6 Celebrities Who Turned Down Kissing Scenes To Stay Loyal To Their Spouse

The job of an actor is one that encompasses a seemingly endless array of activities and expectations. Whether their role required them to go through physical training for months, like Anne Hathaway did to play Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises, or they had to learn another accent, like Toni Collette in many of her roles (surprisingly, she’s Australian), or they had to undergo a major makeover, like Rooney Mara did for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, many actors are known for going to great lengths to make their character come to life.

Another thing that the grand majority of actors have been asked to do at some point in their career? Perform a passionate kissing scene with their co-star, in which they lock lips with them as if they’re the one true love of their life. This is arguably one of the stranger, potentially more complicated tasks of an actor. In what other line of work is someone asked to kiss another person, no matter if one or both of them are married to someone else? There truly is no business like show business.

For many actors, this isn’t necessarily an issue. To them, similarly to cutting their hair or speaking in a different accent, kissing their co-stars is just part of the job – and not romantic in the least bit. And there’s nothing inherently immoral or problematic about performing this part of the job, so long as the actors are capable of drawing emotional and physical boundaries that protect them and their own personal relationships outside work. Countless pairs of actors have played lovers on screen, yet only ever remained on platonic terms off-screen.

That being said, there’s something incredibly heartwarming about actors who decline to perform a kissing scene due to their desire to stay loyal to their spouse. In a line of work where more than one pair of taken co-stars have unexpectedly fallen for one another after filming steamier scenes, we’re compelled to give a round of applause to performers who choose to abstain from locking lips with other actors for the sake of their marriage or relationship. Here are six celebrities who did just that.

Chris Hemsworth 

The Australian Thor actor shares three children with Elsa Pataky, his wife of 13 years. And it’s safe to say that they’re one of Hollywood’s most adorable couples. Hemsworth never shies away from publicly admiring his wife, going so far as to say that he wouldn’t have the success he has today without her in his life. “Her sacrifice, commitment, work, support, forgiveness – everything that she has given me over the years has been incredible. … I couldn’t have done any of the things I’ve done without it,” the actor said in an interview with British GQ. 

Which is what makes what happened while Hemsworth was shooting Thor: The Dark World all the sweeter. When his co-star Natalie Portman’s scheduling conflicts made it impossible for her to make it to set to shoot a pivotal scene in which their characters share a passionate kiss, the production offered to hire a stand-in for Hemsworth to kiss. “The director comes up to me, and he says basically it’s just the final kiss of the movie, you have to kiss Natalie, but she’s not here, so we brought in these girls. … I know this sounds awful…but he said, 'Do you want to pick one? Who do you want to kiss?'” Hemsworth recounts. But then, the actor suggested something interesting: “I said, my wife’s around the corner. Let’s get her in.” And so, Pataky stood in for Portman for the kiss.

And Portman was nothing but supportive of Pataky’s standing in as Jane Foster: “It was for reshoots and he was working in Hong Kong and I couldn’t get there because I was working on my own film. … It was such a perfect solution, wasn’t it? … They put his wife in my wig and costume, that’s why it was so passionate.”

While it’s not a hard and fast rule of Hemsworth’s to not kiss co-stars for his movies, we think it’s sweet that when given the opportunity to pick another woman out of a lineup of stand-ins to kiss, he instead chose his wife.

Neal McDonough

Known for his roles in Band of Brothers, Yellowstone, Desperate Housewives, and Suits, McDonough and his wife of 20 years, Ruvé McDonough, have five children together. The devout Catholic actor says it was love at first sight: “It was St. Patrick’s Day, and we literally bumped into each other on the street, locked eyes, and that was it… The next morning, I called the woman I was dating at the time and said, ‘I’m sorry, it’s not going to work out with us anymore – I just met the woman I’m going to marry.’”

Despite often playing the villain in his films, McDonough couldn’t be a more loving husband, to the point where the actor flat-out refuses to film intimate kissing scenes with his co-stars. However, he didn’t set this boundary without getting some pushback: “They said, ‘You have to do it, or we’re going to fire you.’ I’m like, ‘Well, I’m not going to do it,’ so they fired me. I was blackballed for two years.”

So what’s the reason behind McDonough’s decision to turn down kissing scenes? “Killing people on screen – that’s fake. That’s not real. When you’re in bed with another woman on screen – guess what? That’s real. I don’t like that kind of stuff. Especially now with kids, I don’t want to have my kids say, ‘Hey, Dad, what are you doing with that lady on screen?’” the actor explained. And for that reason, McDonough says that his “lips are meant for one woman” and one woman only.

