certain mannerisms, dialogs, and even storylines for their characters. Sometimes these tweaks and suggestions for the script have led to the movie becoming better. Here are seven times the actors made the movie better by not following the script.

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Meryl Streep - Devil Wears Prada (2006)

     20th Century Studios

Meryl Streep boasts quite an acting portfolio, but perhaps one of her most iconic performances is of her as the titular character, Miranda Priestly, in Devil Wears Prada. It’s hard to forget Miranda with her no-nonsense attitude as she has Andy (Anne Hathway) running around all over New York (and even outside) for various tasks. Streep had a big part to play when it came to the portrayal of Miranda’s character. The actress insisted that more depth be given to Miranda’s character by showing more than just her achievements and bad temper. One such scene is when Andy finds Miranda near tears after her husband asks for a divorce. In an interview, Streep stated that such moments help the audience “glimpse at the woman in the businesswoman”. Streep definitely did a great job at portraying the businesswoman, it’s no wonder she received various awards for the role, including a Golden Globe for Best Actress - Motion Picture: Musical or Comedy.

Henry Cavill - The Witcher (2019)

     Netflix

Fans of The Witcher are quite aware of Henry Cavill’s appreciation of the original source material of the Netflix TV Series. It would also explain why Cavill’s suggestions to tweak certain aspects of Netflix’s script made the series even more impactful. One particular scene that was adjusted according to Cavill’s (and also his co-star Anya Chalotra, who portrays Yennefer) suggestion was when Geralt discovers in Season two that his beloved, who he thought was dead, is actually still alive. The two convinced the producers to tweak the reunion scene in the script, which originally focused more on sexual tension, to focus on the emotions the two felt at the moment, creating quite an impact.

John Krasinski - The Office

     NBCUniversal Television Distribution

Most fans of The Office are quite open about the fondness they feel for Jim and Pam as a couple. In Season 8, the original script included a scene where Jim was supposed to have kissed the new office administrator, Cathay, while the two were on a business trip. John Krasinski, who portrays Jim, flatly refused to film the scene as he was not only protective of Jim’s image, but also of how the fans would receive him cheating on his pregnant wife. Krasinski went as far as to say that he felt that if Jim had cheated on Pam, it would be difficult to redeem his character and would have pushed the fans too far away.

Samuel L. Jackson - Snakes on a Plane (2006)

     New Line Cinema

Most airborne disaster movies do a good job of keeping the audience’s eyes glued to the screen with their hands clutching onto the armrests of their chairs, wondering what’s going to happen next. Snakes on a Plane is perhaps one of the more enjoyable ones that takes a somewhat ridiculous concept and turns it into a watch-worthy movie. Many fans of the movie would admit that they were drawn to the film due to its silly, yet intriguing title. Apparently, fans weren’t the only ones. Lead actor Samuel L. Jackson confessed in an interview that one of the main reasons why he signed up for the project was the fun and intriguing title of the film. At one point, the production studio wanted to change the name to Pacific Air 121; however, Jackson gave the team an ultimatum. They would either keep the original title or he would leave the project.

Johnny Depp - Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006)

     Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

One of Johnny Depp’s most iconic performances of his entire career has got to be his portrayal of Captain Jack Sparrow, for the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. Even if one has not seen the series, everyone has probably seen one particular scene from Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest. Throughout the film, Jack carries a glass jar of dirt to prevent Jones from catching him. There’s one moment when Jack and Jones are both facing each other and the former starts calling the latter “fish face”, taunting him with his glass jar. He even goes on to sing a song. While the scene in itself is hilarious, it becomes even more fun when one discovers the entire thing was improvised by Depp, so Jones and the rest of the crew’s reactions to Jack’s antics are all genuine.

Robert Downy Jr. - The Avengers (2012)

     Walt Disney PicturesWalt Disney Studios Motion PicturesParamount Pictures

MCU fans absolutely loved the post-credit shawarma scene in The Avengers, and fans have no one to thank other than the legendary actor, Robert Downy Jr. In the original script, after Iron Man fights with the Chitauri and falls to Earth, he was supposed to wake up and say “What’s next?”. However, Robert Downey Jr felt that the dialog did not seem fitting for the moment. After going through 3-pages worth of different options, they settled for Tony Stark saying: “Please tell me nobody tried to kiss me.” And then proceeded to ask the other Avengers if they wanted to have shawarma. The ending scene made the whole scene even more enjoyable.

Dacre Montgomery - Stranger Things (2019)

Perhaps the biggest reason why Stranger Things’ Billy, portrayed by Dacre Montgomery, was able to gather quite the fan following was because of the depth given to his character. Initially, Billy comes off as angry and a bit of a bully, but certain actions and then eventually the flashbacks reveal that past trauma led to him going astray. The whole idea of giving the audience a glimpse into Billy’s past was Montgomery’s suggestion. The actor asked the Duffer Brothers, the producers of the show, that it would be better to show a more humane side of Billy and add more scenes to show why exactly had he turned bad.