5 Scenes From Iconic Movies Actors Couldn't Agree To

Making a movie is an immensely complex process, as filmmakers have to take into account countless factors that cause the original plans to be reworked over and over again.

This includes extra scenes that had to be left in the editing room for various reasons, from being unnecessary and cut for the movie to fit the theatrical release restrictions, to breaking the pacing of the movie, and many other possible problems.

But some scenes don't even get shot because the actors outright refuse to do them for one reason or another, so let's take a look at five such cases.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)

The Hobbit film trilogy, directed by Peter Jackson, deviated quite a bit from the source material, as J.R.R. Tolkien's rather short novel of the same name was turned into three epic fantasy films, each running about 2.5 hours.

As a result, a number of characters from the filmmaker's brilliant The Lord of the Rings trilogy who didn't actually appear in The Hobbit novel became part of the story of the big screen adaptation, including Saruman, played by Christopher Lee, Legolas, played by Orlando Bloom, and several others.

Viggo Mortensen, who portrayed Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, could have had his own share of cameo scenes, but the actor refused to reprise the role because it wouldn't have been faithful to the original, which he revealed while speaking to The Guardian.

The Fast and the Furious (2001)

According to an interview Michelle Rodriguez did with The Daily Beast, the original script for The Fast and the Furious, which launched a massively successful movie franchise that continues to this day, had a moment that almost made the actress quit the film.

In it, Rodriguez's Letty cheated on Vin Diesel 's Dominic Toretto with Paul Walker 's Brian O'Conner, which was in direct conflict with the actress' moral values, as being on the big screen was a dream come true for her and she "doesn't dream about being a slut."

Fortunately, the scene was thrown in the trash and Rodriguez's character became an integral part of the franchise.

The Fate of the Furious (2017)

Another behind-the-scenes drama in the Fast & Furious franchise involved Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson 's mutual dislike for each other, which resulted in them refusing to shoot scenes together, which was confirmed in an interview with Rolling Stone.

However, due to the importance of their characters to the overall story, all scenes with Dominic Toretto and Luke Hobbs, including fights, were created using editing tricks and post-production.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

This film, directed by David Fincher, is notable for many reasons, including the fact that it was one of the first major projects for Mahershala Ali, who has since become a world-famous actor.

But a scene in which his character, Tizzy Weathers, makes love to Taraji P. Henson's Queenie went against his Muslim beliefs, which Ali explained during his appearance on the Mind Power Mixtape podcast, so it had to be cut short and ended with the characters kissing.

Mary Magdalene (2018)

While Joaquin Phoenix has made a name for himself as an actor willing to go the extra mile for a role, there are apparently some scenes that are a bit too much even for him.

While portraying Jesus Christ himself, the actor refused to re-enact a scene from the Bible in which Jesus rubs mud in the eyes of a blind woman to heal her sight, which he revealed while speaking to CNN.

Sources: The Guardian, The Daily Beast, Rolling Stone, Mind Power Mixtape via Good Morning America, CNN