History Main / ActorInspiredElement

* In ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'', Po was originally meant to be a ParodySue character who wondered why the Furious Five didn't like him, but actor Creator/JackBlack thought the audience would sympathize more with him if he was more aware of his flaws.
* For ''WesternAnimation/{{Frozen|2013}}'', Anna's voice actor Creator/KristenBell pushed for Anna to be more goofy, wanting a flawed, realistic heroine. Her catchphrase, "Wait, what?", came from Kristen, who also requested Anna wake up with bedhead and have a tendency to "put her foot in her mouth."
* [[BigBad Ratigan]] from ''WesternAnimation/TheGreatMouseDetective'' was originally designed to be [[LeanAndMean thin and frail]], but the animators were so impressed by Creator/VincentPrice's [[LargeHam hammy performance]], that they changed Ratigan's design to match it.
* Sherri Stoner served as live-action reference for both Ariel in ''WesternAnimation/{{The Little Mermaid|1989}}'' and Belle in ''WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast''. She has the tendency of getting her hair out of her face which translated into Ariel's bang blowing and in the way Belle always pushes a hair lock away from her eyes. Also, Ariel's lip biting.

* Creator/SachaBaronCohen provided two of the most famous aspects of the ''WesternAnimation/{{Madagascar}}'' films and his character, King Julien:
** In the original script, Cedric the Entertainer's character, Maurice, was the king of the lemurs and Julien was his advisor. Baron Cohen pointed out that an OnlySaneMan king having a buffoonish advisor didn't make much sense, and that the inverse would work better. This gave the script a much better dynamic while also scoring himself a bigger role than Cedric.
** The obscure '90s song "I Like To Move It, Move It" was originally used as background music in the lemur party scene. Baron Cohen heard the song and asked if he could record a cover in-character as Julien. The song is now the franchise's theme song and is certainly no longer obscure if inextricably connected to the films.
* Near the beginning of ''WesternAnimation/AtlantisTheLostEmpire'', when Milo Thatch gets seasick, he wonders why there were carrots, when he didn't even ''eat'' carrots. Creator/MichaelJFox, his voice actor, is allergic to carrots.

* Creator/KeithDavid used to shout out "Jalapeña" as a replacement for "Hallelujah," a CharacterTic he picked from blues singer Bernadine Mitchell. Come ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'', this would become a mild {{Catchphrase}} among the main characters, particularly Goliath (whom David voiced).

* In ''Film/Carrie1976'' the red baseball cap Norma wears was brought in by PJ Soles. She was initially only cast for two weeks, but Creator/BrianDePalma liked her ThrowItIn of hitting Creator/SissySpacek with the caps during one scene and her role was greatly expanded.

* Happened quite a few times on ''Series/BreakingBad''. Walt's physical appearance -- his hair and mustache and being slightly overweight -- were all Creator/BryanCranston's suggestions. Saul's comb-over was the first thing Creator/BobOdenkirk suggested when he was invited to play the character. Marie's profession (X-ray technician) was suggested by Betsy Brandt because she wanted her to look respectable in a LabcoatOfScienceAndMedicine but not actually be a doctor. And Jesse shaving his head at the beginning of season 4 was Creator/AaronPaul's idea. Tuco's love of cooking was inspired by the fact that Creator/RaymondCruz is a passionate amateur chef. Creator/VinceGilligan always praises the collaborative nature of the series, so there's likely even more instances.

* Happened quite a few times on ''Series/BreakingBad''. Walt's physical appearance -- his hair and mustache and being slightly overweight -- were all Creator/BryanCranston's suggestions. Saul's comb-over was the first thing Creator/BobOdenkirk suggested when he was invited to play the character. Marie's profession (X-ray technician) was suggested by Betsy Brandt because she wanted her to look respectable in a LabcoatOfScienceAndMedicine but not actually be a doctor. And Jesse shaving his head at the beginning of season 4 was Creator/AaronPaul's idea. Creator/VinceGilligan always praises the collaborative nature of the series, so there's likely even more instances.

This is so prevalent, even ''UsefulNotes/HMTheQueen'' has done it.

