10 acting couples who love working together

Hollywood couples sometimes bring their relationships to work, resulting in natural on-screen chemistry. Acting couples are nothing new, of course. The media has focused on famous relationships many times over the years, and couples like Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor or Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart gained a lot of attention when they decided to work together.

In the 21st century, famous couples still like to team up on screen when they get the chance. This isn’t always the case, as some couples prefer to keep their business and personal lives separate, but some couples work together brilliantly. Actors who enjoy working with their spouses often do so repeatedly, leading to lasting collaborations in both film and TV.

10

John Krasinski and Emily Blunt

Krasinski and Blunt built a huge franchise together

Since leaving his role as Jim Halpert on The office Behind him, John Krasinski has begun to establish himself as an up-and-coming director worth paying attention to. THE Quiet place the franchise is his biggest success to date, thanks in part to the performance of his wife, Emily Blunt. Krasinski and Blunt play a couple trying to protect their children in a post-apocalyptic world filled with predatory aliens.

Krasinski and Blunt are convincing in the most surreal circumstances. Blunt, in particular, provides some of the most memorable moments in A peaceful place and its sequel, like the stressful scene in which your character has to give birth without making any noise. Blunt also plays a voice in Krasinski’s 2024 comedy IF, suggesting the couple will continue to work together beyond A peaceful place.

9

Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard

Bell and Shepard have worked together in films and TV shows

Since they started dating in 2007, Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell have worked together numerous times in films and TV shows. The couple got engaged in 2010 and married in 2013. Shepard has appeared in small roles in some of his wife’s biggest projects. He plays a Bad Place demon in an episode of Bell’s hit sitcom The good place, and he has a similar brief appearance in 2014 Veronica Marte film.

Bell returned the favor by appearing in some of Shepard’s projects. When Shepard wrote, directed and starred in the 2017 crime comedy chips, Bell played his character’s ex-wife. Their most memorable collaboration could be Hit and run, the 2012 action comedy that Shepard also directed. The couple also hosted the short-lived game show Family game fight, which was based on Ellen’s Game of Games.

8

Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons

Dunst and Plemons played an on-screen couple more than once

Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons have worked together several times throughout their relationship. More recently, Plemons made a brief but unforgettable appearance in Alex Garland’s film. Civil war, which stars Dunst as a war photographer traveling across America under the rule of an authoritarian government. The high point of their collaboration likely came in 2022, when both were nominated for an Oscar for The power of the dog. They got married in the same year.

Dunst and Plemons began their relationship while working together on Season 2 of Fargo. Critics often cite this as the best season of Fargo, and the chemistry between Dunst and Plemons is a big reason why. They play an ordinary couple who inadvertently find themselves embroiled in a dangerous criminal conspiracy, facing pressure from a powerful crime family and law enforcement at the same time.

7

Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem

Cruz and Bardem worked together in Spain and America

Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem got married in 2010, but they had already worked together for years. Before they both moved to Hollywood, the pair worked on Spanish films, including Jamon Jamon, which provided Cruz with his breakout role. His other Spanish titles include Love can seriously harm your health, living flesh and Not love, just frenzy.

Cruz appears in some of Javier Bardem’s best films and vice versa. They often seem to bring the best out of each other, whether they’re playing on-screen lovers or not. Just like great films like Loving Pablo and Everyone knows, their chemistry is on display in Woody Allen’s film Vicky Cristina Barcelona, which earned Cruz an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. Bardem won his Oscar just a year earlier for There is no country for old people.

6

Alison Brie and Dave Franco

Brie recently starred in Franco’s directorial efforts

Alison Brie and Dave Franco started dating in 2011, but only made a movie together in 2017. They filmed The little hours as they prepared for the wedding. The medieval comedy takes inspiration from the cheeky humor of Giovanni Boccaccio’s novel The Decameron, and also stars Aubrey Plaza, Kate Micucci and John C. Reilly. This was just the first of many collaborations for the couple.

Brie and Franco got the chance to play an on-screen couple in The Disaster Artist, a comedy about the infamous Tommy Wiseau film The Room. Dave Franco’s brother James directed The Disaster Artist, as well as playing Wiseau. Since then, Franco and Brie have been working more behind the camera. Brie stars in Franco’s 2020 directorial debut, The rent. The couple co-wrote Franco’s next feature, Someone I knew, which also stars Brie.

