From witty comebacks to iconic catchphrases, some of cinema's most memorable lines were born in the moment. Join us as we celebrate the actors who brought their A-game to improvisation, creating unforgettable quotes that have stood the test of time. These silver screen legends prove that sometimes, the best scripts are unwritten.
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00:00Welcome to MsMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for actors with the most famous
00:07unscripted lines improvised by their actors in movies.
00:1410.
00:18Bill Murray
00:19It's in the hole!
00:20Caddy Shaq!
00:21As a kid, it's fun to imagine yourself under the bright lights during a big sports
00:26moment.
00:27You may even announce it, pretending there's a crowd watching you.
00:30This is what Bill Murray's character Carl does during a scene in the classic sports
00:34comedy Caddy Shaq.
00:44His monologue about a Cinderella story, as he calls it, wasn't even in the script.
00:49That's right, it was largely improvised.
00:52And it culminates with Carl saying the now-classic line,
00:55It's in the hole!
00:56It's in the hole!
00:58Not only did that imaginary ball go in the hole, but Murray's words went into our hearts
01:03forever.
01:04He just walked up and said, you know, I was having a hard time once, and I watched that
01:07movie.
01:08And I watched it, like, for a week or something.
01:11I just kept watching that movie, and it just cheered me up so much.
01:16I thought, man, if I did something like that for someone who's such an important person
01:20to so many people, and what she brings, you know, I felt really good about that.
01:259.
01:26Matthew McConaughey
01:27All right, all right, all right.
01:29Dazed and confused
01:30What makes this phrase especially fascinating is that its association with Matthew McConaughey
01:35has lasted so long.
01:37It started off as an ad-lib for his character David Wooderson in the 1993 film Dazed and
01:42Confused.
01:43In a way, it helped shape the rest of his career and overall persona.
01:51McConaughey embraced the moment and its attachment to him by referencing it in multiple interviews
01:55and speeches.
01:56I'm like, I'm nervous.
01:58First scene ever on film, and right before we're about to shoot, I've got friends in
02:03the car.
02:04I'm going, I've been listening to this live, more live Doors album, and there's this, in
02:09between two of the songs, Wooderson goes, all right, all right, all right, all right.
02:13You ever heard that recording?
02:15What makes it such an iconic quote is that it's three simple words.
02:20Well, one word said three times.
02:22Plus, it can be used in various situations.
02:25When it is, it's hard not to think of Matthew McConaughey.
02:28I'm in my car, I'm high as a kite, I'm listening to rock and roll, action, and there's the
02:33chick, all right, all right, all right.
02:36Number eight, Roy Scheider
02:38You're gonna need a bigger boat.
02:40Jaws
02:41When Martin Brody realizes what's in the water, his facial expression says it all.
02:45What he says next is an all-time classic quote.
02:48You're gonna need a bigger boat.
02:50Roy Scheider delivers the line brilliantly, but what makes it even more impressive is
02:55that it was an ad-lib.
02:57Actor-writer Carl Gottlieb explained in an interview that Scheider executed the improvised
03:01moment at the opportune time, and that it was appropriate within the context of the
03:06scene.
03:07Finally, after all this, I mean, it was maybe September, and we got the shark to raise out
03:11of the water, and that was that one shot with the Roy Scheider, you know.
03:15Obviously, the rest is history.
03:17This is one of the most memorable pieces of dialogue in the film, foreshadowing the
03:21immense dangers the characters go on to face.
03:24The line, we're gonna need a bigger boat, which has become part of the language for
03:31people who are faced with an insurmountable problem.
03:34Number seven, Harrison Ford
03:37I know.
03:38Star Wars Episode V, The Empire Strikes Back
03:41Love and admitting your feelings can be hard to do.
03:45Just ask Han Solo.
03:46He gets how complicated it can get.
03:48You like me because I'm a scoundrel.
03:51There aren't enough scoundrels in your life.
03:54I happen to like nice men.
03:56Nice men?
03:57Very nice.
03:58Harrison Ford, the actor bringing him to life, knew it too, and had a deep understanding
04:02of his character.
04:04So when Carrie Fisher's Princess Leia told him she loved him in The Empire Strikes Back,
04:08he answered as he thought Han Solo would.
04:10I love you.
04:12I know.
04:13This cocky, unconventional response wasn't in the script, but it fit exceptionally well
04:19with the man's personality.
04:21This ended up becoming one of the Star Wars franchise's best offerings, and for good reason.
04:26I thought it was a lost opportunity.
04:28Yeah, sure.
04:29I mean, this character had never behaved so unabashedly emotional and conventional before,
04:36and I thought, are we pissing away this great opportunity for the character?
04:42You want your badasses to be a badass to the end.
04:45Number 6.
04:46Humphrey Bogart Here's looking at you, kid.
04:49Casablanca Between takes during the filming of the all-time
04:52classic Casablanca, Ingrid Bergman was enjoying time with her English coach and hairdresser.
04:58That's when an iconic quote was born.
05:00Her co-star Humphrey Bogart apparently said, Here's looking at you, kid.
05:04When the cameras were rolling afterwards, he repeated those words with superb authenticity,
05:09so much so that they ultimately made the movie.
05:12In fact, the phrase is uttered by his character, Rick, multiple times, including during the
05:17emotional farewell scene.
05:19Here's looking at you, kid.
05:21Helping shape this particularly epic moment are the tears in Ilsa's eyes as she listens
05:26to the famous line, Winning three Oscars, catapulting Ingrid Bergman
05:30to stardom, and turning Humphrey Bogart into Hollywood's highest-paid actor.
