Male Actors That Don't Have Chemistry With Female Co-Stars

Darren Criss

Henry Cavill

Jason Bateman.

Elijah Wood. He seems rather asexual in general, tbh.

Christian Bale, actually

Michael Fassbender.

It's harder to list ones that do.

Tom Cruise with Nicole Kidman in "Eyes Wide Shut."

David Tennant

Timothee Chalamet

R8, that's why that's one of his few good roles.

What r6? You are crazy, that's the last name I expected to see in this thread.

Bob Odenkirk with Rhea Seehorn on Better Call Saul.

Jesse Tyler Ferguson

Benedict Cumberbatch

Tom Hiddleston

R12 - I agree, Fassbender, whatever his other quirks, doesn't belong on this list.

Norman Fell

"Male Actors That Don't Have Chemistry With Female Co-Stars"

That class was an elective, he took Social Studies instead

Woody Allen owns this thread.

Christ, I know they all "pretended" to be hot for him, but come ON!!!!!

Jonathan Rhys Meyers

Christopher Walken. I love him as an actor, but watching him try to kiss a woman on screen is just painful.

Rock Hudson. He seemed nice though.

Rock Hudson had GREAT chemistry with Doris Day.

You're just naming gay actors now.

R23 - Rock had great comedic chemistry with Day, I wouldn't call is sexual chemistry.

The only female he ever managed to look like he was really involved with was Susan St. James in McMillan and Wife. Somehow that actually worked, not sure why.

Redford really fizzled out in the 80s. He is without a spark of attraction in "The Natural: & "Out of Africa"

Billy Bob Thornton. What the fuck was Angelina thinking when she married him?

R24, she was rather butch.

Who have no chemistry, OP.

R28 That is now considered correct, too.

James Franco

Vin Diesel

And, I get the Fassbender add....he seems like he's really only into himself.

I can totally picture Fassbender alone in a room, naked, in front of a mirror just jerkin' on his big dick and looking dreamily at his own reflection.

Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham. The two of them have negative chemistry with female costars.

Armie Hammer.

David Hyde Pierce and Jane Leeves

Hugh Jackman

Ryan Reynolds

I mean, isn't this just a list of gay or closeted actors? (minus Fassbender and Thornton) Shocking, I say!

BBT is just a freak and not in a good way. He got serious anorexia after Sling Blade.

I agree with the Fassbender mention. For someone considered to have so much sex appeal, he never really sparks with any of his co-stars.

Ryan Gosling USED to have good chemistry with his co-stars until he got with Eva Mendes. Now he seems blander and hesitant. He and Emma Stone have ZERO romantic/sexual chemistry. They have brother/sister chemistry but keep getting miscast as lovers.

Brad Pitt, more often than not, has no chemistry with whomever he's paired with.

In terms of current A-Listers, I think Joaquin Phoenix usually has great chemistry with leading ladies. He's about the only one who makes a good match with Reese Witherspoon. And of course, he managed to gave great chemistry with just a voice. But he mostly plays loners rather than romantic roles.

William Frawley

R36 Minus Redford and maybe Jason Bateman.

R24, In "Pretty Maids All in a Row", Rock played a hunky high school teacher/coach sleeping with female students and he was totally believable.

Even with Winslet I find Di Caprio's chemistry a bit sibling-like. Their romantic scenes make me squirm because she comes off like his older sister.

[quote] I can totally picture Fassbender alone in a room, naked, in front of a mirror just jerkin' on his big dick and looking dreamily at his own reflection.

Have you seen Shame?

Christian Bale owns this thread. Good looking guy never has hot chemistry with female co stars. Love Fassy but he doesn’t have that spark either.

Hmm trying to think of a good Brad Pitt pairing? Legends of the Fall? Thelma and Louise?

Agreed,.Bale never, ever has chemistry with anybody. Zero charisma.

Richard Armitage immediately springs to mind. I haven't seen him in much except MI-5 (called Spooks in the UK), but he doesn't seem to have much chemistry with anyone, male or female. I have concluded he's not really a very good actor, although he used to be very sexy looking. I always have had a thing for those aristocratic aloof types, so he was really my type until this last series from the UK (forgot the name). Now his chin is loose and he's got a dad bod, so his looks are no longer a distraction from his bad acting. My opinion of course.

Richard Armitage might be great playing opposite a male in a romantic role. He just never gets cast that way.

Matt Damon

[quote]I can totally picture Fassbender alone in a room, naked, in front of a mirror just jerkin' on his big dick

Pics please.

Steve Carrell

Paul Rudd

R47 - Just google it. You can probably find a trailer still up somewhere of Fassy and his junk (which is impressive) walking across a room in front of the camera.

I don't think Cumberbatch should be included in "just a list of gay actors". Hiddleston, absolutely - but Cumberbatch is just one of those actors who can't project sex. Sherlock was sexy because he was unattainable. Perfect for Cumberbatch.

r48: I think both those guys (Carrell, Rudd) actually have good chemistry with women. They are both straight in real life and are both good-humored and kind of mushy guys, the type many upper middle class suburban women are married to., typical American males. That's why they get so many roles. I'm not saying a gay guy couldn't be just as good acting opposite women or that these two have chemistry because they're straight. But I think they are great opposite the right female lead (which is why they both have pretty active careers.)

