People rarely think about the tremendous amount of work that goes into any film production. A two-hour movie that one watches on any streaming platform on a Sunday afternoon may have been in production for many years, since there are a multitude of steps to create it, from conception of the idea to the finished product, going through castings, recordings, and the post-production process. Out of every stage in movie-making, there is a key part — filming — which involves shooting all the necessary footage to create the final product. The filming process usually takes several months, in some cases even years, which means that the cast members must spend many hours on the film set and, eventually, they develop a deeper friendship. A case in point would be the cast of Harry Potter, who, over the course of eight movies, spent ten years of their lives together on set. Not only did these actors develop a closer bond with each other, but they turned the film sets into a second home, spending most of their time there and even doing their homework.
Naturally, actors are not always working during filming sessions; there is some time off that they can spend on other tasks while the set is being prepared or other shots are being recorded. This downtime, coupled with the camaraderie that often exists among the cast, has led to a popular hobby: pranks. Thus, every now and then, especially during the promotion of movies, some of the pranks that the actors played on their co-stars are revealed. They range from minor jokes to well-thought-out gags that seem to have been played by professional pranksters. In this article, we will take a look at eight of the funniest pranks made by actors on set.
8 Parks and Recreation — Aubrey Plaza and the Toilet Goblin
The cast of Parks and Recreation is pretty well known for featuring actors who enjoyed pranking each other. Aubrey Plaza was one of the performers that was always on the lookout for the perfect occasion to pull a clever prank. One of her best had Adam Scott as her victim, putting a toilet goblin in the bathroom of his trailer. While Plaza never shared how her partner reacted when he was confronted with the goblin, they most likely had a few good laughs together. Plaza, of course, wasn't the only prankster on set as, according to some interviews, Chris Pratt and Nick Offerman also had their fun with a few gags during production.
7 Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice — Superman Being a Batman Fan
Who is more popular: Superman or Batman? Comparisons between these two superheroes have been going on since their inception, and over the years, fans have taken it upon themselves to defend and promote their favorite as much as possible. However, it seems that a verdict has been reached, all on the set of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Amid filming, Ben Affleck, the actor who played Batman, snuck into Henry Cavill's trailer, known for portraying Superman, with one clear idea in mind: to stuff the place with Batman's memorabilia. Following this prank, one could say that even Superman himself is a huge fan of Gotham City's superhero.
6 Larry Crowne — Tom Hanks' Knitting Joke
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Summit Entertainment
When a film features outstanding actors like Julia Roberts and Tom Hanks in its cast, things are already looking great, but if we add these artists' pranks to the mix, it gets even better. Hank and Roberts were cast together in the 2011 rom-com Larry Crowne, and soon after they began working together, Roberts became known on set for knitting whenever she had a spare moment. Her hobby went so far that one day, as a way of teasing her, Hanks had the whole crew greet Julia while knitting: from director to producers and camera operators, more than 50 people were knitting with every step Roberts took. This prank was definitely one of the greatest on-set moments for the film.
5 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban — Fart Machine
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This is one of the many pranks that have taken place on the Harry Potter set over the years, and it becomes even funnier when the relationship between the characters involved is taken into consideration. One of the scenes in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban shows the students of Hogwarts sleeping all together in the Great Hall, overseen by Professor Snape and Dumbledore. Alan Rickman and Michael Gambon, the actors playing Snape and Dumbledore respectively, decided to seize that scene and, with the complicity of the film's director, planted a fart machine under Daniel Radcliffe's sheets. When the camera landed on the teenager at the time of his scene, the noises immediately started to surface, causing the whole set to burst into laughter.
4 American Hustle — Jennifer Lawrence's Greatest Fear
This is not the only prank played on this Oscar-winning actress, but it is undoubtedly one of the most well-crafted, and it took place during the shooting of the 2013 film American Hustle. During one of the scenes in this production, Jennifer Lawrence had to be filmed in a graveyard outdoors, something that scared her a lot. Far from feeling sorry for her, co-stars Christian Bale and Bradley Cooper took advantage of the situation to pull a prank on the young woman by installing a grave with her information on it, something that caused Lawrence's terror and made the rest of the team giggle.
3 Me Before You — A Movie Full of Pranks
The 2016 romantic drama Me Before You stars two actors who, after filming, were given the title of pranksters. This is mostly because, throughout production, Emilia Clarke and Sam Claflin were engaged in a prank war with one another, trying to surprise each other at every chance they got. Clarke's best pranks included stuffing fish in Claflin's stockings and a fart machine in his character's wheelchair. Claflin, in revenge, stole absolutely every piece of furniture and items from Clarke's dressing room and hid them around the set. The only thing left in place were the actress' books.
2 The Monuments Men — George Clooney Drove Matt Damon Crazy
The amount of time George Clooney invested in this prank and the meticulousness with which he carried it out earns him a solid place on this list. The fact is that Clooney is already known to be a prankster, which is why his castmates tend to be very careful and attentive to his actions. However, when Matt Damon agreed to work on The Monuments Men alongside Clooney, he had no idea what was to come. As they were shooting the film, Damon himself was working hard to lose some pounds and spent many hours in the gym. Armed with this information, Clooney approached the costume team with an idea for a joke: every other day, the crew would shrink Damon's wardrobe by a couple of inches. Just imagine the actor's reaction when he put on the clothes and discovered that, after so many hours of exercise and a controlled diet, they seemed to be getting smaller every time! Oddly enough, Damon never talked about his wardrobe problem throughout filming, and only found out a while ago that it was, in fact, a joke pulled by Clooney's creative mastermind.
1 Moneyball — Car vs Golf Cart
The teasing battle between Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill on the Moneyball set deserves a prime spot on this list, as it was truly a match made in heaven. Moneyball marked the first dramatic starring role Hill was given, so the actor was very excited and focused to deliver. As part of this new experience, he was given something he'd never had before on other sets: a golf cart to travel around in. When Pitt saw how thrilled Jonah was with the cart, he made it his personal mission to prank him with it, so every time they left the set, the cart had something unusual on it: the pranks ranged from turning it upside down, to taking the wheels off, painting it pink, and even turning it into a Wham! band tribute cart. Jonah, who doesn't consider himself a good prankster, tried to keep up with Pitt's prank war, so one of the jokes he pulled off involved spraying Pitt's entire car with his name and arrows pointing to where he used to sit, so that no fan would miss the chance to wave at him when they saw him on the road.