05:35Number 5.
05:36Julia Roberts Big mistake.
05:39Big.
05:40Huge.
05:41Pretty Woman A worker at a clothing store makes a mistake
05:44by not assisting Vivian in Pretty Woman.
05:46I got money to spend in here.
05:49I don't think we have anything for you.
05:51You're obviously in the wrong place.
05:54Please leave.
05:55And our protagonist lets her know it.
05:57Make no mistake, Julia Roberts absolutely nails this meme-worthy line.
06:02It was reportedly an ad-lib by the actress, who captured the moment with a great choice
06:07of words and the right tone, given the circumstances.
06:10I was in here yesterday.
06:11You wouldn't wait on me?
06:12Oh.
06:13You work on commission, right?
06:14Uh, yes.
06:15Big mistake.
06:16Big.
06:17Huge.
06:18It would have been a big mistake, big, huge, if they had opted against using this line
06:26just because it wasn't in the script.
06:28Thank goodness it was included, as it provided us with one of the most quotable Julia Roberts
06:33moments ever.
06:34And you go back.
06:35Do you remember what you say?
06:36Do you remember lines from a movie?
06:37Big mistake.
06:38Big.
06:39Huge.
06:40Huge.
06:41You've got a great memory.
06:42I do.
06:43Number 4.
06:44Robert De Niro.
06:45You talkin' to me?
06:47Taxi driver.
06:48One of cinema's most famous mirror scenes features Robert De Niro as Travis Bickle,
06:53the titular taxi driver.
06:55This self-versus-self confrontation is emblematic of what the character is going through mentally
07:00at this point in the story.
07:01You talkin' to me?
07:02Who the hell else are you talkin' to, you talkin' to me?
07:08Well, director Martin Scorsese shared that in fact, much of the moment came from De Niro
07:14himself.
07:15More specifically, the iconic, you talkin' to me bit was the actor's improvised brainchild.
07:20And I was saying, do it again, do it again, and he's doing the thing with the moves and
07:23the gun.
07:24And that's actually, at Columbus Avenue, we shot that, on 88th Street.
07:27Some of the buildings now are gone, it was a condemned building.
07:30It was like they were, they were mad.
07:32So if you'd stayed on schedule, there'd be no you talkin' to me.
07:34That's right.
07:35And that wasn't in the script either, it came from him.
07:39The quote landed at number 10 on the American Film Institute's 2005 list of 100 years, 100
07:45movie quotes.
07:46Talk about a well-deserved honor.
07:48Oh yeah?
07:50Huh?
07:51Number 3.
07:52Robert Downey Jr.
07:53I am Iron Man.
07:55Iron Man.
07:56The Marvel Cinematic Universe was marked forever thanks to one simple line spoken by
08:00Tony Stark.
08:02Truth is, I am Iron Man.
08:11Amazingly, Robert Downey Jr. came up with these words himself.
08:15They were not in the comics, nor in the scripts, and helped cement the superhero as one of
08:19the most well-known and popular of his kind.
08:23And I am Iron Man.
08:32The simplicity of the quote, and the setting in which it's used, make it extra memorable.
08:37Let's not forget that this happens at the very end of the first Iron Man movie.
08:41The timing, of course, has immense power as well, especially when considering the many
08:45appearances that RDJ makes as the title character after this.
08:50I am Iron Man.
08:51Number 2.
08:52Sean Connery.
08:53Bond.
08:54James Bond.
08:55Dr. No.
08:56You know that distinct way that James Bond introduces himself?
09:00Of course you do.
09:01Well, that was apparently originally improvised by Sean Connery in the first film of the series,
09:071962's Dr. No.
09:08I admire your luck, Mr. Bond.
09:14James Bond.
09:15Needless to say, it's right up there with the most memorable introductions in the history
09:20of cinema.
09:21Connery's ad-lib was just one of many elements of his incredible performance as Agent 007,
09:26and it went on to leave a lasting impact.
09:29The name's Bond.
09:32James Bond.
09:33Indeed.
09:34His improvised line captured the character's essence so well, it stuck.
09:38From there, it became a staple in the franchise, no matter what actor was playing the main
09:42part.
09:43James Bond.
09:45James Bond.
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10:02Number 1.
10:04Jack Nicholson.
10:05Here's Johnny.
10:07And you can't handle the truth.
10:09The Shining and A Few Good Men.
10:11Nicholson remembers where they were when they first heard Jack Torrance speak these
10:14now-immortal words in The Shining.
10:17Here's Johnny.
10:18The circumstances and style with which he does it is nothing short of haunting.
10:23It feels so perfectly placed, you would think it had been planned and rehearsed to death.
10:27Yet in reality, Jack Nicholson came up with it.
10:31That's not the only ad-lib he has on his resume, either.
10:34In the legal drama A Few Good Men, the Scourge reportedly had him saying,
10:38You already have the truth.
10:40Instead, the actor delivered something better.
10:43You want answers?
10:44I think I'm entitled to them.
10:45You want answers!
10:46I want the truth!
10:47You can't handle the truth!
10:49This heat-of-the-moment courtroom scene became one of the most quotable movie references
10:54around.
10:55And as soon as Jack Nicholson began to read his part, he gave the performance that he
10:58gave in the movie that day.
11:00And as soon as he spoke, it was like everybody at the table went, oh, we're really doing
11:03this.
11:06And it just went from here to here.
11:08Is there a certain movie line that you quote the most?
11:11Let us know in the comments.
11:13You complete me?
11:14You had me at hello?
11:15You complete me?
11:16Do you agree with our picks?
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