Hugh Grant. Always too focussed on his one-note stammering English toff schtick to have anything resembling chemistry with his co-stars.

Tobey Maguire. The Cider House Rules where he is hot and heavy with Charlize Theron was laughable.

R52, good one!

Leo and Brad has more chemistry in Once Upon A Time in Hollywood than either of them have had with a female costar. I can see why they avoided the romantic leading man roles in favor of more character leads.

Justin Timerlake when he's tried and failed to act. Gurrrrrrrl. He always seems like he wants a slumber part rather a hookup.

Sorry, buy Jonathan Rhys Meyer and Scarlett were on fire in Match point

Jonathan also had chemistry with Natalie D in The Tudors.

r54 Eh, I don't think they had particularly good bromance chemistry either. They only had a few scenes together anyways.

r29, no, it isn't. 'That' is for inanimate objects. 'Who' is for people. Ignorance doesn't make something 'correct'. Idiot.

Bradley Cooper

r59, to be fair, some of these actors are so wooden they might qualify as inanimate objects

Keanu Reeves.

Jonathan Groff in Mindhunter. His scenes with the girlfriend were laughable. I get that he was supposed to be the self involved workaholic boyfriend, but even if I didn’t know he was gay, his relationship with the gf was completely unbelievable. They reminded me of Will & Grace rather than an actual romantic couple.

I thought Groff was fine on Mindhunter.

I didn’t say he wasn’t good on the show, just that the relationship wasn’t believable bc there was zero chemistry with the girl who played his gf.

Colin Firth

r60 I disagree, actually. For such an obvious closet case in real life, if I didn't know anything about Bradley Cooper accept watching him on screen, I would've thought he was straight. Like in He's Just Not That Into You, he's quite convincing as a horndog cheating husband. He's all over Scarlett in that office scene and knew how to grab that ass (of course!).

Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton have great chemistry in “Only Lovers Left Alive”.

That should be except*

Love him but.....John Gielgud had no chemistry with Madeline Carroll in the early Hitchcock film Secret Agent

Whoever mentioned Matt Damon must not have seen The Adjustment Bureau. The chemistry between him and Emily Blunt pretty much leapt off the screen. It was a nice surprise and made the movie really enjoyable. Also, I thought he and Penelope Cruz were smoking hot with each other in All The Pretty Horses.

As for Groff, in his defense, I think anyone would have had a difficult time sparking some chemistry with that plank of wood he was paired with.

Emily Blunt and Matt Damon had zero chemistry in The Adjustment Bureau, except maybe according to their publicists

Paul Rudd. His new show Living with yourself is a prime example. Boring couple. 😴😴😴

Does Damon have chemistry with any male co=stars?

Robin Williams r74

Groff played straight pretty convincingly in the short-lived drama "Boss," with Kelsey Grammer. He had scenes groping the actress who played his girlfiend and he was fine.

Christian Bale (Megalomaniac) Armie Hammer (gay?) Leo DiCaprio except with Margot Robbie

David Tennant is one of those guys who I can't figure out. Is he gay or what? He doesn't have chemistry with males or females.

I recently re-watched the British crime drama Broadchurch, and Tennant (who plays the Scottish detective) seemed to have far more natural chemistry with the male actors. Of course, the character he played was somewhat grim and socially awkward, but you can't fake (or hide) chemistry. He had a nice rapport with Olivia Colman, but in a "We have little in common and would never be friends but like and respect each other as professionals" kind of way. I've never seen him do any love scenes, but then I'm not sure he's ever cast as a romantic lead.

"Male Actors That Don't Have Chemistry With Female Co-Stars"

Why is everyone looking at ME...???

DiCaprio had better chemistry with his 'Juliet' Claire Danes than with Kate Winslet imo.

'Jack' and 'Rose' really seem more like good pals or siblings than lovers. But when Romeo first lays eyes upon Juliet at the ball, he DOES look infatuated, and the final scene in the church is heartbreaking imo. I also thought the kissing scenes looked way hotter in R + J than in Titanic. I do believe DiCaprio is a closet case, but watching the pool scene, I can suspend my disbelief and think that Romeo has a boner while making out with Juliet. From what I've read, DiCaprio and Danes didn't get along all that well at first. Maybe that created a tension which was missing between him and his good buddy Kate. They seem too relaxed in each other's company (especially him) for two very young people who are supposedly head over heels in love.

Moe Howard

R60 - Agree on Cooper - how he got to be a film star at all is a mystery to me - he not only lacks chemistry with female costars, but any chemistry at all. He looks like a secondary school English teacher who is the darling of the junior class who just don't know . . .

