“Little Women” director lied to Claire Danes about why they had to reshoot her death scene after she overacted
- - “Little Women” director lied to Claire Danes about why they had to reshoot her death scene after she overacted
Shania RussellJanuary 27, 2026 at 11:25 PM
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Claire Danes now and in 1994's "Little Women."
ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty; Columbia/Courtesy Everett
Claire Danes went a little too far with her big moment in 1994's Little Women.
The actress, who was just 15 when she took on the role of Beth March, has revealed that it took a few tries before she totally nailed the film's tragic death scene. But at the time, Danes had no idea that she was getting it wrong.
"We had to reshoot that scene, just my side, because apparently I got too excited about the death rattle," Danes told Amy Poehler on Tuesday's episode of her Good Hang podcast.
The "death rattle," a.k.a the gurgle of death, is heard in the second half of the film when sweet and gentle Beth speaks her last words before succumbing to her years-long illness. Along with being a massively emotional moment in the movie, Beth's death is also a pivotal part of the Louisa May Alcott novel being adapted. So as a young actress taking on such a huge moment, Danes couldn't help but overprepare.
Winona Ryder and Claire Danes in 'Little Women'
Sony Pictures
"I read, like, '5 Stages of Dying' and really studied whatever illness Beth had, and I got a little carried away," she admitted. "I told this story to Matthew Rhys, and he called me 'Death Rattle Danes.'"
Danes explained that she only learned the truth behind filming the scene last year — over three decades after the film debuted in theaters.
"Gillian [Armstrong], the director, lied to me," Danes shared. "And said that Coke had spilled on the negatives of the film and that we needed to reshoot."
In reality, that white lie was meant to protect the young actress' feelings — and keep her from overthinking the scene any more than she already had.
"It was really because she needed to like, calm the death rattle down a little bit," Danes explained.
The 1994 adaptation saw Danes star alongside Trini Alvarado (as Meg), Winona Ryder (as Jo), and Kirsten Dunst (as Amy). The film also starred a young Christian Bale as Laurie and Susan Sarandon as family matriarch, Marmee. Years later and Sarandon still sings the praises of the film's young stars, especially Danes.
"I found all the girls mind-blowing, but Claire Danes, who was 15 at the time, had to do the scene where she comes down the stairs and sees the piano and bursts into tears," Sarandon recalled in a 2022 chat with Vanity Fair. "I don't know how she did that. She was just great."
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Little Women has since been adapted several times, including a 2018 miniseries in which Annes Elwy played Beth and the 2019 Greta Gerwig film that saw Eliza Scanlen take on the role.
Watch Danes' full conversation with Poehler above.
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
