#26. Julia Roberts And Nick Nolte
To be honest, the 1994 rom-com I Love Trouble wasn’t exactly the best movie in the world, and the bad chemistry between co-stars Julia Robertsand Nick Nolte was probably the main reason. And you know what? The truth is that these two didn’t stand each other in real life. No wonder they couldn’t even manage to act as if they liked each other!
This is not just rumors, as both have confirmed their lack of chemistry on interviews. Whereas Roberts said that Nolte is “completely disgusting“, he said that Roberts is “not a nice person“. Bearing this in mind, it comes as no surprise that neither of them wanted to kiss each other for the film’s only kissing scene.
#25. Neal McDonough And Virginia Madsen
American actor Neal McDonough has opened up about not being willing to be intimate with anyone else other than his wife, mainly due to his strict religious beliefs. But while the actor’s religious views are absolutely respectable, they posed a problem to his career.
McDonough was fired from the TV show Scoundrel because he was reluctant to shoot love scenes with his co-star Virginia Madsen. He was replaced by David James Elliott, but he doesn’t regret his decision.“When you’re in bed with another woman on screen — guess what? That’s real. I don’t like that kind of stuff. Especially now with kids, I don’t want to have my kids say, ‘Hey, Dad, what are you doing with that lady on screen?“, he said.
#24. Denzel Washington And Julia Roberts
Julia Roberts is one of the most gorgeous actresses out there, but in spite of this, Denzel Washington was reluctant to kiss her when they co-starred in the 1993 crime-drama film The Pelican Brief. But why?
Washington said it had nothing to do with her feelings towards Roberts, but that he just didn’t want to perpetuate the hegemonic Hollywood beauty ideals. He also said he was afraid about how his female African-American audience would react if he were to kiss a white woman. As to Roberts, she didn’t mind the kissing scenes at all! “Of course, I wanted to kiss Denzel. It was his idea to take the damn scenes out”, she said.
#23. Kirsten Dunst And Brad Pitt
Kirsten Dunst kissed Hollywood heartthrob Brad Pitt in the cult film Interview With The Vampire when she was just 11 years old. Logically, considering how small she was, she didn’t want to film that kissing scene and found it disgusting.
“Everyone at the time was like, ‘You’re so lucky you kissed Brad Pitt,’ but I thought it was disgusting. I didn’t kiss anyone else until I was 16, I think. I was a late bloomer“, the actress revealed in an interview.
#22. Leona Lewis And Chace Crawford
OK, even though this is not a film we’re talking about, we still thought it deserved to make it to our list! Gossip Girl star and heartthrob Chace Crawford starred in one of Leona Lewis' music videos and they were meant to kiss, but guess what happened?
In the end, Lewis chose not to kiss him so that her boyfriend Lou-Al-Chamaa wouldn’t be jealous. Lou, just let the woman be!“I think [Lou Al-Chamaa] would [get jealous] if I was kissing them, but I’d never do that. They wanted me and Chace to kiss in the ‘I Will Be video.’ But I said no way“, she said.
#21. Justin Bieber
It was 2016 when rumors spread that Canadian pop singer Justin Bieber would star in a comedy TV show called Uber Girl. But fans were deceived when news spread that Bieber had rejected the role, allegedly because he wasn’t comfortable shooting gay kissing scenes.
“He won’t take the part unless the sex scene with him and one of the male backup dancers is taken out of the final script”, said Pete O’Neill. Even though Bieber denied all this, rumor has it that he wasn’t even willing to kiss the dancer.
#20. Sienna Miller And James Franco
Sienna Miller and James Franco played newlyweds in the 2019 indie film Camille, but why didn’t they wanna kiss each other? Well, actually, Miller was the one that was reluctant to film any kissing scenes, and the reason will surprise you.
It turns out that during the making of the film, the actress had a tooth problem that required emergency dental care. Since she was still recovering when the shooting began, she asked the producers if she could avoid kissing Franco.
#19. Alyson Hannigan And Jason Segel
Co-stars Alyson Hannigan and Jason Segel kissed on numerous occasions on the sitcom How I Met Your Mother, but at first, the actress was reluctant to shoot any kissing scenes. Can you guess why?
Apparently, the smell of cigarettes bugged her out, so she said she wouldn’t kiss Segel until he quit smoking. At first, Segel said he would give her $10 for every cigarette he smoked, but when he realized how much money he was losing, he chose to quit for good. And that’s when all the kissing finally began!
#18. Kirk Cameron And Erin Bethea
Kirk Cameron has starred in several rom-coms, which means he’s done countless kissing scenes throughout his career. But a few years ago he became a devout evangelical Christian and married Chelsea Noble. Ever since then, he has been reluctant to film any kissing scenes.
