Actors Who Revealed Their Best On-Screen Kissing Partner

Being an A-list actor might sound like the antithesis of a "tough job." First of all, movie stars get paid millions to go off to some far-flung locale where the greatest technicians in the world make them look flawlessly beautiful for when they pretend to fight dinosaurs or pretend to save the world from aliens or pretend to fall madly in love with some kind of fish-man-monster. They also get catered meals every day, and a person drives them to and from the set and their luxury hotel rooms. 

One other apparent perk in this career path? These movie stars get to — nay, have to — kiss other movie stars, which, by and large, are typically an aesthetically pleasing and conventionally attractive bunch. On the other hand, it's admittedly kind of weird and uncomfortable to kiss somebody with whom you're not romantically involved, especially when it's in front of a huge crew ... and you have to do it over and over again at various angles. And it's worth pointing out that several actors have outright hated locking lips with their co-stars. 

But hey, it's part of the job, and some actors have admitted in print, on TV, and on social media that some of their on-screen kissing partners are better than others. These are the absolute best they've ever had in the business of on-screen kissing.

Ryan Reynolds — Deadpool himself — met his future wife, Blake Lively, on the set of that other, far less well-liked superhero movie he did, "Green Lantern," back in 2010. She played Carol Ferris, Reynolds' romantic interest in the film, and the two later got married and became one of the most adorable couples in Hollywood. So, obviously, when asked to recollect a memorable screen kiss, he, of course, thought only of lip-locks with the former "Gossip Girl" star. Except he didn't do that at all. 

In 2015, a Twitter user named @duckisgod asked Reynolds, "What is it like kissing the amazing Anna Kendrick??" This guy was referring not to some personal moment caught by paparazzi, but how the two played against one another in the 2014 horror comedy "The Voices." Reynolds' reply: "Like taking your face to Awesometown." Sounds awesome! 

Kendrick acknowledged the praise with some of her patented self-deprecating humor. While she said a trip to Awesometown was "the Kendrick-train guarantee," she also made "local stops in Awkwardville and Tolerableshire."

Unlike Ryan Reynolds, Penn Badgley knows how to properly answer a question about the merits of on-screen kissing partners so as to pay respect to the other half of an off-screen relationship. When asked by Andy Cohen about his most memorable workplace kisses — both good and bad — Badgley didn't hesitate to give an answer. First of all, his best happened while making "Gossip Girl" (which is probably the project for which Badgley is best known, apart from his Netflix series "You"), and it happened with co-star Blake Lively. The reason: A romantic injection of verisimilitude. "We actually had a relationship at the time," Badgley said.

The worst kissing of Badgley's acting life also came about via "Gossip Girl," and it also happened with Blake Lively. The reason: a not so romantic injection of verisimilitude. Badgley's character and Lively's characters had to kiss ... after the couple split up in real life. That, for Badgley, made for a very awkward and uncomfortable moment.

Hollywood — and the people who go to Hollywood movies — suffered a great loss when Heath Ledger died at the age of 28 in 2008, shortly after completing his Oscar-winning work as the Joker in "The Dark Knight." While he's remembered primarily for being a serious and effective dramatic actor, Ledger has remained pretty underrated for his work in other movie genres like romantic epics. One of his first major roles came in the 2002 period war drama "The Four Feathers." He played the dashing British officer Harry Faversham, who, after some bumps, winds up with his one true love, Ethne Eustace, portrayed by Kate Hudson. 

That was one of Hudson's first handful of movies, too, but she's said it's still the one that gave her the best kiss of her acting career. In 2014, she told Andy Cohen on "Watch What Happens Live" that her top movie kissing partner was Ledger. "I would say my favorite one was Heath," Hudson said. "That was pretty excellent."

Bryce Dallas Howard has locked movie star lips with a number of leading men in the pursuit of silver screen magic. When promoting her 2016 movie "Gold" on PEOPLE Now, host Jeremy Parsons asked Howard to talk about what it was like kissing her co-star in the film, Lincoln enthusiast and "The Lincoln Lawyer" star Matthew McConaughey. His character had to drink a lot of alcohol, but McConaughey actually drank a non-alcoholic, tea-based concoction that looked like booze on screen. That, Howard recalled, made McConaughey's mouth quite pleasant to kiss. "It was pretty good," Howard said. "It was like some sort of good, healthy aesthetic substitute for alcohol."

