Filmmaker Martin Scorsese has directed many unforgettable movies. From Goodfellas and Taxi Driver to Casino, but The Departed, released in 2006, might just be his best movie to date. It was a brutal tale of loyalty and betrayal that ultimately won him his long-overdue Oscar for Best Director. Moreover, apart from his directing genius, it also featured the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio and Jack Nicholson.
But behind one of the most intense scenes, an unscripted moment happened that even DiCaprio didn’t see coming. Yes, Nicholson decided to go off script and pulled something truly shocking. Let’s dive deeper!
Leonardo DiCaprio faced real fear thanks to Jack Nicholson’s shocking move
As a movie, The Departed is filled with shocking twists, but one of its most intense moments wasn’t even in the script. That’s right – it came from actor Jack Nicholson and terrified Leonardo DiCaprio in real life. In the movie, DiCaprio plays Billy Costigan, an undercover cop trying to earn the trust of a dangerous crime boss, Frank Costello, played by Nicholson.
What no one expected (least of all DiCaprio) was for Nicholson to suddenly pull a gun on him during one scene. It wasn’t written in the script, and even director Martin Scorsese didn’t know it was coming. Apparently, The Shining actor had secretly asked the prop master to place the pistol nearby.
While filming the tense yet infamous “rat” sequence, Costello suspects a mole, and Nicholson pulls the gun out and aims it at DiCaprio, adding real fear to the scene. To make matters more interesting, DiCaprio’s shocked reaction wasn’t acting; it was completely genuine.
This unscripted moment made it into the final cut of The Departed and is now seen as one of the movie’s most powerful scenes.
Thus, also proving how far Jack Nicholson was willing to go to keep things unpredictable. With just one unexpected move, he made a chilling scene unforgettable for both his fans and Leonardo DiCaprio.
Not just The Departed, Jack Nicholson went off script in The Shining too
Jack Nicholson is famous for his unpredictable performances, and The Departed wasn’t the only movie where he went off script. That’s right – years earlier, he did the same thing in The Shining and created one of the most iconic movie moments in horror history. Here, he played the role of Jack Torrance, a man slowly losing his mind while trapped in a haunted hotel with his family.
As his character breaks down, he becomes violent and terrifying. In one particular scene, Torrance smashes through a bathroom door with an ax, trying to get to his wife, Wendy. That’s when he leans in and says, “Here’s Johnny!” What many fans don’t know is that this famous line wasn’t in the script, and the actor improvised it on the spot.
That line was actually a reference to a popular American talk show at the time called The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, where the host was often introduced with “Here’s Johnny!” While the actor threw it in as a joke, it worked. Even director Stanley Kubrick, who’s famous for being detail-obsessed, allowed it in the final cut.
Today, that one ad-libbed line is one of the most quoted in movie history, perfectly detailing the genius mind of Jack Nicholson.
You can currently rent The Departed in the USA on Apple TV+. Moreover, The Shining is available to stream on HBO Max (USA).
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
