Where To Draw The Line? Hollywood Actors Who Refuse To Lock Lips For On-Screen Romance

According to them, a mere kiss is all it takes. “As Time Goes By” songwriter Herman Hupfeld.

You can tell that to Hollywood stars who perceive smooches differently. Most stars do exactly what their directors tells them to, whether it’s saving a damsel or planting one on her before they roll the credits.

A select group of stars, however, won’t commit to that act, and they have various reasons for it.

Some, such as Neal McDonough, a veteran actor “Yellowstone” And “Justified” fame, refuse to kiss anyone other than their wives – on screen or off. McDonough has been married to model Ruve Robertson for nearly 20 years, and he says his no-kissing policy His otherwise thriving career was ruined. 

McDonough, a deeply religious host, was fired by the ABC program. “Scoundrels” When he refused to film sex scenes alongside Virginia Madsen. According to the actor, that caused his phone’s to stop ringing.

“After that, I couldn’t get a job because everybody thought I was this religious zealot.”

Producer Graham Yost, who worked with McDonough on HBO’s “Band of Brothers,” He saved him from the creative abyss. Yost hired the actor to play a villain on the third season of FX’s “Justified,” He said that a gig was what re-ignited him in his career.

It won’t surprise Kirk Cameron’s fanbase that he holds a similar worldview when it comes to his craft. The “Growing Pains” alum is one of show business’ most openly Christian performers, and he similarly refuses to kiss anyone but his wife with or without cameras rolling.

It’s been his practice for some time, but it didn’t stop a powerful moment from his 2008 hit “Fireproof” It is not possible. Cameron was asked about the scene. Kiss his wife Erin Bethea, who plays the role.

It was important that the scene be set. “Fireproof” They got creative. They brought in Cameron’s wife, Chelsea Noble, who he met on the set of “Growing Pains,” The two of them shared a kiss. The sequence was shot in silhouette, obscuring Noble’s face enough for audiences to believe Cameron’s firefighter was kissing Bethea.

The father of six isn’t interested in winning over mainstream Hollywood studios or casting directors. He is a steady worker in the faith-based sector, including on his hit for 2022. “Lifemark.”

Actor Penn Badgley doesn’t mind an occasional on-screen kiss, but anything It goes beyond this He crosses a bold line these days. Anchors the actor “You,” Netflix’s drama about a serial killer falling for a different woman every season as the body count rises. 

The show’s steamy nature suggests a crush of sex scenes, something the actor finds increasingly uncomfortable. For that reason, he almost turned down the show at first. 

“My fidelity in my relationship … it was one of the reasons that I initially wanted to turn the role down,” Badgley claimed. “I didn’t tell anybody that. But that is why.” 

Badgley’s wife, Domino Kirke-Badgley, suggested he take the role despite that aspect of the series. The saga’s fourth season features fewer sexual encounters, and Badgley is fully clothed during them. 

Others stars have never experienced professional grief for their positions.

Denzel Washington, the beloved actor who was twice awarded an Oscar, is an example. Although he is often the romantic lead in movies, he refused to kiss his co-star in a 1993 thriller. 

Washington joined Julia Roberts to create this partnership “The Pelican Brief,” a film which could have seen the two exchange a lip lock … or more. They shared a deep romantic connection. However, the kiss did not occur. 

Roberts was willing to take the opportunity, but Washington declined, though for a reason that Washington did not understand. The actor previously kissed a white actress on screen, Mimi Rogers, in an early cut of 1989’s “The Mighty Quinn.” Test screenings found Washington’s most faithful audience, black women, disliking the sequence. The film’s final cut left the moment out, and it inspired him to do the same with any Roberts kiss. 

He explained to us his reasoning. Newsweek 2002. 

“Black women are not often seen as objects of desire on film. They have always been my core audience.”

Some stars don’t mind kissing on screen, but some actors leave them so cold they’d rather avoid that act entirely. Lindsay Lohan is no stranger to tabloid headlines throughout the years. She was reluctant to kiss Charlie Sheen, her co-star during the production of 2013’s “Scary Movie 5.”

Why? She felt uncomfortable with Sheen’s notorious partying, leaving the production to use body doubles to complete the necessary scenes. Sheen, rarely shy about sharing his opinions, reportedly went along peacefully with Lohan’s request.

Ironically, Lohan’s First on-screen kiss in the “Freaky Friday” Reboot gave her the jitters, too, but co-star Jamie Lee Curtis broke the ice off-screen by smooching her romantic target, actor Chad Michael Murray, to show her it wasn’t a big deal.

The most curious of Hollywood’s non-kiss kisses? The comedy of 2023 “You People” Lauren London plays Jonah Hill’s Jewish broker, who falls in love a black designer. Famed rapper, Jay-Z, was a friend of the actress.