But he doesn't take first place in the Bryce Dallas Howard Kissing Competition. That honor goes to her co-star in "Jurassic World," Chris Pratt. His breath, she said, reminded her of "Starburst," making for a superior, candy-flavored screen kiss. "He's perfect in every way," Howard added.

What's the name of that actor? He's got kind of rugged good looks and that unshaven thing going on? He was in "Reality Bites" and a bunch of Richard Linklater movies? Stephen Dorff? No ... Ethan Hawke! We forgot his name, just for a second, which is exactly what happened to Ethan Hawke himself ... when he kissed Angelina Jolie for a scene in the 2004 film "Taking Lives." 

On a 2014 installment of "Watch What Happens Live" host, Andy Cohen asked Hawke to talk about his greatest movie kiss. He didn't hesitate to answer. "Angelina Jolie was born to whittle men and to make them weak," Hawke waxed poetically. "When she kisses you, you don't know your name."

However, it would seem that Gerard Butler would not concur with Hawke. He also found himself on an episode of "Watch What Happens Live" in 2018. He played a round of "Plead the Fifth," and, as he rejected one question already, he was forced to answer this one: "You have kissed both Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Aniston on screen: Who is the better kisser?" In choosing between Brad Pitt's first wife and the woman he left his first wife for, Butler demurred for a moment before saying, Aniston, his co-star in "The Bounty Hunter." Butler quipped, "I'm just going, you know, I'm just taking you by surprise."

Well, at least there was one bright spot in the bleak, tragic, and infuriating Oscar-nominated 2007 drama "Atonement." The movie required star Keira Knightley to smash lips with fellow attractive British actor James McAvoy, which she found to be a sublime experience. She told People that the former goat-man of Narnia "is the best kisser ever" amid a flurry of giggles. 

But then, Keira Knightley just seems like a very game movie kisser. In 2006, she said that all the kissy time on "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" was nothing but delightful, particularly her smoochin'-at-sea scene with Johnny Depp (via UPI). "I couldn't ask for a better kissing scene with Johnny Depp actually," Knightley said. "I think my 14-year-old self was yelping with pleasure. It was fantastic! What more can a girl ask for? I've got Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom and I get to kiss both of them. It's wonderful!"

Myth: Entering within a five-foot radius of Oprah Winfrey will cause any mortal human to instantly turn into ash and dissipate forever. Truth: Humans are able to withstand being in the proximity of the mighty O, provided that they are a charming, Oscar-winning actor who knows how to bring it, kissing-wise. 

During a 2012 interview on "CBS This Morning," during which we can assume Oprah was speaking with nothing but full candor because one of the hosts is her bestie, Gayle King, the media titan and actor discussed her work on the 2013 movie "Lee Daniels' The Butler." She played the wife of the titular White House butler, portrayed by Forest Whitaker. When the subject of Whitaker's kissing skills came up, Oprah bestowed kindness and mercy across the land. "I felt pretty good about it, let me just say," she said in regard to smooching. "Forest is a good kisser, how about that?"

Gwyneth Paltrow has made a lot of romantic movies featuring memorable kisses. She even kissed Shakespeare in "Shakespeare in Love," a movie so charming, romantic, and kiss-rich that it won her an Oscar for best actress. But the film that Paltrow did as a lark is the one that produced the conscious uncoupler's most highly regarded personal lip-lock moment.

"I did a little cameo once at the beginning of 'Austin Powers 3,' I think it was, and I got to make out with Tom Cruise," Paltrow said on a 2011 episode of "The Rachael Ray Show" (via the New York Daily News). In a sequence for what was technically titled "Austin Powers in Goldmember," Cruise played Austin Powers for a quick minute (instead of Mike Myers), and Paltrow played a send-up of a Bond Girl named "Dixie Normous." (Say it out loud ... get it?) Then, they kiss, because Austin Powers is irresistible no matter who is playing him. "He was an amazing kisser!" Paltrow proclaimed.