Therefore, when the producers told him he had to kiss his co-star Erin Bethea for the drama film Fireproof, he utterly refused, so the crew had to come up with a plan B.“Because I have a commitment not to kiss any other woman, my wife Chelsea came in to the set and wore the dress my character’s wife wore. We shot the scene in silhouette, so when I kiss my wife, I’m actually kissing my wife and honoring our marriage“, Kirk confessed.
#17. Will Smith
Before he became a worldwide legend after major blockbusters like Men in Black, American actor Will Smith took on roles on several independent films that you probably never even heard of. In 1993, he played one of the lead roles in the comedy-drama film Six Degrees of Separation.
In this film, he played a gay and seductive con-artist, but while he was initially supposed to kiss other men onscreen, he ended up putting his foot down and refused to do so. The director was not happy at all, as he had to shoot a fake kiss scene from behind. Many years later, Smith admitted it was very immature of him to refuse to do those scenes.
#16. Sadie Sink And Caleb McLaughlin
Co-stars Sadie Sink and Caleb McLaughlin shared an on-screen kiss in the sci-fi mystery TV show Stranger Things, but it came with much controversy. Apparently, director Ross Duffer told Sink as a joke that she would have to kiss McLaughlin in one of the episodes, and the 14-year-old actress got nervous and stressed, feeling that she wasn’t ready for such a scene.
The actress was so worried at the thought of having to kiss someone on-screen that the director told the writers to add a kissing scene to the script. If you ask me, that’s sexual harassment. They were barely teenagers!“I get [to set], the first day of Snow Ball ... One of you, I think it was you Ross, you say, ‘Oh, Sadie, you ready for the kiss?’ I’m like, ‘What! No! That’s not in the script. That’s not happening”, she said in an interview.
#15. Sunny Leone
Sunny Leone is one of the most famous Bollywood actresses in the world, but while she has already played many kissing scenes in the past, she has recently added a no-kissing clause to her contracts.
The weird part is that she’s open to filming intimate scenes, it’s just the kisses that bother her. So next time you watch some of her classics, such as One Night Stand or Mastizaade, you’ll realize that the steamy romantic scenes lack any kisses!
#14. Eric Stonestreet And Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Modern Family has included several LGBTQ+ characters ever since the first season, and Cam and Mitchell (played by Eric Stonestreet and Jesse Tyler Ferguson), are one of the fans’ favorite couples.
However, did you ever notice that these two actors didn’t share any kissing scenes on the show’s first season? Apparently, the reason behind this was that Stonestreet, who is heterosexual in real life, felt too uncomfortable with the idea of kissing another man on-screen. It seems like the show wasn’t as progressive as it seemed after all.
#13. Thandie Newton And Gerard Butler
Gerard Butler is one of the most attractive actors you’ll ever find, but little did Thandie Newton care because when they shared the screen in RocknRolla, she refused to kiss him. Even though they were supposed to shoot a love scene, Newton insisted on a no-kiss policy. You won’t believe why!
It turns out that Butler had a terrible cold, so the actress didn’t want to risk picking up a cold herself.“Gerry was very unwell indeed. So I wouldn’t kiss him. Guy had to improvise. I don’t know how he coped with those problems but it ended up being one of the most brilliant scenes“, the actress revealed.
#12. Jewel And Rob Lowe
Rob Lowe is one of those men that anyone would be lucky to kiss, but it appears to be that Jewel didn’t think so. They co-starred in the TV show The Lyon’s Den, and even though she played Lowe’s love interest, she refused to film any kissing scenes.
In fact, she brought her boyfriend to set on the day they were supposed to film romantic scenes (jealous, much?). The actress finally caved in and agreed to film a kissing scene, but the kiss stank.”[The show was] a parade of indignities, and the culminating blow, for me, was having the actress who didn’t want to kiss me in the love scene”, Lowe told Ellen DeGeneres.
#11. Samuel L. Jackson
In 2016, Hollywood legend Samuel L. Jackson starred in the action-drama film Cell, which received terrible reviews by fans and critics alike. But here’s a fun fact about the film you probably didn’t now...
When Jackson accepted the role, he didn’t know his character was gay. Directors were unhappy when they found out the actor was unwilling to play any gay kissing scene, no matter who the actor was.
#10. Lindsay Lohan And Charlie Sheen
Remember the time when Lindsay Lohan kissed Charlie Sheen on Scary Movie 5? Well, that wasn’t actually Linsday, but her stunt double. Apparently, Lohan told producers she wasn’t willing to shoot any kissing scenes with his co-star, given his history of wild partying and sex scandals.
However, it seems to be that the producers were hoping they would change Lohan’s mind, since they didn’t change the script until the filming had begun. They hired a body double to shoot the kissing scenes, while some others were deleted from the script.
