Claire Danes says overacting forced reshoot of Little Women death scene

Claire Danes had to reshoot her death scene in 1994's Little Women because she got "a little carried away".

The Romeo + Juliet actress, who was only 15 when she played Beth March, extensively prepared for the emotional scene where Beth speaks her final words before succumbing to her long-term illness, but got "too excited" on the day and ended up overacting.

At the time, Danes thought she had to reshoot the scene because of an unfortunate Coke accident, but she found out last year that director Gillian Armstrong asked for a redo because her "death rattle" was too much.

"We had to reshoot that scene, just my side, because apparently I got too excited about the death rattle," Danes said on this week's episode of the Good Hang with Amy Poehler podcast.

"I read, like, 'Five Stages of Dying' and really studied whatever illness Beth had, and I got a little carried away."

Recalling how she learned the truth three decades later, the Homeland actress noted that Armstrong lied to protect her feelings.

"The director lied to me and said that Coke had spilled on the negatives of the film and that we needed to reshoot," she continued. "It was really because she needed to like, calm the death rattle down a little bit."

In the 1994 adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's classic novel, Danes starred alongside Winona Ryder, Kirsten Dunst and Trini Alvarado as the March sisters, while Susan Sarandon played their mother and Christian Bale portrayed their neighbour Laurie.

There have been several adaptations of the novel since then, including a 2017 miniseries, a 2018 contemporary film, and Greta Gerwig's 2019 version, featuring Eliza Scanlen as Beth alongside Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson and Florence Pugh.