Zac Efron has been the hunky romantic lead in so many movies that he's basically a professional kisser-for-hire who does a little acting on the side. He romanced Gabriella Montez (Vanessa Hudgens) in three "High School Musical" movies as Troy Bolton, taught Taylor Schilling how to love again in the Nicholas Sparks flick "The Lucky One," and mouth-danced with dance queen Tracy Turnblad (Nikki Blonsky) in "Hairspray." But the smooch that Efron told People "might be my favorite kiss, I think ever" was the climactic lip-lock with Zendaya in the 2017 musical extravaganza "The Greatest Showman." 

It would be awkward if Zendaya didn't agree, but fortunately, she did. "When you're into a character, the whole time, they're not allowed to as much as touch, talk, speak, have a moment between each other," Zendaya added. "So every moment, even if they're just touching, is really, really, incredibly special. It's not just another kiss. It's different."

Some women want a guy with a great sense of humor, but that shouldn't mean they should have to sacrifice other qualities in a potential mate, such as the ability to kiss real good. So, if only those two things — being funny and knowing one's way around a lady's mouth — were relationship criteria, then actor Will Ferrell just might be the world's greatest romantic partner.

In 2007, Amy Adams was a guest on "The Rachael Ray Show" (via People), and the host asked about the kissing skills of some of the actor's male co-stars. As for Patrick Dempsey from "Enchanted," Adams said he was a "lovely" kisser. Not exactly a ringing endorsement, which is what she saved for Ferrell, her leading man in 2006's "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby." "He's a fantastic kisser!" Adams emphatically stated. "I was not expecting that."

Ferrell's "Land of the Lost" cohort, Anna Friel, later echoed Adams' sentiments almost verbatim. "Will Ferrell is a really fantastic kisser. You wouldn't expect it from him," Friel said, adding, "And he's got twinkly blue eyes and he was gentler than I thought that he perhaps might be. So if anyone needs a good kiss they should just get on the phone and ask Will." (That's not really how phones work, but still, high praise.)

There wasn't much time for making out in the 1994 movie "Speed," which begins aboard a bus that will explode if its speedometer falls below 50 miles per hour. But after the action moved to an ill-fated train car, Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves certainly didn't speed through their passionate kissing scene. Bullock would later lock lips with the likes of Chris O'Donnell, Viggo Mortensen, and Ryan Reynolds. But while playing a round of "Burning Questions" on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," she confessed that the kiss with Reeves tops her list. She also revealed that her co-star was her first celeb crush.

In another appearance on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," Bullock admitted that crushing on her co-star made filming with him a challenge. "He would look at me, and I'd be like [giggling excitedly]," she said. The actors never dated, but Bullock told Esquire that they forged an enduring friendship. 

Unfortunately, this special bond made Bullock less fond of the romantic scenes she and Reeves filmed when they reunited for the 2006 movie "The Lake House." Bullock told AP Entertainment (via The Sydney Morning Herald), "If you are kissing someone you would think of as your brother, believe me there is a mouth washing process that happens after. But in this case, it's a lot of love and it could be like family, but you don't really want to go there because then it would be a little incestuous when you are watching it on screen."

The way Vin Diesel tells it, there was fuel, there was fire, and Charlize Theron was burning with desire when they snogged on screen in the 2017 action film "The Fate of the Furious." But maybe those gasoline fumes made him misread his co-star's demeanor. Speaking to USA Today, Diesel revealed that their kiss had him riding high. "I was definitely not complaining," he said while grinning like his character Dom when he knows he has a street race won. "... Charlize Theron is not a bad kissing partner to have. There are worse things that can happen to you." As for how he believed Theron felt about shooting the scene, he asserted, "Do I know she enjoyed it? Oh my God, yeah. ... A kiss can't lie, lips don't lie. ... She owned it."

