Seeing two A-list actors come together to work as co-stars on a project can be one of the most exciting attractions a Hollywood blockbuster can have. In fact, there have been films released with entire marketing campaigns dedicated to such collaborations. Given how prolific the film industry is, it seems that all movie stars have shared the screen at one time or another, but that most definitely is not the case, as these 10 examples prove.
The reason why these collaborations not happening is so surprising varies from case to case. In some cases, it is best friends and even siblings whose careers never overlap. In other instances, it is towering icons of genres and eras who never worked as co-stars, or even movie stars who share frequent collaborators yet have never been cast together.
10 Emma Stone & Jennifer Lawrence
Oscar-winning BFFs who are yet to collaborate.
In addition to being two of the biggest stars since 2010, Emma Stone and Jennifer Lawrence famously have a tight-knit friendship. This makes it all the more surprising that the two starlets have never once shared the screen together. Combined, they have three Academy Awards and nine nominations between them, proving that they are among the greatest performers of their generation, but it’s not only their shared acclaim that makes it so mind-boggling that they have never collaborated.
Stone and Lawrence have also been stalwarts of comedy cinema throughout their careers, with both actresses starring in everything from hard-hitting satires to crude teenage comedies. Given that both are still only in their thirties, there is plenty of time for their friendship to make its way to the screen in the future, but it is quite surprising that their careers haven’t overlapped already.
9 Christian Bale & Robert Pattinson
The British Batman stars both took on daring dramatic roles through the 2010s.
The two British Batmen—and two of the finest portrayals of the caped crusader in live-action media at that—Christian Bale and Robert Pattinson may find their careers eternally linked through comparisons and rankings of the best Batman actors of all time. However, that isn’t why it is so surprising that the two stars have never collaborated. Instead, that goes to their body of work through the 2010s and what each actor was aspiring to achieve respectively.
While Bale was an Oscar-winning sensation and one of the biggest actors in the world, Pattinson was actively reinventing himself following the Twilight films. Both actors were appearing in plenty of hard-hitting dramas that earned widespread acclaim, and yet, on their similar trajectories, they have never crossed paths professionally. Here’s hoping the duo will one day work together, especially with Pattinson establishing himself as one of Christopher Nolan's recurring stars alongside Christian Bale and several others.
8 Marlon Brando & Grace Kelly
These two icons of 1950s Hollywood almost worked as co-stars but never did.
There are few stars who shone brighter throughout the 1950s than Marlon Brando and Grace Kelly. They are two of the defining talents of the decade and two of the most iconic movie stars of all time, and yet, throughout their prolific work across the decade, not once did their careers cross paths, which is a particular peculiarity considering Kelly worked alongside many of the other major leading men of the era like Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart, and Gary Cooper.
An explanation for this is the two stars took on very different projects, with Kelly excelling in genre films like Westerns and Alfred Hitchcock’s thrillers, while Brando was re-defining the craft of acting in dramas like On the Waterfront and A Streetcar Names Desire. Interestingly, Kelly turned down the opportunity to work alongside Brando in On the Waterfront. She retired from film acting in 1956 when she married the Prince of Monaco, while Brando endured a tumultuous streak of flops through the 60s before making a monumental comeback through the 1970s.
7 Tom Cruise & Will Smith & Keanu Reeves
The action stars of the 90s are yet to join forces.
While the likes of Bruce Willis and Harrison Ford were still thriving in action blockbusters through the 1990s, a new wave of genre icons was soaring into the limelight, with the emerging generation of movie stars being spearheaded by Tom Cruise, Keanu Reeves, and Will Smith. From films like Mission: Impossible to Men in Black, and to The Matrix, the trio of stars headed some of the biggest titles of the decade.
It makes it all the more confounding, given their careers have remained stable, that no two of them have ever worked together. While they have competed and vied for the same roles, they have never appeared alongside each other. Cruise and Reeves particularly have remained active in the action genre, with the ongoing success of the Mission: Impossible franchise and the sensation of the John Wick movies ensuring both stars are still at the peak of their powers.
6 Shirley MacLaine & Warren Beatty
Shirley MacLaine and Warren Beatty are two enduring icons of the film industry. While MacLaine started acting in the 1950s, she rose to prominence with Oscar nominations and commercial success aplenty at the turn of the decade, with The Apartment and Irma la Douche two of her most prominent parts. On the other hand, Warren Beatty launched his career with the controversial classic Splendor in the Grass in 1961, and the two have enjoyed flourishing careers ever since.
