10 MCU Actor Duos Who Played Lovers In Other Projects
Considering the MCU has a wide array of actors in its ranks, it's no surprise that some of them already worked with each other in the past. Actors like Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson shared the screen several times before they even made their debuts as Captain America and Black Widow.
Some of the pairings portrayed lovers on screen, appearing in projects that include romantic comedies, dramatic stories, biopics, and even sci-fi adventures. Thanks to their talent and acting ability, they successfully sold their performances, making their romances seem as believable and charming as their current roles within the MCU.
10 Angela Bassett & Laurence Fishburne - What's Love Got To Do With It
Angela Bassett and Lawrence Fishburne got their first and so far only Oscar nominations for playing Tina and Ike Turner in the 1993 biopic What's Love Got To Do With It. The film follows Tina's rise into stardom and chronicles her difficult marriage to Ike, and how she eventually musters the courage to leave him.
Both performances garnered critical acclaim and led to popular careers for both actors, which continue to this day. In the MCU, Bassett portrayed Queen Ramonda in Black Panther and Avengers: Endgame. For his part, Fishburne played the role of Bill Foster in Ant-Man and the Wasp.
9 Zoe Saldana & Mark Ruffalo - Infinitely Polar Bear
Written and directed by Maya Forbes, Infinitely Polar Bear follows a man who has bipolar who tries to win his wife back by taking sole responsibility for their two young daughters while she attends graduate school in New York. The film received mainly positive reviews with particular praise going to Ruffalo's performance.
Since 2012, Ruffalo has played Bruce Banner/Hulk in MCU continuity, completely redefining the role for modern audiences. Zaldana, for her part, took the role of Gamora in the same year she did Infinitely Polar Bear and is expected to reprise it in the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
8 Michelle Pfeiffer & Jeff Bridges - The Fabulous Baker Boys
After critically acclaimed turns in Married to the Mob and Dangerous Liaisons, Michelle Pfeiffer dazed critics with her performance in Steve Kloves' musical drama The Fabulous Baker Boys. She played Susie Diamond, a former escort who enters into a romance with a struggling pianist, played by Jeff Bridges, as the two attempt to launch a lounge act along with his older brother.
Baker Boys earned Pfeiffer a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination and cemented her as Hollywood A-lister. Bridges, already a three-time Oscar nominee at the time, went on with his successful career, eventually playing the first villain in the MCU, Obadiah Stane in 2008's Iron Man. In 2018, Pfeiffer played the original Wasp, Janet Van Dyne, in Ant-Man and the Wasp.
7 Salma Hayek & Alfred Molina - Frida
In 2002, Salma Hayek and Alfred Molina brought to life the complicated love affair between Mexican painters Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera in the former's biopic, aptly titled Frida. The film received mostly positive reviews, although both Hayek and Molina earned rave reviews and numerous nominations. Hayek would go on to receive an Oscar nomination for her performance.
Both actors continued with their successful and consistent careers, eventually finding their way to the MCU. Hayek will portray Ajax, the leader of the Eternals, in the upcoming film of the same title. Molina will revisit the role of Otto Octavius, which he first played in 2004's Spider-Man 2, in the third Spidey film, Spider-Man: No Way Home.
6 Gwyneth Paltrow & Jude Law - The Talented Mr. Ripley
Soon after winning her Oscar for Shakespeare in Love, Gwyneth Paltrow starred opposite Matt Damon and Jude Law in Anthony Minghella's underrated gem The Talented Mr. Ripley. The film tells the story of Tom Ripley, a talented conman who sneaks his way into the life of a handsome, reckless playboy.
The film was well-received and commercially successful. Both Paltrow and Law carried on with highly successful and acclaimed careers. Paltrow began playing the role of Pepper Potts in 2008's Iron Man and reprised it for two further sequels, also appearing in The Avengers, Spider-Man: Homecoming, and Avengers: Endgame. In 2019, Law played the role of Yon-Rogg in Captain Marvel.
5 Tilda Swinton & Tom Hiddleston - Only Lovers Left Alive
Following the romance of two artistic, sophisticated, and centuries-old vampires as they ponder their place in modern society, Only Lovers Left Alive features some of Tilda Swinton's and Tom Hiddleston's best work. Directed by Jim Jarmusch, the film was nominated for the 2013 Palm d´Or at the Cannes Film Festival.
Hiddleston, of course, has played Loki for almost ten years now and will revisit the role in his own Disney+ series later this year. Swinton played a gender and race-bended version of the Ancient one in both Doctor Strange and Avengers: Endgame.
4 Rachel McAdams & Jake Gyllenhaal - Southpaw
Directed by Antoine Fuqua, Southpaw deals with a young boxer, played by Gyllenhaal, who must get his life back on track after an unfortunate accident kills his wife, McAdams. Although the film received an overall mixed reception, Gyllenhaal's performance and commitment to the role did receive praise.
Both working actors with successful resumes and Oscar nominations to their names, McAdams and Gyllenhaal recently joined the Marvel family. She played Christine Palmer in 2016's Doctor Strange, a role she'll reprise in the upcoming sequel, and he gave life to Spider-Man: Far From Home villain Quentin Beck, AKA Mysterio.
3 Tessa Thompson & Michael B. Jordan - Creed
The movie that gave both Tessa Thompson and Michael B. Jordan their breakthrough roles, Creed follows Adonis Creed, Apollo Creed's son, who seeks Rocky Balboa and asks the retired champ to become his trainer. Thompson plays Bianca, a singer-songwriter with progressive hearing loss who eventually becomes Apollo's fiancé and mother of his child.
Two of the most promising and in-demand actors working in Hollywood, Thompson and Jordan made waves with their entrances to the MCU. Since 2018, she's played Valkyrie, a role that quickly became a fan favorite. For his part, he played Erik Killmonger in the 2018 juggernaut, Black Panther.
2 Marisa Tomei & Robert Downey Jr. - Only You
Tomei and Downey Jr., both at a highlight in their careers, joined forces in this 1994 film about a woman convinced that her soulmate is a man named Damon Bradley. After finding a man with that same name, she follows him to Italy, ten days before her wedding.
Both actors suffered a decline in their careers in the late '90s and early 2000s but recovered at nearly the same time. Downey Jr. is, without a doubt, the heart of the MCU, having played the role of Iron Man in ten films across the entire Infinity Saga. Tomei played the role of Aunt May in both Spider-Man films and is expected to return in No Way Home.
1 Scarlett Johansson & Chris Evans - The Nanny Diaries
Johansson and Evans have worked together in eight different films but only two of them take place outside of the MCU. They first starred in the forgotten teen film The Perfect Score in 2004, later reuniting in the 2007 Johansson vehicle The Nanny Diaries. She plays an anthropologist who takes on a job as a nanny for a wealthy Upper East Side family, and he plays her love interest.
The two would, of course, move on to play two of the most recognizable and key figures in the MCU, Captain America and Black Widow. According to rumors, the two may reunite in the Little Shop of Horrors remake, with her playing Audrey and him bringing the Dentist to life.
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