* In the intro spot for the London 2012 Olympics featuring UsefulNotes/HMTheQueen and Creator/DanielCraig's Film/JamesBond, the Queen was originally going to be acted by an impersonator -- when Creator/DannyBoyle contacted the Palace for approval, she said that she wanted to do it herself. And then, when they were filming, she didn't have any lines but suggested to the creators that she should say something when Bond walks in. With the go-ahead, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth [=II=] had got into the show and invented her own lines.

** Creator/JonFavreau has [[https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/pedro-pascal-the-mandalorian-star-wars-wonder-woman-1984-1234803468/ vaguely stated]] that Creator/PedroPascal's "insight" into Mando's relationship with the Child prompts the writers to "rethink moments over the course of the show." Pascal [[https://www.starwarsnewsnet.com/2022/05/pedro-pascal-reflects-on-his-wild-ride-as-the-mandalorian-with-vanity-fair.html elaborated]] that he pitched an intimate moment of Mando unveiling his face to the Child. Favreau wouldn't tell him whether or not the show's plan already included such a scene, but it ended up occurring in the Season 2 finale.

*** John Colicos was the person who gave [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy the Klingons]] their dark-skinned, mustached look. He said he was going for the "UsefulNotes/GenghisKhan" look. (The script describes the Klingons only as "Oriental, hard-faced".) Makeup artist Fred Phillips agreed on it, and conceived the Klingons in this fashion. And in spite of the considerable evolution of Klingon makeup, Colicos retained some essential features of his original appearance when he portrayed Kor on ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine''.

See also: DirectedByCastMember, WrittenByCastMember, and MetaCasting.

* ''Film/ForrestGump'' originally had Creator/TomHanks unsure on how to do Forrest's SimpletonVoice, and then he heard Michael Conner Humphreys, who played the child version of the character, and was sure of which accent to apply.

** In ''The Divergent Series: Allegiant'' Christina controls her drones with her right hand when everyone else uses their left. This is due to Zoe Kravitz being left-handed.

** Creator/JonFavreau has [[https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/pedro-pascal-the-mandalorian-star-wars-wonder-woman-1984-1234803468/ vaguely stated]] that Creator/PedroPascal's "insight" into Mando's relationship with the Child prompts the writers to "rethink moments over the course of the show."

* Interviews with Creator/EdwardJamesOlmos after ''Series/MiamiVice'' ended had him explained that he added several aspects of his character:
** His introductory scene in "One Eyed Jack", where he attends a crime scene and orders Tubbs to "not come up to my face like this again, Detective", was ad-libbed and caught Phillip Michael Thomas so off-guard that he reacted in a threatening manner, forcing Creator/DonJohnson to pull him away. Notably, [[ThrowItIn this was the take used in the final cut]].
** Olmos said his choice to ignore Johnson's gaze was deliberate, in order to create a "distance" between the two characters and make Castillo more mysterious. This action caused resentment between the two actors, which can be seen throughout the series in their behavior towards one another.
** He also said that Castillo's desk should always be free of paper work, and that the cops knock on the door before entering the office. He also requested that he wear a plain black suit and tie, in sheer contrast to the other characters' colorful designer suits. In later episodes, Castillo would be shown sleeping at his desk whenever the Vice team was engaged in a major/multi-day case.

* ''Film/TheUnbearableWeightOfMassiveTalent'' originally started out depicting Nick Cage as an absentee father to Addy. Creator/NicolasCage warned that this would make him seem too unsympathetic, especially since the real Cage never neglects his children. The final film has Nick make efforts at the beginning to spend time with Addy, but struggle to form common ground.

** During the first month of filming ''Film/ShangChiAndTheLegendOfTheTenRings'', Xu Xialing had [[NonConformistDyedHair a rebellious red streak in her hair]], but Meng'er Zhang would ask for it to be removed as she felt the "Asian girl with a hair streak" trope was too cliché and stereotypical. Director Creator/DestinDanielCretton and Marvel agreed, and so not only were future scenes filmed with her normal black hair, the red hair in previously-filmed scenes was edited out.