But Theron seemed baffled by Diesel's recollection of the kiss when she appeared on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show." As she pointed out, it was supposed to be unpleasant for Dom, who did not consent to it. "As he should've, his character is just standing there frozen, like a dead fish," she said (via The Hollywood Reporter). Theron also disputed Diesel's claim that she enjoyed herself, saying, "I like a little bit more movement in my men."

When Ellen DeGeneres read Theron's comments to Diesel on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," the stunned star hopped out of his seat and asked the audience, "Do I look like a dead fish?"

Years before Shia LaBeouf was hit with abuse allegations by FKA Twigs, the "Transformers" franchise was helping the actor establish himself as an in-demand leading man. His co-star in two of the movies, Megan Fox, also gave his rep a boost when she told E! News that he was her favorite on-screen smooch during a 2014 interview.

The LaBeouf lip lock was a topic Fox found herself talking about quite often while promoting the original film. "We spent an entire day shooting a kissing scene which didn't even make it into the movie which makes me think he set that s*** up," she told Collider in 2007. After she and LaBeouf kissed again in the 2009 sequel "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," Fox revealed that, behind the scenes, she was not experiencing the real-life version of a perfectly polished, carefully orchestrated romantic scene. "It's always weird. That's not something that's ever romantic or sexy. Doing an on-set kiss is just strange, and knowing Shia so well makes it even more strange," Fox told USA Weekend (via ComicBookMovie.com). But she affirmed that LaBeouf was an excellent kisser. 

The actors' very real chemistry helped make their kisses so memorable. LaBeouf told Details in 2011 that he and Fox had a fling while shooting the first "Transformers" film, and Fox confirmed this years later on "Watch What Happens Live." Said the star, "I love him. I've never been really quiet about that."

Anne Hathaway got to experience a lot of different kissing techniques when director Garry Marshall set out in search of the guy who would believably make Mia Thermopolis' foot pop (again) in "The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement." In 2004, she told the Los Angeles Times that she had to screen test with numerous actors before Chris Pine landed the part. "Don't get me wrong, I love kissing, but the idea of having to kiss 12 different people that I've just met in one 10-hour period of time is a little much for me," Hathaway said.

Hathaway had mastered the art of making out with a relative stranger by the time she filmed the 2007 biographical romance "Becoming Jane." She'd also established some boundaries she expected her co-stars to honor while shooting kissing scenes. The reason her on-screen love interest, James McAvoy, earned her admiration when they had to film such a scene wasn't because of the kiss itself but because she didn't have to have an awkward conversation with him about her perfectly reasonable demands beforehand. "He turned to me and said, 'Closed mouths, no tongue!' That's what I normally say to people so it was a pleasure working with him," Hathaway told Heart (via Female First).

Hathaway also revealed that she just keeps her teeth clamped firmly together if an actor ignores her wishes. "So they end up licking at your gums and teeth ... it's very attractive!" she said.

When Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck kissed for the first time, the moment was captured on film. But we can't blame Lopez for not considering it her best on-screen snog — that whole "It's turkey time, gobble gobble" line kind of pours some ice-cold, unappetizingly congealed gravy on the mood before their love scene even begins in "Gigli."

Lopez's job has also called for her to make out with Matthew McConaughey, George Clooney, and Jason Statham. But when she appeared on "Watch What Happens Live" in 2014 (many years before the Bennifer sequel), she revealed that her favorite kiss was with her "An Unfinished Life" co-star, Josh Lucas. It took place in the backseat of a truck, which could have made the scene tricky to execute. Lopez also said that she and Lucas weren't exactly comfortable before the cameras began rolling, but their nerves may have actually been to their benefit. "We just jumped on each other when they said action," she recalled. "And then he was like, 'That was really good.' I was like, 'Yeah, that was really good.'"

When Lucas appeared on "Watch What Happens Live," he confirmed that he thought the kiss was incredible. It was so incredible, in fact, that it was deemed too steamy to keep in the movie. "They needed to get it a rating that was a little more PG," the actor explained (via Us Weekly). "It was fantastic."

