10 Famous Movie Scenes That Came From On-Set Issues
8. Joker Fiddles With The Trigger - The Dark Knight
It's been over ten years, but Heath Ledger's final, powerhouse performance as the chaotic murderer Joker in The Dark Knight remains as haunting as it did when it first came out. He was able to perfectly capture the enigmatic nature of the character, always seeming to know exactly what was going on and making things up on the fly simultaneously.
One of the scenes that best embodies this dichotomy is when the Joker bombs a hospital. Leaving the premises, Joker initiates the explosion only to be befuddled when only a few of them go off. He looks back at the still standing hospital in exaggerated annoyance and starts jiggling the detonator. Suddenly, the rest of the bombs go off and the building goes up in a ball of flames, letting Joker escape in the mad chaos.
While a brilliant scene, it was not premeditated. Originally, the pyrotechnics were all supposed to go off at once, leaving Joker to walk away from a massive explosion like an uncaring psychopath. But a faulty wire caused only a few to ignite on cue and Ledger, understanding the error, improvised the rest of the scene while staying completely in character while the crew quickly fixed the issue.
The scene is now one of the most beloved in the movie because it reminded audiences that part of the reason Joker is terrifying is that he's also very funny.