These Actors Refused To Get Close To Each Other While Filming

Some castmates become lifelong friends (like Friends stars and real-life BFFs Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox, for example), while others end up... the opposite. Over the years, plenty of co-stars have made it clear that they don't plan to be best of friends when the cameras stop rolling, and others who actually do get along in real life still set firm boundaries on set. When co-stars refuse to get close when they're working together, it can mean a lot of different things and can happen for a lot of different reasons. Sometimes, there's a personality clash, or a serious rift that makes working together almost impossible. And yes, sometimes co-stars are actually seem to really hate each other. Other times, there are more nuanced or personal reasons for the distance. And sometimes it's truly nothing personal (although that can still lead to awkwardness, all the same). 

Here are some prime examples of actors who worked closely with each other on projects but refused to really take the next step and get close — physically, emotionally, or sometimes both.

Glee star Lea Michele doesn't have the best reputation when it comes to her behavior on the set of the FOX musical. Her co-star Samantha Marie Ware made headlines in 2020 when she revealed how Michele treated her during her time on the show. "I knew from day one when I attempted to introduce myself. There was nothing gradual about it. As soon as she decided that she didn't like me, it was very evident," Ware told Variety, adding, "It was after I did my first performance, that's when it started — the silent treatment, the stare-downs, the looks, the comments under her breath, the weird passive-aggressiveness. It all built up." 

Ware wasn't the only cast member who had issues with Michele though. In her 2016 memoir, Sorry Not Sorry: Dreams, Mistakes and Growing Up, the late Naya Rivera detailed the breakdown of her friendship with Michele on the Glee set. "As Santana moved from a background character to one with bigger plot lines and more screen time. I think Rachel — erm, I mean Lea — didn't like sharing the spotlight," Rivera wrote. The two stars' once-tight bond broke down as Michele became "more sensitive" and started "[blaming Rivera] for anything and everything that went wrong." Rivera also claimed that Michele "didn't say a word to [her] for all of season 6," but added, "I do wish that Leah and I had gotten along better, but I'm not losing sleep over it." 

In spite of the overlapping elements of their characters' storylines (both of which focused heavily on their respective relationships with Jaime Lannister), Game of Thrones actors Lena Headey (Cersei Lannister) and Jerome Flynn (Bronn of the Blackwater) managed to avoid sharing the screen for pretty much their entire run on the HBO hit. In the show's third season, they shared a brief scene in which Heady's character quickly walks by Flynn's character without so much as acknowledging him. It was apparently an extreme example of art imitating life, as the actors were apparently just as stubborn towards each other off the set.

It wasn't a Game of Thrones-related rift that caused the drama between these two. No, the reason for their animosity is reportedly romantic. Headey and Flynn dated in the early 2000s, and sources close to the couple have said that it ended so poorly that they can't have contact with each other to this day. "Jerome and Lena aren't on speaking terms any more and they are never in the same room at the same time," a member of the Game of Thrones crew told The Telegraph, adding, "It's a pity because they appeared to have patched things up for a while, but now the word is they should be kept apart at all costs."

Alyson Hannigan and Jason Segel's How I Met Your Mother characters, Lily Aldrin and Marshall Eriksen, were the definition of couple's goals. Even though the co-stars got along great in real life, Hannigan had a strict no kissing policy with her onscreen husband. Why? Because in real life, Segel is a smoker and Hannigan simply could not with that. "I cannot stand cigarette smoke. It's like kissing an ashtray, and he's trying to be polite by having gum or mints, but it doesn't help," she explained to Digital Spy in 2008.

Thankfully, the potentially-awkward rule didn't impact Hannigan and Segel's actual friendship. During a cast appearance on The Talk ahead of the long-running show's series finale, Segel gushed about the role Hannigan played in his life. "Aly taught me a lot about how to be a man, I gotta say. I was 25 when I took [on] the show, and I think we've all been through a lot personally. ...She's always been there to listen to me and to give me advice. [She] saw me through hard times and good times," he said. "I learned a lot from being around Alyson about the kind of person that I wanted to be." 

In another case of actors who got along just fine on set but still didn't agree to love scenes, we have Denzel Washington and Julia Roberts. The A-list actors co-starred in 1993's The Pelican Brief, and their characters were supposed to share a steamy love scene, but Washington apparently lobbied to have it cut out of respect to his Black, female fanbase. "Black women are not often seen as objects of desire on film," Washington explained, according to Newsweek. "They have always been my core audience."

While Roberts confirmed that the planned love scene was cut at Washington's request, she, naturally, still feels some FOMO over the experience. "Don't I have a pulse?" she said of the situation. "Of course I wanted to kiss Denzel. It was his idea to take the damn scenes out." In the Newsweek story, Roberts also gushed about Washington's overall talent — which, at the time, had not been recognized by the Academy (he finally won Best Actor for 2001's Training Day). "[He is] the best actor of this generation, hands down," Roberts said, adding, "He should be on his third Oscar by now, and that might not be enough. I mean, did you see Malcolm f**king X and Hurricane and Philadelphia?! I could go on. I cannot absorb living in a world where I have an Oscar for best actress and Denzel doesn't have one for best actor."

When Dwayne Johnson (you know, the insanely ripped and equally talented actor formerly known as The Rock) joined the Fast and the Furious franchise in Fast Five (above) fans were pumped. Apparently, though, things weren't so awesome behind-the-scenes—at least not between Johnson and his co-star Vin Diesel. By the time the two returned to the set to film The Fate of the Furious, things were so tense they didn't film a single scene together and Johnson was subsequently written out of the main series with his own spinoff movie/potential franchise, Hobbs & Shaw.

"Vin and I had a few discussions, including an important face-to-face in my trailer," Johnson later told Rolling Stone of the strained working relationship. "And what I came to realize is that we have a fundamental difference in philosophies on how we approach moviemaking and collaborating. It took me some time, but I'm grateful for that clarity. Whether we work together again or not." Diesel was dodgier about the feud during an interview with USA Today in 2017, saying, "I don't think the world really realizes how close we are, in a weird way. I think some things may be blown out of proportion. I don't think that was his intention. I know he appreciates how much I work this franchise. In my house, he's Uncle Dwayne."

Kenny Baker and Anthony Daniels played beloved bots R2-D2 and C-3PO in the Star Wars movies, but even though their characters were longtime companions in the series, the actors were anything but close in real life. Apparently, the icy relationship is the result of a serious snub on set.

"Anthony doesn't mix at all — he keeps himself to himself. He never wants to have a drink with any of us. Once when I said hello to him he just turned his back on me and said, 'Can't you see I'm having a conversation?' I was blazing with rage," Baker explained to Hollywood.com. "It was the rudest thing anyone had ever done to me. I was furious. It was unbelievable." He also claimed that he and Daniels never socialized off-set.

When Baker passed away in 2016, however, Daniels put the feud to rest and honored his longtime co-star on Twitter, writing, "Sad to hear of Kenny's passing. 1 of the truly original cast, so famed for his iconic role as R2. He'll always be remembered by so many fans."