"Sorry, buy Jonathan Rhys Meyer and Scarlett were on fire in Match point"

Rhys-Meyers' problem isn't sex, it's the amount of controlled substances and liquor that have probably blunted every nerve-ending he ever had. Agree completely that the only image he seems to be able to relate to is his own. Which is why he was viable as young Henry VIII in "The Tudors".

R68 - I'll concede the point re Hiddleston and Swinton in "Only Lovers Left Alive" (a film I adored, knowing well I'm probably in a minority on that), but remember they were playing vampires who don't actually have sex as we know it. Their connection, so to speak, in an odd way ran far deeper than mere sex, which is why I think Hiddleston was able to pull it off (and one of the reasons I loved the film).

In contrast, he couldn't pull it off at all with Rachel Weisz in "The Deep Blue Sea" or with Brie Larson in "KONG: Skull Island" (all right, it was a stupid film), or with Elizabeth Debicki in "The Night Manager" (despite their against the wall sex scene with Hiddleston's butt hanging out).

The funny thing is, he's a very naturalistic actor, except in this one arena, where you can always see he's working hard at it, which undermines it. (Bless braces, damn relaxes - old saying).

Contrast so many of these actors with someone like, Viggo Mortensen, and his scenes with Diane Lane in "A Walk on the Moon" . . .

Some have it, some don't.

Good post, R84, but I think the saying is "damn braces, bless relaxes."

Any of the Hemsworths.

Congrats, you just listed every single actor working in Hollywood today and couple of retired and dead ones too

R80 honey, no one is looking at you for any reason.

R85 - You're right, I remembered it backwards . . .

Re the Hemsworths - Liam, absolutely, but I found Chris reasonably good at it in anything other than his THOR roles: he was surprisingly sympathetic, including with women, as James Hunt in RUSH, and with his young Asian lover in "Black Hat" which could have been a much better film but missed its target.

Zero chemistry between him and Natalie Portman as Jane Foster, which I don't think was really his fault as Natalie Portman was clearly phoning it in from the very farthest of the Nine Realms.

Eric Martsolf

Isn't it ironic? Romantic lead roles are apparently still straight guys only. The result is they end up casting closet cases who project no chemistry or charm on screen with their female co-stars.

I've never noticed any heat between Clooney and his big name co-stars. His allure back in his heyday was always just about him ...his looks, voice and ability to wear a suit well along with the head bobbing and wide eyed mugging for some reason and nothing to do with who he was partnered with.

Some say Out of Sight with JLo was the exception but by all accounts they couldn't stand each other and it may have actually been disdain rather than chemistry we saw.

R91 - It's not just closet cases. Some actors just don't do well with sex onscreen. Streep is one, Cumberbatch another.

Clooney has chemistry with Lopez, Michelle pfeiffer , Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt, mark Wahlberg...

Most of them. The days of dashing leading man are gone.

R95: They’re giving Chalamet leading man roles. That’s definite proof that dashing leading man days are over.

R96, gross. He looks like someone who hasn't even hit puberty yet. Who the hell finds that desirable? This is one reason I've never understood how loads of older gay men find 18 year old men attractive. Most of the ones I see look like that.

R97: Chalamet will probably go down the Alden Ehrenreich, Dane DeHaan route of failed leading man status.

Hugh Jackman

Matt Damon and Christian Bale had great chemistry with each other in FORD VS FERRARI.

They sure as hell did, R100.

Tom Hiddleston never makes it past the brotherly vibe with his female costars, but he definitely has chemistry with Chris Hemsworth.

[quote]David Tennant is one of those guys who I can't figure out. Is he gay or what? He doesn't have chemistry with males or females.

He seemed to have a vibe going with his male Good Omens costar, but maybe that's because he was playing a demon.

Donald and Melania Trump??

"They’re giving Chalamet leading man roles."

In what? I've only seen him in gay roles, supporting roles, offbeat roles. DLers will look for any excuse to say how much better everything was in the good old days when they were kids. I guess they'd rather see Jerry Lewis and Mickey Rooney in lead roles....

[quote] "They’re giving Chalamet leading man roles." In what?

It's sci-fi, hardly a typical romantic lead

R107, you're no true Scotsman.

Jeremy Renner

Skylar Astin

Tom Hardy

Jason Statham

David Tennant's only chemistry is with himself. Any sexual orientation is purely incidental.

I just watched Speed for the first time a month ago and can confirm that Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock have ZERO chemistry. Keanu seems very detached from human interaction in this movie, so their interactions seems forced and awkward. There was no reason to make them romantic by the end--made no sense.

R113, they both had great chemistry....with the bus.

Keanu never seems to have much chemistry with anyone in any movie, but have read here on DL that he's a sweetheart in real life. I love that he now has a gray-haired girlfriend. And IMO without being conventionally beautiful, she's very striking (and a very talented and interesting person who certainly doesn't need a movie star for a boyfriend).

[Quote] I just watched Speed for the first time a month ago and can confirm that Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock have ZERO chemistry.

Don't agree. Although I don't think he had good chemistry with Winona.

No one can deny he had great chemistry with River.

[quote] Don't agree. