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How the unscripted hand flex in 'Pride and Prejudice' became an iconic romantic moment

This subtle, two-second scene has had women swooning for 20 years.

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Mr. Darcy's hand flex packs a huge romantic wallop.

When we think of romantic moments in film, some classic scenes come to mind. Billy Crystal yelling his love at Meg Ryan on New Year's Eve in When Harry Met Sally. The much-spoofed "I'm flying" scene in Titanic.The cheesy-but-effective "You had me at hello" line in Jerry Maguire. We watch romantic movies for precisely these interactions that allow us to live vicariously through the characters and feel the chemical rush of falling in love.

Romantic scenes generally include a declaration of love, a passionate embrace or kiss, or some other overt expression of affection and desire. But one romantic scene that involves none of those things has become an iconic fan favorite despite it just being a brief close-up shot of a hand.

The "hand flex" from Joe Wright's 2005 adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudicesays more in two seconds than many entire scenes do, which is what makes it so powerful. Some people even call it the sexiest non-sex scene in cinema.

In the scene, Mr. Darcy (played by Matthew MacFadyen) briefly takes Elizabeth Bennett's (played by Keira Knightley) hand to help her into a carriage. At this point in the story, the two characters have been prickly toward one another after getting off on the wrong foot, though their attraction is becoming palpable. For the quickest of moments, their hands touch and their eyes meet, and there's an unspoken flash of recognition. Then, as Darcy walks away from the carriage, he flexes his hand—literally for two seconds—and despite it being the slightest gesture that no one would even notice in real life, it speaks volumes about what he's feeling.

Chemistry. Electricity. Longing. Tension. It's all right there in his outstretched fingertips.

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Director Joe Wright shared with PEOPLE how the scene came about.

"It wasn't in the script, but that was an important moment in the book," Wright said. "This sudden realization, as they were parting, of what they meant to each other or the kind of disturbance they caused in each other."

Wright said the hand stretch was an improvised move by MacFadyen's, though MacFadyen has said that Wright was the one who initially noticed him doing it.

""Our bodies are so much smarter than our minds often," Wright told PEOPLE. "Although their conscious minds are fighting against each other, their bodies are two magnets drawn to each other. As they touch, even that little hand lifting helping her, which is pure etiquette of the period, somehow creates this kind of electronic shock wave through them both, and he has to shake it away."

pride and prejudice, mr. darcy, elizabeth bennett, film, love scenePride And Prejudice GIF by Working TitleGiphy

Those electrical pulses of sheer chemistry are visceral when they happen in real life, and in that simple stretching of his fingers we can all feel it. Ironically, however, Wright had been disappointed with that day's filming, feeling like he hadn't captured what he hoped to in the scene.

"It had been a gloomy day when we shot it," Wright told PEOPLE. "I felt like I hadn't conveyed what I wanted to, and it's odd and gratifying to find that we told our story, and people have responded. Because on the day, I thought, 'Oh no, we didn't get it. It was rubbish. It didn't work.' Now, people are still posting it. It's odd and really nice."

hands, scene, pride and prejudice, hand scene, mr. darcy, film Pride & PrejudiceGiphy

Imagine thinking that scene hadn't worked. So many people really do doubt themselves more than they should, eh? As people's commentary makes clear, the scene is perfection.

"This is my favourite minute of acting from all the films I've seen over my 57 years."

"That's it. This is more intimate than other scenes from romance movies."

"I'm watching this movie for the first time (shocker i know), and this scene is so intensely romantic it's crazy—more intimate than full body contact. I think it's because of how they filmed it, all close-up shots."

"Like an electric current ran from her to him and the only way he could express what teaching her means is that hand-flex. That’s how you tell a whole story with one gesture. Swoooonniing."

"Tell me you want me without saying a word. This IS most women's dreams."

"I always come back to this scene IT SHOOOK ME."

"This scene has its own separate fan base."

Fans can see the hand flex on the big screen for the film's 20th anniversary as it will be re-released in select theaters on April 20, 2025. It's worth a trip to the movie theater, as the 2005 Pride & Prejudice has a gorgeous aesthetic that is enhanced on a larger screen. Joe Wright really did know what he was doing with this film from start to finish, hand flex and all.

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Julie Andrews said she literally could "feel the evil" when visiting the Von Trapp house

The story behind the movie might be more interesting than the movie itself.

Image via Wikicommons

Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music

Sometimes the story behind the movie is more interesting than the story in the movie.

