Celebrities Who Refused to Kiss Their Costars on Camera
1 Jennifer Lawrence Felt Guilty About Chris Pratt’s Wife
Jennifer Lawrence is generally at ease during a passionate kissing scene. Her smooches with Chris Pratt on the set of Passengers, however, were a different story.
Lawrence was actually very close to Pratt. Unfortunately, that was the problem. Lawrence felt immense guilt kissing a married man, especially since she was friendly with Pratt’s then-wife, Anna Faris. She even called her mom before filming the scene to confirm that her kiss was okay. In the end, she managed to pull off the kiss with the help of a few cocktails. Her guilt, however, never fully subsided.
2 Denzel Washington Didn’t Want To Promote Hollywood Beauty Ideals
While filming the 1993 film The Pelican Brief with Julia Roberts, Denzel Washington made the surprising decision not to kiss his drop-dead gorgeous costar. He was probably one of the only men in the world who would have passed up that chance.
Washington later claimed that he didn’t want to film the kissing scene because he didn’t want to play into the beauty ideals of Hollywood. He explained that black women were part of his core audience and they were rarely seen as objects of desire on screen. Washington felt that he would eliminate a large part of his fan base by kissing Julia Roberts.
3 Liam Hemsworth Was Disgusted With Jennifer Lawrence’s Bad Breath
A key element of The Hunger Games trilogy is the love triangle between Katniss, Gale, and Peeta. Liam Hemsworth stars as Gale, the man who loses Katniss in the end. The actors share a kiss in the final movie, one which was apparently very awkward for Hemsworth.
However, Jennifer Lawrence made the scenes awkward on purpose. Since she and Hemsworth were close, she would purposefully eat garlic or tuna in an effort to make every kiss as gross as possible. Hemsworth dreaded his kissing scenes with Lawrence, which perhaps explains why some of their chemistry was lacking on screen.
4 Julia Roberts Couldn’t Stand Nick Nolte’s Presence
In the 1994 movie I Love Trouble, Julia Roberts stars opposite Nick Nolte. While the romantic comedy is all about the two actors solving a mystery and falling in love, things were less than perfect behind the scenes. Roberts and Nolte didn’t get along at all, and could hardly stand to be in the same room. Things got so bad between the pair that they started filming their scenes separately, using stand-ins to create the illusion that the stars were actually together.
Although Roberts wasn’t happy about their big kiss considering her relationship with Nolte, she couldn’t find a way around it. The stars managed to come together in the end to deliver a rom-com worthy smooch, but Roberts certainly wasn’t happy about it.
5 Will Smith Wouldn’t Kiss A Man
Will Smith is known for his commitment to his craft, but he earned the ire of director Fred Schepisi when he refused to kiss a man while filming Six Degrees of Separation. Although Smith’s character was gay, he adamantly declined to film a passionate kissing scene with a man. Instead, he insisted that the scene be filmed from behind, allowing Smith to fake the kiss.
Years after the incident, Smith expressed regret for his decision. He claimed that his choice was immature and that he wasn’t emotionally stable enough at the time to perform what was asked of him. He also insinuated that he would make a different choice if he were to film the movie now.
6 Lindsay Lohan Was Concerned About Charlie Sheen Partying Lifestyle
Scary Movie 5 features a few smooches between Lindsay Lohan and Charlie Sheen. However, Lohan isn’t the one locking lips with Sheen. Instead, it’s her body double.
Before filming the movie, Lohan made it clear that she didn’t want to kiss Sheen, citing concerns over his partying lifestyle. The producers acquiesced to her demands, but didn’t make any attempt to change the script. When it came time to film the kissing scenes, they subbed in Lohan’s body double for certain kisses and cut out other smooches altogether. Thankfully, Sheen reportedly wasn’t upset by Lohan’s demands.
7 Candace Cameron Bure Was Too Religious To Feel Comfortable Kissing Her Costar
A devout Christian, Candance Cameron Bure has expressed serious discomfort with any kind of intimacy with her costars on screen. The topic came up when discussing her love triangle with Steve and Matt in Netflix’s Fuller House. Although Bure consented to kissing scenes, she made it clear that she wasn’t entirely comfortable with them.
In an interview, Bure also explained that her discomfort with on screen romantic partners has increased as she has gotten older. The kissing bothers her husband as well, and Bure made it clear that she wants to put an end to kissing scenes altogether sometime in the future.
8 Vanessa Hudgens Didn’t Want To Kiss James Franco
Vanessa Hudgens took a big leap away from her former Disney-friendly persona when she starred in Spring Breakers. Although the movie was risqué in many ways, Hudgens apparently wasn’t thrilled about one particular aspect: her kiss with James Franco.
While filming an intimate scene in the pool, Hudgens expressed that kissing Franco was the worst experience of the film by far. In fact, after finishing the scene, she told her agent she never wanted to do that again.
