That strange tapping on his chest and humming weren't actually part of the scene at all.
McConaghy did it between takes as his own personal ritual before filming, but Scorsese noticed it and decided to leave it in the film.
That moment wasn’t planned
He just started clapping during the scene
And they kept it
Feels so natural you’d never think it wasn’t scripted
In this scene, not everything went strictly according to plan. Heath Ledger improvised and reacted differently than expected; some of his movements and reactions weren’t clearly scripted, but they decided to leave it that way because the scene looked more “lively.”
He underwent rigorous training for the film shooting, tactics, and movement
which is why there are so many long, uncut scenes in the film where you can tell it’s really him
That line wasn’t even in the script.
They just let him try something in the moment.
And somehow it ended up being one of the most iconic lines ever.
Nolan didn't want to use CGI for the fields; he actually planted huge swathes of land with corn specifically for the shoot, and after filming wrapped, the corn was sold so the project actually managed to recoup a small portion of its budget through the harvest.