In her autobiography, Home Work, Julie Andrews shared some of her experiences filming The Sound of Music. Andrews spoke with BuzzFeed News about her book, revealing her thoughts on the actual von Trapp family house. The movie musical, which is based on a section of the real-life Maria von Trapp's book, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers, was shot in a Hollywood studio.

The classic scene of Julie Andrews spinning in a meadow was shot in Bavaria, and the exteriors of the von Trapp house were filmed at a different house entirely.


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Andrews did visit the von Trapp house in Salzburg, Austria later on in her life.

"It wasn't until much later that I happened to visit the real villa where they actually lived," she told BuzzFeed News. During her visit, Andrews said she could "feel the evil that once permeated those walls." The evil Andrews refers to is, of course, the Nazis. "Because after they fled the country, which they had to do, as in the film, [Heinrich] Himmler took over that villa, and the atrocities there were just terrible," she continued.

The story behind the von Trapp house is much darker than what's touched on in the splashy Hollywood musical. The actual von Trapp family lived in the house from 1923 until they fled Austria in 1938. In 1938, the Nazis annexed Austria, making life hard for the singing family. Georg von Trapp refused to fly the Nazi flag on his house, and declined a request to sing at Hilter's birthday party. There was fear their neighbors would spy on them and their children would become brainwashed by Nazi politics. Even though the family was offered fame, they decided to stay true to their principals and leave Austria.

Julie Andrews, The Sound of Music, musicals, Germany, World War 2, Nazi Germany, Von TrappChristopher Plummer and Julie Andrews on location in Salzburg, 1964upload.wikimedia.org

Not one year later, the house was occupied by Nazis. Heinrich Himmler used the house as his summer residence until 1945.

Himmler was the second most powerful man of the Third Reich. Himmler set up and ran the Nazi concentration camps. The house was surrounded by armed guards and barbed wires. A barracks for the SS was built in the garden. Himmler also built the white wall around the house using slave labor. After the wall was completed, he had those who constructed the wall shot. Very monstrous.

Now, the von Trapp house is a more peaceful place. In 1947, the property was purchased from the von Trapp family by the Missionaries of the Precious Blood. In 2008, it opened to the public as a hotel.


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While the house has a heavy history, the previous residents of the property took satisfaction in knowing the von Trapps resisted the Nazi party. "What Himmler did here is a heavy weight on the house," Precious Blood Fr. Andreas Hasenburger, the rector of the Kolleg St. Josef, told the National Catholic Reporter. "But we are also proud to live in the von Trapp house, the house of the man who said no to the Führer."

It takes a lot of guts to stand up for what you believe in, especially when you're pressured to forfeit your integrity. Knowing that the family gave up their life to stay true to their principals makes The Sound of Music so much better.

This article originally appeared five years ago.

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Those born between 1970 and 1985 are ditching Gen X and millennial titles for 'Gen Goonie'

These kids grew up in a very specific (and free!) way.

via Craig Duffy/Flickr

A scene from "The Goonies" (1985).

Gen X (1965 to 1980) is often called the “forgotten generation” because it is sandwiched between the much larger baby boomer and millennial generations. However, the "forgotten" label carries a special meaning for younger Gen Xers because they were probably the least parented group of kids in American history. Those born in the ‘70s were raised when there were more dual-income households and divorced parents. So many wore keys around their necks and cared for themselves after school.

Younger Gen Xers also grew up when parents were more permissive, allowing them to stay out all day on their bikes. They only knew it was time to come home when the street lights came on. They also grew up in the last analog era without cellphones, and parents had to call around various houses to find out where their kids were. Sure, being a kid in those days was a little risky, but it also fostered a fantastic sense of independence.

This experience isn't completely limited to Gen Xers; some older millennials also got to experience this type of freedom. Because kids born between 1970 and 1985 had a very specific experience, some born in this era have taken to calling themselves Generation Goonie, after the 1985 film, “The Goonies” starring Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Key Huy Quan, and Corey Feldman.

"Having been fortunate enough to speak to a lot of audiences, I have found that younger generations consider Gen X lucky to have grown up without social media and cellphones,” Chris Clews, a keynote speaker and author of 'The Ultimate Essential Work & Life Lessons from '80s Pop Culture,' told Newsweek. “They often come up to me and express a desire to have grown up in an era where we knew where everyone was based on the bikes in a front yard, rather than location sharing on Snapchat."


“The Goonies” is a great example of the kids from this era because they lived a feral existence, traveling long distances on their bikes, had a thirst for adventure, a crude sense of humor, and an independent spirit that meant “never say die.” When their parents were on the verge of losing their houses, they didn’t wait for them to do something; they went on a dangerous mission to find pirates’ treasure to prevent them from being destroyed by evil developers.