9 Janet Jackson Was Afraid Tupac Had AIDS
In the 1995 romantic drama Poetic Justice, Janet Jackson starred opposite Tupac Shakur. While the two had amazing chemistry on screen, their relationship was hardly a match made in heaven behind the scenes.
Before kissing Tupac, Jackson expressed concerns over the rapper’s party-friendly lifestyle. She insisted that he gets an AIDS test before they completed the kissing scene, but Tupac refused, claiming he was insulted by her request. At the time, no one knew the disease couldn’t be contracted through saliva. Despite her fears and Tupac’s refusal, Jackson had to film the kissing scene anyway.
10 Brad Pitt Was Too Respectful Of His Wife To Kiss Another Woman
In an interesting turn of events, Brad Pitt originally refused to kiss Cate Blanchett while filming The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Although he was a well-seasoned actor who had done numerous kissing scenes, he stated that he didn’t want to kiss Blanchett out of respect for his then-wife, Angelina Jolie. Fans suspected that his reasoning was either an excuse or a result of a troubled relationship with Jolie.
Whatever was happening in Pitt’s head, it didn’t matter in the end. After a little coaxing, he agreed to do the kissing scene.
11 Jewel Didn’t Want To Kiss Rob Lowe And Asked For The Kissing Scenes To Be Completely Scrapped
While filming his show The Lyon’s Den, Rob Lowe campaigned for Jewel to be cast as his love interest. Jewel agreed, but she was very hesitant about kissing her costar. At first, she expressed discomfort about the kissing scenes. Then she asked that they be scrapped altogether.
Although Jewel eventually agreed to kiss Lowe, her behavior was a blow to the actor’s ego. While discussing the show with Ellen DeGeneres, Lowe explained that the entire show was a bit humiliating for him. Jewel’s refusal to kiss him was just the final blow.
12 Kirk Cameron Took His Wedding Vows Very Seriously
Another devout Christian, Kirk Cameron also doesn’t like to get too close to his costars on camera. Unlike Bure, however, Cameron refuses to do any kissing scenes. When he married his wife Chelsea Noble, Cameron apparently took a vow to never kiss another woman and has stuck to his word.
While filming the 2008 movie Fireproof opposite Erin Bethea, Cameron and the filmmakers came up with a creative solution for the love scene. Rather than kissing Bethea, producers disguised Cameron’s wife as his on screen love interest. The kissing scene was shot in silhouette so Cameron could kiss his wife and continue to uphold his commitment to his marriage.
13 Alyson Hannigan Was Repulsed By Jason Segel’s Cigarette Breath
Lily and Marshall were a paramount couple of the How I Met Your Mother series. While the characters always looked lovey-dovey on screen, Alyson Hannigan couldn’t stand kissing Jason Segel.
Apparently, Hannigan couldn’t deal with Segel’s breath when he was smoking. She refused to kiss him until he quit, and her ploy worked. Segel initially paid $10 for every cigarette he had, but eventually decided to stop wasting his money and quit altogether. After that, Hannigan agreed to share a few kisses with him on screen.
14 Miles Teller Didn’t Like The Lingering Taste Of Shailene Woodley’s Herbal Supplements
While filming the 2013 movie The Spectacular Now, both Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley had a problem pulling off their kissing scenes. Teller couldn’t stand Woodley’s bad breath. According to him, she constantly took Chinese herbal supplements, which made her breath smell horrendous.
Woodley wasn’t too happy about kissing Teller, either. She expressed disgust over all the Gatorade her costar drank. Despite their many differences, the stars managed to come together and pull off a sweet kissing scene for the film.
15 Sienna Miller Didn’t Want To Kiss James Franco Because Of A Dental Emergency
While Vanessa Hudgens had a serious problem with smooching with James Franco, Sienna Miller also struggled to kiss the actor, but for different reasons. Rather than an issue with Franco, Miller felt uncomfortable smooching on the set of Camille because of her own dental emergency.
Miller always had issues with her teeth, and her problems flared up while on set. Unfortunately, the difficulties reared their ugly head right around the time Miller was meant to film a kiss with Franco. Miller hastily declined to kiss Franco at all rather than reveal the ins-and-outs of her dental problems.
16 Thandie Newton Was Turned Off By Gerard Butler’s Cold
While filming RocknRolla opposite Gerard Butler, Thandie Newton outright refused to pucker up her lips for the actor. When the love scene was scheduled to film, Butler arrived on set with a terrible cold.
When Newton realized Butler was sick, she told the director to figure something else out. She refused to kiss her costar and risk a runny nose, no matter what the production schedule said. Director Guy Ritchie respected her wishes and found a way to reconfigure the scene. Newton was happy, both because she avoided an unnecessary cold and because the scene turned out brilliant.