McDonough stuck to his decision to only ever kiss his wife, and today, he’s glad he chose to put her and his family before his career: “To have her as my partner in everything, I’m just the most blessed guy I know. … That’s why I go to church every day and say thank you to God for everything he’s given me. And most importantly, thank you for giving me Ruvé, because without her, I most certainly would not be talking with you right now.”

McDonough certainly chose a path that most actors don’t, and we have to commend his choice to hold fast to his values.

Charlie Hunnam

The rugged, British Sons of Anarchy actor might look like a bad boy on the outside, but he’s actually one for commitment in real life – considering that he’s been with his girlfriend, artist Morgana McNelis, for about 18 years. While the two haven’t yet tied the knot, the actor has said that he “sort of” considers himself to be married to McNelis.

And his long-term relationship seems to take precedence often enough for Hunnam. After being offered the role of Christian Grey in Fifty Shades of Grey, a film famous for its highly sexual, graphic content, the actor turned down the offer – supposedly due to scheduling conflicts, as well as his desire to honor his longtime girlfriend, who was uncomfortable with him starring in the movie. “I’m in a very committed relationship, and I’m also cognizant that it’s not my girlfriend’s favorite part of my job,” Hunnam shared.

But his girlfriend isn’t the only one who’s not comfortable with intimate scenes. The actor himself has spoken out about how much he’d rather not kiss his co-stars. “Everyone thinks it’s great to be an actor and get to kiss a bunch of beautiful actresses in films, but I actually hate it,” the actor said. While Hunnam has performed in kissing scenes in the past, the actor has expressed a desire to share that kind of contact with his girlfriend only: “It’s not my favorite thing to do. I don’t want to kiss anyone but my girlfriend for my whole life.”

Candace Cameron Bure

The actress first gained popularity on the hit ‘90s show Full House and has since starred in its reboot, along with a number of Hallmark movies. Bure has been married to NHL hockey player Valeri Bure since 1996, and the pair share three children.

Having grown up in the industry, Bure is no stranger to all that’s entailed with the profession of acting. The actress has performed in her fair share of kissing scenes throughout Fuller House, in which her character is caught between two guys, and in her Hallmark movies that each have a different love interest. Bure has let on that her husband doesn’t watch her work, as it makes him “uncomfortable” – though she also stated that he doesn’t try to keep her from doing her job.

Bure has since hinted that she’d rather go without kissing scenes altogether: “Sometimes I’m doing my Hallmark movies, and we’ve got a new guy in each movie. I’m getting more uncomfortable with it the older I’m getting. I’m like, ‘I don’t want to keep doing this!’” So, while Bure hasn’t yet ruled out kissing scenes completely, it seems like that might be a possibility in the future.

Leona Lewis

The British “Bleeding Love” singer, actress, and X Factor alum is married to Dennis Jauch, with whom she has one child. But before she’d even met and started dating her husband, Lewis was already commitment-minded.

During the shoot for the singer’s “I Will Be” music video, she was instructed to kiss Chace Crawford, her co-star. But Lewis, in a relationship with Lou Al-Chamaa at the time, objected. “I said no. … I think he would [get jealous] if I was kissing them, but I’d never do that. … It wouldn’t be fair to Lou to kiss other guys,” the singer said. 

Gabby Barrett

The 23-year-old American country singer and American Idol finalist married fellow Idol contestant Cade Foehner in 2019, with whom she has two children and one more on the way. The two seem to be true partners, with Foehner regularly accompanying Barrett at her live performances.

Barrett, a lifelong Christian, has been upfront about her devotion to her faith. “Jesus has done so much in my life. … I’ve lived a lot of life in a short amount of time the past couple of years, and just seeing how following Him and being obedient to His word, the best that I can, is really blessing my life,” the singer shared.

While Barrett’s line of work hasn’t required her to kiss men aside from her husband, the singer has still felt the need to draw boundaries in her career, choosing not to perform love duets with other male singers. “There have been large song opportunities that have come in for me to duet on and be part of, and [that’s something] between myself and my husband … these love songs that are really intimate wording-wise … If I’m singing with another man, is that going to make my husband uncomfortable? Probably. And I respect and love him so much that I am not going to jeopardize my marriage to do a duet with somebody,” she explained.

Barrett has spoken about getting messages from fans telling her that she’s ruining her career by not performing these duets, but the singer is set on her decision, saying, “I treasure a godly marriage over anything the world could offer.”

Closing Thoughts

The life of an actor is an odd one. Performers are asked to do things that no other line of work asks. And while kissing scenes are just one small part of movie magic, and more often than not are merely part of an actor’s job, we love to see actors, actresses, and other performers who choose to honor their commitment to their partner in this special way.

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