The Generation Goonie trend is taking off on TikTok, where many younger Gen Xers and older millennials proudly embrace the title.

@its_me____stefanie

💯 #genx #millennial #80sbaby #70sbaby #80smovies #80smusic

@amandasessions84

#thegooniesera #thegooniesgeneration #foryoupage #fyp #goodenough #goodenoughcyndilauper #thegoonies #gooniesneversaydie☠️ #gooniesneverdie #1984 #borninthe80s #90skid

@good_hearted_woman76

Heyyyyy youuuu guyyyssss…

@michellemm50

Ok I’m here for this #fyp #foryou #over40 #vibes #zennial #millennial #genx #gooniesmovie




"1981, we had the best childhood out of any generation ever," Bugface wrote.

"Now this is something I’m proud to be a part of!!!!!" Rob wrote.

"Hey you guys.." 77 genx here, Yorkshire, England. We definitely are the only generation of true play outside, tree climbing, bike riding, respectful, no mobile phone, VHS watching kids," 2Dogs wrote.


There’s nothing wrong with people who want to embrace the term Gen X. But, 40 years after “The Goonies” came out in theaters, the attitudes and the independence of the kids in the movie—once deemed annoying by many—can be seen as a great example of a time that, sadly, we can never go back to. Humanity has crossed the digital divide and taken some of the adventure out of childhood. “The Goonies” is an excellent example of what we’ve lost, and those who understand the spirit of that era should be proud to embrace the title of “Goonie.”

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Tom Hanks shares the 'best' advice an angry director told him, and it applies to everyone

He took it to heart, and it changed his life and career.

via Ralph_Ph/Wikimedia Commons

Tom Hanks speaking to a crowd in London in 2023.

Tom Hanks, 68, has had an incredible career as an actor, playing lead roles in iconic films such as Forest Gump, Philadelphia, Apollo 13, Saving Private Ryan, and Sleepless in Seattle. He also has remarkable longevity in the business, having been on the A-list for the last 40-plus years. He picked up one of the secrets to his success at age 21 when a frustrated director shared some practical wisdom he'd never forget.

Hanks shared his advice on June 15, 2023, during “An Evening with Tom Hanks,” in London, hosted by fellow actor Richard E. Grant (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Gosford Park). As a young man, Hanks worked for a repertory theater, doing background roles and working as an understudy on Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shew, when the lead actors came to rehearsal hungover and didn’t know their lines. This angered the director, who demanded they come to work like professionals.

What's the best advice Tom Hanks ever received?

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“This is my job, and it's your job here. And I can't tell you guys what to do every time. Stop asking me where you should be. Stop asking what the motivation is. That's your job,” Hanks recalled the director saying before delivering advice that would change his life: “You gotta show up on time. You have to know the text, and you have to have an idea.”

The best advice Tom Hanks ever received: “You gotta show up on time. You have to know the text, and you have to have an idea.”

The advice changed how Hanks approached being a professional actor and helped propel him to the industry's top. The strange thing for Hanks is that it’s advice that many actors still need to hear. “You tell me, are there not a ton of actors that are working who don't do any of those things? And they still get to come and get paid to do it?” he told Grant.

tom hanks elvis, tom hanks australia, tom parker, hanks advice, tom hanks roles, how to act, directorsTom Hanks at the "Elvis" premiere in Australia. via Eva Rinaldi/Wikimedia Commons

Hanks elaborated on the three pieces of advice, adding that showing up on time means “a little bit early,” and knowing the texts means understanding "what’s going on” and being prepared. Finally, " having an idea” means bringing something to the table that will “move it a little further down the line.”

When you boil all of Hank’s advice down to its core, it means to take the initiative. Show up early, be prepared for what you must do, and then improve upon the situation by bringing some fresh ideas to share. From the director’s perspective, it’s invaluable to work with actors who want to enhance their vision so they don't have to control every aspect of the production.


Whether it’s a director, your boss, or your spouse, there’s nothing people love more than being able to depend on those who care enough to go the extra mile so that the project is a success. Show that you’re more than just an actor looking for fame, an employee looking for a paycheck, or a spouse who wants little more than to keep a roof over their head.

Hanks’ advice is great for anyone who wants to go above and beyond and become an integral part of a team. As actor Steve Martin once said, “Be so good that you’re undeniable.” It’s no wonder that Hanks has had such a great career. He took the director's advice to heart and became one of the most successful and beloved actors of all time.

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