17 Nina Dobrev Wouldn’t Kiss Her Ex-Boyfriend
Although Nina Dobrev and Ian Somerhalder broke up in the middle of The Vampire Diaries series, they still managed to act like they were in love on screen. Following the breakup, however, both actors refused to do kissing scenes on camera.
The actors didn’t like the kissing scenes while they were together, so the awkwardness of the breakup cut down their smooches immensely. While they still managed to pull off Damon and Elena’s epic love story, their on screen chemistry certainly declined following their breakup.
18 Neal Mcdonough Has Always Refused To Kiss Any Woman But His Wife
Actor Neal McDonough refuses to kiss anyone but his wife, which has caused a bit of tension in his professional career. He was actually fired from the show Scoundrels when he refused to film a love scene with Virginia Madsen.
As a religious man, McDonough claims that he wants to honor God in everything he does. He feels that kissing another woman on camera blurs the lines between what is real and what is fake. He wants to stay entirely devoted to his spouse, so he refuses to do anything remotely intimate with his costars.
19 Herizen F. Guardiola Refused To Kiss A Man She Didn’t Know
The Get Down was Herizen F. Guardiola’s big break. Although she was excited to star in the series, she wasn’t used to kissing costars yet. When the showrunner instructed her to kiss Justice Smith, Guardiola refused. She stated that she didn’t know her costar, and she didn’t kiss people she didn’t know.
While Smith claimed that kissing scenes were never weird for him, Guardiola stayed true to her values. Although she claims she’s more comfortable with kissing scenes now, she still likes to know something about her costar before agreeing to a smooch.
20 Reese Witherspoon Didn’t Want Robert Pattinson’s Germs
In Water for Elephants, Reese Witherspoon stars opposite Robert Pattinson. While the two manage to share a tender kiss in the movie, Witherspoon initially declined to kiss Pattinson altogether.
However, her decision wasn’t rooted in disdain for her costar. Instead, Pattinson had a truly terrible cold at the time. In fact, Witherspoon described it as “the most hideous, horrible cold of any costar I’ve ever had to do a love scene with ever in my entire life.” According to Witherspoon, Pattison was dripping and snorting through the entire love scene. Still, she had to go through with their on-camera intimacy. Yuck!
21 Tisha Campbell Hated Her Costar
Martin was a popular show in the ’90s, starring Martin Lawrence and Tisha Campbell. While the pair originally had amazing chemistry on screen, their connection fell apart as the seasons continued to film.
Somewhere along the way, Campbell developed a genuine hatred for Lawrence. She refused to kiss him anymore and even filed a harassment lawsuit at one point. Things got so bad between these stars that Campbell eventually refused to film with Lawrence altogether, making the entire set of the show a nightmare for everyone involved.
22 Kevin Hart Turned Down Roles That Required Him To Kiss A Man
While Kevin Hart started as a simple comedian, he vaulted into Hollywood fame in recent years. The star has appeared in numerous movies including Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Central Intelligence, Get Hard, Think Like a Man, and many more. However, Hart draws the line in his acting career at kissing another man.
Over the years, Hart turned down roles that required him to kiss another guy. He claims he has nothing against the LGBTQ community, but instead doesn’t feel that he would be comfortable enough to do a gay character justice. He claims he’s insecure in that environment and therefore wouldn’t be able to give the role 100% of his effort. It would appear, however, that he has changed his mind over time.
23 Ryan Gosling Originally Refused To Kiss Rachel McAdams On The Notebook
After filming The Notebook, stars Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams went on to have a two-year relationship. However, it certainly wasn’t love at first sight with this pair. In fact, they couldn’t stand each other when filming first began.
At the start of the movie, Gosling could hardly stand to be in the same room as Adams. His frustration slowly escalated into refusing to kiss her and even demanding that she be replaced. Somewhere along the way, however, things changed and Gosling’s hate grew into love. Fans of the film are certainly thankful that he didn’t get his way in having Adams kicked off the set.
24 Kimberly McCullough Didn’t Want To Kiss An Older Man On General Hospital
At just 14 years old, Kimberly McCullough was asked to kiss an older man on the set of General Hospital. Thankfully, the star refused. She told producers she felt uncomfortable filming the scene, especially when the man started making inappropriate jokes about their kiss.
Producers listened to McCullough’s complaints and changed the scene. On the day of filming, everyone settled for a kiss on the cheek, which made McCullough slightly more comfortable.
25 Samuel L. Jackson Refused To Kiss A Man In Stephen King’s Cell
It seems male stars refusing to kiss other men is quite the theme in Hollywood. Joining the ranks of Kevin Hart and Will Smith, Samuel L. Jackson also refused to kiss another man while filming Stephen King’s Cell.
In Jackson’s defense, he didn’t even know his character was gay until filming began. However, Jackson had always said he would never kiss another man for a role. He stayed true to his word and refused to kiss a male costar while on the set of Cell. Here is another whose opinion has changed over the years!