When Extra asked Jada Pinkett Smith about her kiss with her "Gotham" co-star, Makenzie Leigh, in 2014, it reminded the actor of another time she locked lips with a fellow female star. "You know, I got to kiss Monica Bellucci," she said. "... That was the best on-screen kiss I ever had." Their memorable smooch appeared in the video game "Enter the Matrix."

But just one year later, Smith told ET that another actor had supplanted Bellucci as her favorite co-star to kiss. Unfortunately, the pitch-perfect spicy scene she and Elizabeth Banks filmed for "Magic Mike XXL" ended up on the cutting room floor. In the film, Pinkett and Banks' respective characters, Rome and Paris, are major moguls in the male stripper world. It's quickly established that the women have a history worthy of a prequel film when they greet each other warmly by touching foreheads and clasping hands. It's actually a pivotal scene, as Rome uses their relationship to gain entry to the stripping convention where the male dancers' grand finale performance takes place. The kissing footage would have made it even more blatantly obvious to filmgoers that they had romantic feelings for each other. 

"I was very mad that they took it out of the movie," Smith said. "The girls always give me the best kisses. Monica Bellucci gave me a good kiss, Elizabeth Banks gave me an even better one."

Sharon Stone has kissed Michael Douglas, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Leonardo DiCaprio for the sake of her art, but one actor's ability to execute a swoon-worthy smooch is untouchable in her book. It probably helped that she had a massive crush on Robert De Niro before she kissed him in Martin Scorsese's 1995 movie "Casino." 

In a 2020 appearance on "Watch What Happens Live," Stone said of the Hollywood icon, "Bob was far and away the best kisser. ... There was so much attached to it, but I was just so madly in love with him as an actress to start with." According to Stone, being romanced by De Niro on screen was so sublime that it made every kissing scene she shot afterward seem "meh." But she quipped, "He probably could have hit me in the head with a hammer, and I would've been, 'Oh yeah!'"

De Niro remained oblivious about Stone's kiss bliss until he was made aware of her feelings during a virtual appearance on "Live with Kelly and Ryan" in 2020. "Well, I'm flattered. I never knew that; she never told me,"  he said. Stone also kissed Joe Pesci in "Casino," a moment Film magazine readers voted "the worst love scene of all time" in 2004 (via Chron). However, Stone told Variety that Pesci was also deserving of praise, as he and De Niro both treated her with the utmost respect.

Leonardo DiCaprio seemed to assume that puckering up with Sharon Stone in the 1995 movie "The Quick and the Dead" would be an enjoyable experience, but he told The Morning Call, "To tell you the truth, it wasn't that great. She grabbed me by the back of my hair and pushed her lips on mine and then threw my head away. It didn't feel like a real kiss." Two years later, filmgoers fell in love with DiCaprio when he planted one on Kate Winslet in "Titanic," and he later claimed on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" that the star who is arguably his most famous romantic co-lead is also his favorite all-time kissing partner.

But when Extra quizzed the on-screen couple about DiCaprio's comments on the red carpet at the 2005 SAG Awards, Winslet claimed that her co-star was really colder than a killer iceberg when it came to kissing her. "I can tell you right now, he hated it!" Winslet dished. "And he would complain bitterly."

DiCaprio defended himself by explaining that it wasn't the kissing itself that he struggled with. He said that their makeup wound up on each other's faces every time they kissed, and because they were wearing drastically different shades of foundation, it was glaringly obvious that it wasn't smudge-proof. Presumably, this meant that the pair were constantly having their makeup touched up in between takes of their kissing scenes, which would be understandably frustrating.

When Selma Blair and Sarah Michelle Gellar's slobbery "Cruel Intentions" smooch won best kiss at the 1999 MTV Movie Awards, the co-stars shared a quick peck onstage. "I just want to thank Selma for my most rewarding kiss on screen ever," Gellar said. In a 2014 interview with KIIS-FM (via Us Weekly), Gellar revealed that her kiss with her real-life bestie was still the best she'd ever filmed — even though she'd also shared a Scooby smack with her husband, Freddie Prinze Jr., in the 2002 "Scooby-Doo" movie.

In a 2021 interview with Us Weekly, Gellar complimented Blair for smelling nice and having silky skin. She also explained that the smoother texture of the area around a female co-star's mouth is always going to make her a more pleasant kissing partner than a male actor. "Kissing a girl on camera is way better, because when you kiss a guy, all your makeup rubs off, and then in between, you have to get these touch-ups," she said.

Kissing Blair was so nice that Gellar did it more than twice; photographer Brad Everett Young shared an Instagram pic of the pals recreating their movie kiss at a showing of the "Cruel Intentions" musical in 2015. And when their smooch won the GOAT: legendary lip lock award at the MTV Movie & TV Awards: Greatest of All Time ceremony, they recreated it for the COVID era, complete with a plexiglass screen separating their smackers.

"Barbie" star Margot Robbie is totally comfortable kissing and telling. When On Demand Entertainment asked her about what it was kissing Leonardo DiCaprio in "The Wolf of Wall Street," Robbie said, "He's great. He's so professional that he never makes anything feel weird on set. It's just easy." But while she found their smooch satisfactory, it was a kiss with another actor that received a rave review from Robbie. 

When KISS FM UK asked her to reveal the identity of the most skilled kisser she's worked with, one guy she's planted a wet one on, her "Babylon" co-star, Diego Calva, was seated beside her. But Robbie didn't stroke his ego. Instead, she revealed that her "Terminal" castmate, Max Irons, has earned the honor of boasting that he's a better kisser than the star of "The Man in the Iron Mask." Said Robbie, "I remember thinking — I was like, 'He's a fantastic kisser.'"

Robbie also locked lips with Brad Pitt in "Babylon," but she told E! News that their kiss wasn't in the script. When she suggested the addition to director Damien Chazelle, he questioned her motives, suspecting that she didn't have enhancing the movie's artistic merit in mind. "I was like, 'Oh, so sue me. This opportunity might never come up again,'" Robbie confessed. Of the kiss itself, the actor said, "It was just great." But now, Pitt is just another guy who couldn't quite meet the high standard set by Irons.

"Barbie" actor Ryan Gosling famously did not feel any chemistry with Rachel McAdams when they began filming their romantic 2004 classic "The Notebook." In 2014, director Nick Cassavetes told VH1 that Gosling even begged him to replace McAdams with another actor when they were in the middle of shooting a scene. "He says, 'I can't. I can't do it with her. I'm just not getting anything from this,'" Cassavetes recalled, saying that a heated shouting match between the co-stars ensued. But after venting their frustration, they seemed to get along better.

By the time their rain-soaked snog won best kiss at the 2005 MTV Video Movie Awards, they were getting along so well that they shared a steamy smooch while accepting the award. Afterward, Gosling told ET that kissing McAdams was like making sweet music. "Some have said about Rachel that she's kind of like what Jimi Hendrix was to the guitar," he said, making McAdams explode into a fit of giggles. "I think it takes two to tango," she responded.

McAdams and Gosling dated from 2005 to 2007, and even after their split, Gosling had nothing but great things to say about McAdams. In a 2007 interview with GQ, he compared their real-life and on-screen romances, saying, "People do Rachel and me a disservice by assuming we were anything like the people in that movie. Rachel and my love story is a hell of a lot more romantic than that." Sigh.

When Judy Greer appeared on "Conan" in 2017, she was surprised with a montage of her on-screen make-outs with actors, including Ashton Kutcher, David Duchovny, Gerard Butler, George Clooney, and Lily Tomlin. The latter two got the biggest reactions from Conan O'Brien's audience, and when Greer appeared on "Watch What Happens Live" in 2022, she revealed that Tomlin tops the Cloon when it comes to their kissing capabilities. "I kissed her in a movie that I love, called 'Grandma.' ... And I have to say, she has very soft lips," Greer said.

Greer often plays the bestie of lead characters in rom-coms, such as "27 Dresses," "13 Going on 30," and "The Wedding Planner." On "Conan," she explained that being a go-to actor for supporting roles is why her list of lip locks with A-listers is so long. "I think that sometimes when you're the lead of the movie, you kiss the one guy," she said. But when you're a spunky supporting character, all bets are off.

