11 TV And Movie Couples Whose Chemistry Was So Good Because The Actors Literally Had Crushes On Each Other
One of the most important parts of a TV show or movie is making sure that the chemistry between characters — especially love interests — is off the charts.
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With casting directors making sure to pick actors with good chemistry, and those actors canoodling on screen for months on end...it makes sense that some of them developed a real attraction to each other.
Lookin' at you, Tom and Zendaya.
Here are 11 different TV and movie couples where the actors have actually admitted to feeling attraction for their costar while filming was going on!
1.Good Will Hunting launched the careers of not only Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, but also Minnie Driver, who played Damon's character's girlfriend, Skylar.
Damon and Driver were both nominated for Oscars for their performances. The two were extremely believable as a couple and performed in multiple intense scenes together...and quickly became a couple IRL.
The amount of times I saw this scene performed in acting class...
In fact, Driver said that she was “completely in love with Matt” by the time she filmed her scenes with him. They soon began dating, with Damon telling David Letterman that Driver "pretty much rocked my world.”
However, a month later, he broke up with her by announcing on Oprah that he was single.
2.Back in the '90s, the big "will they/won't they" TV couple everyone was talking about was Ross and Rachel from Friends.
The two had incredible chemistry and ended up in a relationship various times during the show...leading fans to wonder if the actors, Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer, had similar chemistry.
Well, it took until 2021, but the two finally admitted during the Friends reunion special that they had a crush on each other during filming of the show. Unfortunately, as they were always dating other people, nothing came of it.
3.Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves first met when they starred in the action thriller Speed in 1994.
The actors had such great chemistry that they also starred in the romantic film The Lake House together and struck up a lifelong friendship filled with romantic gestures — like Sandra telling Keanu she'd never had champagne and truffles, and a few days later he showed up at her house on his motorcycle with champagne and truffles.
Though the two never went on a date, Sandra told Ellen DeGeneres in 2018 that she'd had a crush on Keanu, and then Keanu told Ellen the same a year later.
Bullock has said of their friendship over a relationship: "We just get to grow up together on parallel roads and tip our hats and meet for a dinner and try to work together. And the longer time goes on, the more in awe I am of the human being."
4.Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt were one of Hollywood's biggest it couples for a decade. Where did they meet? On the set of the 2005 romantic thriller Mr. & Mrs. Smith.
Even though Pitt was still married to Jennifer Aniston, reports began circulating that their palpable "onscreen chemistry was turning into something more intimate offscreen." The rumors were denied, but then Pitt and Aniston announced they were separating while reshoots were still going on for the film, and Brangelina was born.
Jolie would later say, "Because of the film, we ended up being brought together to do all these crazy things, and I think we found this strange friendship and partnership that kind of just suddenly happened. I think a few months in I realized, 'God, I can't wait to get to work.' … Anything we had to do with each other, we just found a lot of joy in it together and a lot of real teamwork. We just became kind of a pair."
The two married in 2014 after years of dating and raising a family together, and they filed for divorce in 2016.
5.Another Hollywood it couple of the naughts was Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner.
They met on the set of Pearl Harbor, but wouldn't play love interests until Daredevil. The film was critically panned, but I have to say, the scenes between Ben and Jen were pretty steamy.
While Affleck and Garner didn't publicly get together until 2004, Affleck would later say that Daredevil was where they fell in love...even though Jennifer was married and Ben was dating Jennifer Lopez. Even if nothing happened between them back then, their chemistry was clearly real.
6.Mandy Moore transitioned from a singing career to a movie career when she appeared alongside Shane West in the romantic teen film A Walk to Remember. While certainly not a critical darling, the film was much-loved by teen audiences, mostly because of its central relationship and the performances of the actors.
West recently admitted, "There was chemistry. I think we [Mandy and I] both had a little bit of a crush, but then we were just there for each other in the most honest and purest of ways. That sounds incredibly corny, but is true and rare."
7.One of the most memorable parts of ER was the steamy relationship between Carol and Doug, played by Julianna Margulies and George Clooney.
Speaking about their chemistry, Margulies said, "that can't happen if you don't have a crush on each other. And with George and me, it was so organic."
However, the two never entered into a relationship. Margulies said that instead, he became her mentor and helped her feel safe on set. They also became lifelong friends. "He and I always joke that thank god nothing ever happened, because now we can remain friends for the rest of our lives," Margulies said.
8.Hugh Jackman's first job out of drama school was on the Australian miniseries Correlli. In the series, Jackman played Kevin, an inmate suffering from brain damage, while Deborra-Lee Furness played his psychologist. "There was a chemistry. And every time we had a scene together, it was unbelievable. ... Professionally, I've never had anything quite like that again," Jackman said of filming with Furness.
Jackman had a crush on Furness from the start, but took weeks to reveal his feelings, as he thought it was "unprofessional and embarrassing" to hold a flame for his "leading lady." He tried ignoring her for a week — when she asked him why, he told her the truth, and she replied that she had a crush on him too.
They began dating, and were married in 1996.
9.I know reactions are mixed as to the quality of the Twilight films, but Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, at least to me, were the perfect Edward and Bella.
Robert actually had a crush on Kristen even before filming, saying "I knew before I met her that we had chemistry," which Kristen agreed with. The two ended up dating for almost four years.
They broke up in 2013.
10.Maybe it wasn't as ~steamy~ of a fictional relationship, but Troy and Gabriella in High School Musical were definitely every 2000s kid's dream couple.
They were basically the epitome of young love, and their sweet, innocent chemistry carried three films — during which the actors, Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens, dated in real life as well.
Hudgens later said she remembered having such a crush on him when they met, and Zac has said the same, saying they clicked right away.
11.And finally, Kate Winslet and Guy Pearce stole our hearts on Mare of Easttown, but they had actually worked together before — on the 2011 miniseries Mildred Pierce, where they played love interests.
When they first met on set of the miniseries, Winslet admitted to Guy that she'd had a childhood crush on him after seeing him in Neighbours. "Look, I've been in love with you since I was 11. And we share the same birthday, which I've also known since I was 11 years old," she told him.
For his part, Pearce (who was married at the time) was a little nervous to work with Kate, saying, "She's someone I've had quite a crush on for many years. So suddenly there we are, naked together. It's a weird job." Their chemistry was clear in the show, for which they both won Emmys.
