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

This now classic moment in Quentin Taratino's raging anti-slavery epic is actually a Leonardo DiCaprio improvisation, but Kerry Washington deserves props for what she went through thanks to her co-star.

Samuel L. Jackson, Jamie Foxx, DiCaprio and Washington have all gone on record to say that the filming of Django Unchained was a brutal and often long-winded ordeal. Some takes took hours and the set was usually uncomfortably hot.

During a scene in which DiCaprio's vile plantation owner Calvin Candie confronts Django (Foxx), he has the former slave's wife (Washington) brought out. Angered by his guests' plot against him, Candie slams his hand on the table in rage. During the filming of this moment, DiCaprio kept losing his voice and cut his hand open on some glass.

Rather than check the damage and stop filming, DiCaprio, always the professional, kept acting with a bloodied hand and took things to a new level when he rubbed the blood on Washington's face. Sure, she looks mortified in the scene, but you can't help but wonder just how much of it was acting. Nonetheless, Washington kept her cool and the scene played out beautifully.

DiCaprio later said he didn't want to look at his injury. He was in the zone, and found it much more effective for the scene to look at Tarantino rather than his wound. That's commitment to a bit, and well worth the risk.