Greer even has experience filming a motion-capture kiss for "War for the Planet of the Apes." She told People that she and her on-screen partner, Andy Serkis, had to wear cameras in front of their faces, which made filming the scene awkward. "I had a split second in my brain in the back part where I'm like, 'I'm pretending to be an ape right now, kissing my ape husband. Like, what's happening?'" she recalled.

One of the teen queens of the '90s, Melissa Joan Hart, dropped a juicy tell-all aptly titled "Melissa Explains It All: Tales from My Abnormally Normal Life" in 2013. In it, the "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" actor shares her recollections of kisses with a number of big-name stars, including her first-ever on-screen kiss. It was with James Van Der Beek and for her Nickelodeon series "Clarissa Explains It All." While she can recall little about the moment, she knows she did not enjoy it at all — she refers to him as "Van Der Blah."

Hart had a much better experience while filming the 1999 movie "Drive Me Crazy," a take on the fake relationship trope that might be best known for the similarly titled Britney Spears song featured on its soundtrack. Hart's love interest in the rom-com was "Entourage" star Adrian Grenier, and he beat out Van Der Beek, Joey Lawrence, and Mario Lopez to win the title of her favorite snog-mate. "The chemistry we were trying to create on-screen came pretty naturally to us," Hart writes. "I did give him a sneak-attack smooch in his trailer, under the guise of rehearsing our kissing scene in the movie, but it meant nothing." 

As for Lopez, he annoyed Hart by obnoxiously accusing her of trying to French kiss him when they were filming "Holiday in Handcuffs," while Lawrence grossed her out by using way too much lip balm.

Vivica A. Fox and Will Smith's characters celebrated surviving an alien invasion by passionately making out in "Independence Day, and their efforts earned them the best kiss title at the 1997 MTV Movie Awards. However, according to Fox, her kisses with "The Best Man" star Morris Chestnut were the best she's ever filmed by far. Chestnut and Fox first worked together on the television series "Out All Night" and reunited for the 2001 romantic comedy "Two Can Play That Game." Speaking to The Herald-Times, Chestnut said of Fox, "I never got to kiss her on the sitcom. But now in this movie, I'm just kissing her all over the place. I love this acting thing."

But for Fox, the amount of intimate scenes she and Chestnut were required to shoot wasn't nearly enough. Two decades after their movie's release, she told the Daily Mail that no co-star had matched Chestnut's kissing prowess. "They had to yell cut several times for me to get up off of that one," she said. "I mean he kisses you ... you're like, 'Whoa, okay.'"

Will was Fox's second-favorite leading man to lock lips with, but she told Entertainment Weekly that their characters' sobbing made it difficult for her to savor their smooch. Will's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, gave Fox some advice to make it easier to film. "She said, 'Oh, honey, load up on the Binaca and dive in!' And we did," Fox recalled.

Marcia Gay Harden scored an Academy Award for her supporting role in the 2000 biographical drama "Pollock." However, during the shooting of the film, Harden found herself disagreeing with some of the director's decisions. In addition to co-starring alongside Harden as the titular artist, Ed Harris directed the movie, giving him an inordinate amount of control over the kissing scene that he and Harden filmed together. Despite having his focus divided between directing and acting, Harris kissed Harden in a manner that made him top her list of cinematic smooches. This feat is made even more impressive by the revelation that he made a call that must have left Harden feeling more than a little bit awkward. "I was like, 'Please don't say cut, Ed, please,'" Harden recalled to ET during a May 2023 interview. "[Then he said], 'Cut,' [and I was like], 'OK.'"

Harden brought up the kissing scene when she was invited to speak at Harris' Walk of Fame induction ceremony in 2015. She apologized to her co-star's wife for her on-set behavior, saying, "God bless you, Amy Madigan, for not being mad at me for when I didn't want him to say cut," per AP. She also admitted to suggesting that the scene needed to be reshot and described Harris as "the sexiest man alive." While Harris didn't grant Harden's wish to prolong their incomparable "Pollock" kiss, she seized the opportunity to give him a smooch after finishing her speech.