10 Times Actors Went Too Far (And Improved Movie Scenes)

This has to be one of cinema's most recognisable and imitated moments, so it might come as a shock that it almost never made it into the film at all.

The filming of The Shining was one of the most intense processes in Hollywood. Director Stanley Kubrick was nothing short of a terror on set, especially to Shelley Duvall, who he tormented and dismissed as a terrible actress. This was all intentional, as a means of making Duvall more believable as a scared and desperate woman terrorised by her husband.

Kubrick's intense filmmaking method also worked wonders for Jack Nicholson, who went deep into his role as Jack Torrance. During the scene in which he cuts a hole in a door in an attempt to get to his wife Nicholson poked his head through the door and quoted the opening of The Johnny Carson Show with terrifying (and iconic) results: "Heeerrree's Johnny!"

It was a brilliant move, but Kubrick was unfamiliar with the reference and felt it wouldn't work. Nicholson had to convince him to keep it in, and his reasoning eventually worked. It's a good thing, too; that line is now the most famous of the film and a milestone in horror movie history.

And if you want proof of just how intense the making of this film was, check out this behind-the-scenes view of Nicholson before he created history.