A Clockwork Orange’s “Singin’ In The Rain” & 9 Other Iconic Improvised Movie Lines

Good or bad, every movie begins with a script. It is the written guide to telling that particular story, and everyone follows it, from the director to the production designer, from the cinematographer to the actors. But, sometimes, new ideas come after the writers have already finished their part.

Improvisation happens all around in a movie set, and when it results in an iconic line, continuously repeated by fans, it becomes a big deal. There are many examples of lines that emerged from the actor portraying the character, but sometimes even other crew members’ ideas make it to the final cut. Here are the top 10 improvised iconic lines in movies that we love.

10 A Clockwork Orange’s “Singin’ In The Rain”

A Clockwork Orange is a classic on the bizarre. Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of the dystopian book of the same name tells the story of Alex, an ultra-violent thug who gets caught and forced into an experimental psychological rehabilitation. One of its most memorable moments is the heavy scene where Alex and the gang break into a couple’s house, beat them, and rape the woman.

While methodically preparing to commit the aforementioned atrocities, Alex recites the lyrics to Gene Kelly’s Singin’ in the Rain, showing the audience how joyful is this moment to him. The line was improvised by Kubrick and actor Malcolm MacDowell when discussing how to spice up this key moment in the story.

9 Titanic’s “I’m The King Of The World”

We can all agree that one of the most iconic moments in James Cameron’s Titanic is when Leo DiCaprio’s character, Jack Dawson, stands at the front of the ship with his arms open and yells, “I’m the King of the World.” But this line wasn’t in the script.

As Cameron said on multiple occasions, he came up with this line on set because he wasn’t happy with how the original scene was going. They tried a few different versions until finding the perfect one. Legend says DiCaprio wasn’t happy too about, but in the end, we’re all happy he did it as the movie wouldn’t be the same without it.

8 Casablanca’s “Here’s Looking At You Kid”

Who doesn’t love this classic romance, often considered the greatest movie ever made? Casablanca has no shortage of memorable quotes and unforgettable moments, but one, in particular, was not in the original screenplay.

The affectionate flirtatious “Here’s looking at you, kid” is said by Humphrey Bogart to Ingrid Bergman four different times throughout the movie, and it is nowhere to be found in the script. The line is very much in character, and Bogart improvised it.

7 Avengers: Endgame’s “I Am Iron Man”

If you haven’t seen the movie, beware of spoilers ahead. In the closing chapter of this superhero saga, one of the most iconic characters comes to an end. Tony Stark and all his swagger are gone after his character sacrifices himself to destroy Thanos and his army. But his death scene had a line that wasn’t in the script, and it wasn’t Robert Downey Jr.’s first choice.

After going back and forth without finding a good solution, the directors, Joe and Anthony Russo, talked about the problem with the movie editor when he suggested they closed Stark’s journey by quoting himself in the 2008 Iron Man movie. The directors loved it so much they got everything ready to film it the next day.

6 The Shining’s “Here’s Johnny”

The Shining is a horror masterpiece, and it’s a fact that without Jack Nicholson, it wouldn’t be the same. The actor made the scary piece scarier in various moments with his unique facial expressions and psycho-like demeanor. But one moment, in particular, gave the movie a few extra spooks.

That is when Nicholson’s character breaks the door separating him from his wife and son, puts his head in between the door and the wall, and gives them, and us, his take on Johnny Carson’s classic catchphrase introduction “Here’s Johnny.” The line was improvised by the actor and became an instant classic.

5 Jaw’s “You’re Gonna Need A Bigger Boat”

No one can ever make a shark movie without leading the audience to compare it to Jaws. Spielberg’s classic is known for many iconic moments, and the line referring to a bigger boat is one of them.

The improvised line was actually an inside joke between the cast and the crew, who encountered a few bumps due to a budget shorter than needed. One of the bumps was the camera crew’s support boat, which was too small to handle its job. Everyone kept telling the producers they were going to need a bigger boat, which became a catchphrase for whenever something didn’t go as expected in the shoot. Eventually, the line made itself into the movie, and aren’t we all glad it did?

4 When Harry Met Sally’s “I’ll Have What She’s Having”

This is a romantic comedy classic. Written by Nora Ephron and starring Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal, this movie delightfully depicts the friendship turned romance between Harry and Sally. And it’s most repeated line comes from the very famous Katz’ deli scene.

In this scene, Sally claims that men can’t tell when a woman lies about reaching orgasm. To prove her point, she pretends to have one right there and then. Upon hearing her moans, the other patrons stare at Sally, impressed, and a woman nearby immediately asks her waiter for the same dish she’s having.  A funny fact is the woman who delivered this memorable quote was Rob Reiner’s mom, Estelle Reiner.

3 Star Wars: The Empire Strike Back’s “I Know”

Old or new, all Star Wars fans cringe at Hans Solo’s almost death scene in The Empire Strikes Back. Before Harrison Ford’s character is lowered into a Carbonite mold and frozen alive, Princess Leia, played by the amazing Carrie Fisher, rushes to him and passionately delivers what could’ve been their last kiss.

Stormtroopers separate the two, and Princess Leia looks Hans Solo in the eyes and says, for the first time, “I love you.” In the script, Solo’s response was supposed to be a generic “I love you too,” but Ford felt it would be more in character if he said, “I know.” And he was right. This line is iconic, and we’re all glad Hans Solo didn’t die then.

2 Avengers: Infinity War’s “I Don’t Wanna Go”

If you haven’t seen the movie, be advised there are spoilers ahead. In the third movie of the Avengers saga, Infinity War, Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, and half of life in the universe are snapped out of existence by victorious Thanos. As Peter Parker turns into ashes, he repeats to Tony Stark that he doesn’t want to go. This line was not in the first version of the script.

The movie’s directors Joe and Anthony Russos told Holland to improvise, and so he did. The actor later revealed that the improvised scene didn’t make it into the final cut as is. It actually sparked the final idea, and the scene was reworked to fit Holland’s line, “I don’t want to go.” Tom Holland also revealed that repeating the same line repeatedly is his technique to cry when acting.

1 Taxi Driver’s “You Talkin’ To Me”

Scorcese’s Taxi Driver is a classic. And Robert DeNiro’s scene staring at himself in the mirror is a memorable snippet of the psychological thriller. The actor improvised the whole dialogue in the scene.

In 2016, in the movie’s 40th-anniversary screening, director Martin Scorcese said the script guided DeNiro’s character to talk to himself while looking in the mirror but didn’t specify what he had to say. DeNiro came up with the famous quote that is a perfect depiction of his character’s personality and journey.

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