What makes it so staggering that they have never found a single time to work together is that they are siblings. In fact, despite the fact that Beatty has worked prolifically as a producer as well as an actor, the siblings have never worked together in any capacity. They came close when Beatty was set to produce Bonnie and Clyde, but when it was decided that he would also star as Clyde, Faye Dunaway was cast over MacLaine. In an interview with People Magazine, MacLaine commented that their tight-knit bond remains firmly intact.
5 Daniel Day-Lewis & Philip Seymour Hoffman
Paul Thomas Anderson's frequent collaborators were never cast alongside each other.
Daniel Day-Lewis and Philip Seymour Hoffman are among two of the most celebrated and universally adored actors of recent decades. Additionally, they are both frequent collaborators with the acclaimed filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson, with seven of the writer-director’s nine feature-length movies featuring one of Day-Lewis or Hoffman. However, the two never had the chance to work alongside each other on any of the director’s projects, or anyone else’s for that matter.
Given not only the immense presence of both stars, but their dynamic range and awe-inspiring versatility as well, many movie lovers would feel somewhat robbed that the duo were never able to collaborate. Both stars experienced success at the Oscars throughout their decorated careers, with the duo’s achievements combining for four Academy Awards from 10 nominations.
4 Colin Farrell & Emma Stone
Yorgos Lanthimos' two leading stars have never appeared together.
In another example of two stars who have been repeat collaborators with the same director yet have never shared the screen together, Colin Farrell and Emma Stone have found plenty of acclaim and success in recent years. Both of them have experienced a significant portion of said success in their work alongside Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos, with Farrell starring in The Lobster and The Killing of a Sacred Dear while Stone starred in The Favourite, Poor Things, and Kinds of Kindness.
There is a certain tragedy to the fact that the two have never collaborated, with both of them entrenching themselves among the finest actors of their generation through their impressive range and dynamic screen presence. It would be fascinating to see them share the screen in a typically daring and provocative Yorgos Lanthimos picture, but seeing them work together in any capacity would be a treat for all movie lovers to enjoy.
3 Leonardo DiCaprio & Denzel Washington
These two enduring icons have never worked alongside each other.
Two all-time greats of Hollywood acting, Leonardo DiCaprio and Denzel Washington, have seen the primes of their careers span across decades, yet in all that time, they have never been brought together as co-stars. While it may not be too surprising that they haven’t collaborated of late, given both stars have become more selective with their roles, it is surprising that they didn’t collaborate at all throughout the 90s or 2000s when both of them were truly prolific.
The 1990s especially saw DiCaprio soaring to stardom as a leading man on the rise, while Washington—hot of his first Academy Award win for 1989’s Glory—was prolific in everything from legal procedural dramas to action thrillers and even Shakespeare adaptations. With the Independent highlighting Washington’s plans to retire from acting in the coming years, it seems unlikely that the two Hollywood giants will ever share the screen together.
2 Robert De Niro & Tom Hanks
The two generational talents have never worked as co-stars.
Robert De Niro was one of the greatest stars of the 1970s, an iconic actor defined by a commitment, intensity, and versatility which saw him win an Oscar from three nominations throughout the decade, and has seen him win two Oscars from nine nominations across his career. Track forward to the 1990s, and Tom Hanks was doing much the same thing, proving himself in a vast array of roles with a talent that has earned him two Oscars from six nominations.
While De Niro was still starring in major films in the 90s, he had shifted to taking on co-starring and supporting roles more often, and yet no producer was able to get him and Hanks featuring alongside each other. Considering both actors have remained active as their careers have worn on, it is quite staggering that the two juggernauts of Hollywood film have never once shared the screen together.
1 Daniel Day-Lewis & Meryl Streep
Two awards season darlings who never joined forces.
With three Academy Awards apiece, Daniel Day-Lewis and Meryl Streep are among the most decorated actors to have ever graced the screen. Such accolades have seen the duo universally recognized as the greatest actor and the greatest actress respectively of the modern era, with both stars shining in striking dramatic roles that emphasize their versatility and highlight their weighted emotional impact.
Given both Day-Lewis and Streep have been beloved darlings of the awards season for decades, it is quite surprising that they have never once worked as co-stars throughout their careers. While Day-Lewis has been somewhat selective with his roles, he has still worked alongside some of the best actors of the era. Sadly, given he has announced his retirement from acting, it seems unlikely that he and Streep will ever collaborate.
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