#9. Nina Dobrev And Ian Somerhalder
Ian Somerhalder and Nina Dobrev are legit breakup goals. They kept being friends after breaking up, and Nina is even friends with Ian’s wife. But here’s something you probably never noticed! After their real-life breakup, the fictional couple that they portray in The Vampire Diaries almost never kissed on-screen again.
Therefore, Damon and Elena’s relationship lost its steam during the last season, as they only kissed on the show’s last episode. According to the producers, on one episode the two actors refused to shoot a kissing scene in the rain, under the pretext that the temperature was way too cold.
#8. Jennifer Lawrence And Chris Pratt
In 2016, Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt co-starred in the sci-fi-drama film Passengers, and they played boyfriend and girlfriend. However, Lawrence felt really uncomfortable shooting any kissing scenes, considering that Pratt was married to Anna Faris, and she and Faris were great friends.
Allegedly, Lawrence had to get drunk before shooting the film, because she couldn’t help her guilt! She also confessed that she gave her mother a call, cause she wanted to seek someone else’s approval before going on with the scene.
#7. Reese Witherspoon And Rob Pattinson
In 2011, Reese Witherspoon and Rob Pattinson co-starred in the romantic drama film Water for Elephants, and as you can imagine, the script included a few steamy scenes that involved kissing. Witherspoon was reluctant to kiss him at first because Pattinson had a serious cold that lasted for weeks.
“Rob possibly had the most hideous horrible cold of any co-star I’ve ever had to do a love scene with ever in my entire life. He was literally snorting and snotting through every second of it — and it was not appealing. I’m talking green, infectious, disgusting”, the actress revealed.Yuck! we’re with you on this one, Reese!
#6. Luke Grimes And Nelsan Ellis
What is it with some people that they are so reluctant on filming same-sex kissing scenes, even when it means losing thousands of dollars? Well, this was the case of Luke Grimes, who left the TV show True Blood when he found out he was meant to kiss his male co-star Nelsan Ellis.
Grimes said he quit the job because of conflicting schedules, but this argument is far from believable. Ellis also commented on the issue in an interview by Vulture:”We’re all sitting there going, ‘You quit your job because ... really?’ I’m just... I’m over him. You quit your job because you don’t want to play a gay part? As if it’s ... You know what? I’m going to stop talking”, he said.
#5. Liam Hemsworth And Jennifer Lawrence
Hollywood icon Jennifer Lawrence rose to fame thanks to her work in the Hunger Games franchise, which she starred together with heartthrob Liam Hemsworth. In the first installment of the film series, they were meant to shoot a few kissing scenes, but it appears to be that Lawrence did all she could to make everything awkward.
”She’s one of my best friends, I love her, but if we had a kissing scene, she would make a point of eating garlic or tuna fish or something that was disgusting. Right before the scene, she’d be like, ‘Yeah, I ate tuna’ or ‘I had garlic, and I didn’t brush my teeth.’ And I’d be like, ‘Fantastic, I can’t wait to get in there and taste it!'“, the actor said.Let’s face it, garlic breath just isn’t worth it!
#4. Janet Jackson And Kiss Tupac
Remember the time when Janet Jackson and Tupac played a couple in the 1993 romantic drama film Poetic Justice? We must admit that they were one of the most adorable fictional couples ever, but rumor has it that there was a bit of drama behind the scenes too.
Apparently, Jackson was unwilling to shoot any kissing scenes with the rapper, given his reputation as a womanizer. But the tension escalated when she asked him to take an HIV test (which means she didn’t know that the infection couldn’t be transmitted through saliva) and Tupac refused.
#3. Brad Pitt And Cate Blanchett
We’ve already seen that Kirsten Dunst didn’t want to kiss Brad Pitt in Interview With The Vampire, but in Benjamin Button, it was the other way around: Pitt was the one who was reluctant to shoot any kissing scenes with co-star Cate Blanchett.
Apparently, he didn’t want to shoot any steamy romantic scenes with Blanchett out of respect to his wife Angelina Jolie. However, director David Fincher eventually convinced Pitt to do those scenes anyway.
#2. Kate Winslet And Leonardo DiCaprio
Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio played the iconic and beloved couple of Jack and Rose in the 1997 romantic-drama film Titanic, but when they co-starred in Revolutionary Road 10 years later, neither of them wanted to kiss each other on-screen. But why, one may wonder?
The thing is that by that time, Winslet was still married to the film’s director, Sam Mendes. Therefore, ever since Titanic, Winslet and DiCaprio tried to steer clear of any kissing scenes each time they worked together.
#1. Ryan Gosling And Rachel McAdams
The Notebook may well be one of the most iconic, heart-wrenching drama films of the 21st century. Bearing this in mind, it may come to a shock that lead actors Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling were reluctant to film any kissing scenes at first.
Apparently, the two didn’t get along with each other when the movie was shot, and they didn’t even want to be in the same room nor kiss each other onscreen. Now I get why the couple’s love-hate relationship in the film was so believable!