When Matt Damon Deemed Kissing Scarlett Johansson as ‘Hell’: “How Horrible That Was for Me”

Hollywood heartthrob Matt Damon once shared a hilarious behind-the-scenes story about filming with Scarlett Johansson. The star opened up about a particularly memorable kissing scene from their 2011 film, We Bought a Zoo. Damon and his Oppenheimer co-star Emily Blunt were chatting with LADbible. When the topic of on-screen kisses came up, Damon launched into his tale. "I had to kiss Scarlett Johansson," he began with a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Could you imagine how horrible that was for me?" The actor's playful sarcasm was evident as he continued, "It was hell, ok?" So what made smooching one of Hollywood's most desirable actresses such a torturous experience? As it turns out, it was an innocent lunchtime snack. Damon explained, "What happened was, we did a shot before lunch and it was like this nice little two-shot that ended in the kiss. And it was really good. And we went to lunch and she and I both thought it was over. She ate like an onion sandwich for lunch. And she came in and [We Bought a Zoo director] Cameron Crowe had set the camera up and it was like a tight shot of the kiss. And she goes, 'Oh s**t.' She goes, 'I literally just had I had like an onion sandwich.'"

The Bourne Identity star couldn't help but chuckle as he recounted Johansson's reaction. "I was making fun of her the entire time about her onion breath, which I didn't even smell," he admitted. Despite the pungent predicament, Damon was quick to clarify that his co-star's breath wasn't actually offensive. "'Her breath smells like roses," he added with a laugh. The anecdote sparked a broader discussion about on-set etiquette for intimate scenes. Blunt chimed in with her guidelines. "You gotta brush your teeth, use some mouthwash, stick some gum on the roof of your mouth, and then we can kiss." Damon nodded in agreement, as per HuffPost.

While Johansson hasn't commented on this particular incident, she has weighed in on-screen kisses on one occasion. In a 2019 Vogue interview, she expressed enthusiasm for a potential repeat performance with another co-star. "I would go round 2 with Penelope Cruz," Johansson said, referencing their work together in Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

Damon and Blunt worked together last year to promote Christopher Nolan's tremendously popular film about J. Robert Oppenheimer, the American theoretical physicist and Manhattan Project director. They have been good friends since they collaborated on The Adjustment Bureau (2011). Blunt made an appearance on the iHeartMedia and AirMail podcast, Table for Two with Bruce Bozzi, on Monday. "We're like some weird commune," the actress said. "Like I don't ever see Matt Damon not in his slippers anymore, you know. That's because we live in the same building, so we just pop down to see each other," as per People.