5

Rob McElhenney and Kaitlin Olson

The It’s Always Sunny stars met while working together

Rob McElhenney and Kaitlin Olson met when he cast her as Dee Reynolds in It’s always sunny in Philadelphia. He would later say that he began to feel attracted to her around the time they were working on the show’s second season, and they soon began dating. The couple got married in 2008, while It’s always sunny season 4 aired and they have been together ever since. It’s always sunny the 17th season is expected to extend the show’s record run into 2025.

McElhenney and Olson’s real-life relationship is about as far from the on-screen dynamic as possible. Dee and Mac are constantly arguing with each other, and Mac is quick to say that she looks like a bird or that she’s not funny. Mac often seems to resent Dee because he is very protective of her strangely intense relationship with Dennis, Dee’s brother. McElhenney and Olson aren’t the only couple It’s always sunny. Charlie Day is married to Mary Elizabeth Ellis, who plays the unnamed waitress.

4

Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson

Hanks and Wilson recently worked on another film together

Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson started working together years before they became a couple. They met on the set of the TV comedy Bosom friends, and later acted in the 1985 film Volunteers before getting married in 1988. Both actors had moments of success in the 1990s, with Wilson appearing in some of Hanks’ most popular films, Sleepless in Seattle and What you do! Acting runs in the family, as Hanks and Wilson’s oldest son, Chet, had a role in entourage, and his youngest son, Truman, worked with his father on A man called Otto.

After a few decades of working separately, Hanks and Wilson recently teamed up once again for Wes Anderson’s 2023 sci-fi comedy Asteroid City. Hanks and Wilson talked about how much they enjoyed working together on one of Anderson’s sets. Since Anderson often chooses actors from the same group, Hanks and Wilson could very well appear in one of his next films.

3

Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor

Stiller and Taylor are returning to acting

Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor met in 1999 while filming the pilot for a TV show called Heat Vision and Jack. Fox decided not to make an entire series, but the pilot has gained a following online over the years. Stiller and Taylor married a year later in Hawaii and soon began working together on films and TV shows that were more successful than ever. Heat Vision and Jack. Some of Ben Stiller’s best films also feature Christine Taylor in supporting roles.

Zoolander stars Stiller as a dim-witted male model, and Taylor plays a journalist who ends up being won over by his simple charms. Both actors returned for the critically panned sequel in 2017. The couple also appears in Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, with Stiller as the narcissistic villain White Goodman and Taylor as a member of Average Joe’s dodgeball team. After being apart for three years, Stiller and Taylor rekindled their relationship during the COVID-19 pandemic. With the two returning to acting soon, it is possible that they will continue to work together in the future.

2

Martin Short and Meryl Streep

Short and Streep’s on-screen romance got real

Martin Short and Meryl Streep seemed like an unlikely on-screen couple when they starred together in the third season of Only murders in the building, but they soon began a real-life relationship. Their relationship may be why Streep also features so prominently in Season 4, although other supporting characters tend to disappear after just one season. Oliver and Loretta’s romantic problems are one of the main subplots of season 4.

After their characters get married at the end of Season 4, Short and Streep will likely be back to Only murders in the building season 5. Although Loretta appears to be moving to New Zealand, potentially taking Oliver with her, it would be a shock if she were written out of the show. Even though each season of Only murders in the building brings a new slew of guests, none topping Streep’s star power. She adds a lot of pathos to the show and gets a chance to showcase her singing in the third season.

1

Tom Holland and Zendaya

The Spider-Man stars have another exciting project planned

Tom Holland and Zendaya met when they were cast as Peter Parker and MJ in 2017 Spider-Man: Homecoming, although they didn’t start a romantic relationship right away. They reprized their roles in the sequels Spider-Man: Far From Home and Spider-Man: No way home. Every Spider-Man actor is under intense scrutiny from fans, but Holland’s performances in the MCU have been widely praised.

Holland and Zendaya have been cast in Christopher Nolan’s next film, which suggests a desire to continue working together after the Spider-Man films. It’s unknown what roles they will play, but the cast is preparing well ahead of the scheduled 2026 release. Holland and Zendaya will be joined by Lupita Nyong’o, Matt Damon and Anne Hathaway. According to the latest reports, Principle star Robert Pattinson is also in talks to team up with Nolan once again.