When filmmakers talk about "the magic of cinema," we assume that they're talking about the medium's ability to transport us into fantastical worlds of wonder and imagination, or some sappy shit like that. What they really mean is that, like in any job, accidents tend to happen when they're shooting a movie ... and sometimes those accidents turn out to be far better than what the director originally had in mind and are left in the film.

6 The Lord of the Rings Trilogy -- Viggo Mortensen's Pain Was Real

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What Was Supposed to Happen:

Viggo Mortensen was a last-minute replacement to play Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, which is kind of amazing considering that it's arguably the most important role. He pulled off the "risking life and limb to save the hobbits" thing like a champ, partially because he wasn't always acting.

For example, he actually murdered dozens of people over the course of those films.

The Happy Accident:

Due to a series of mishaps, miscalculations and God just straight up fucking with him, more often than not Mortensen really found himself in actual danger and/or anguish. For example, there's a scene in The Two Towers where Aragorn thinks that two of the hobbits are dead, angrily kicks a helmet and lets out a soul-scarring scream of grief.

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However, that wasn't so much great acting as actual physical pain -- while kicking the helmet, Mortensen broke two toes and fell to his knees, not because the script required it, but probably because he simply couldn't stay on his feet anymore.

Lord of the Rings: Behind the Scenes

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And that's why Aragorn is in a mobility scooter for the rest of the movie.

But hey, who needs toes? It's not like someone threw a knife at his face or something -- nope, that happened in The Fellowship of the Ring, when another actor misjudged a throw and accidentally flung a real knife at Mortensen's face at high velocity; according to the DVD commentary, Mortensen managed to swing his sword and block the knife, creating another unintentional badass moment for his character.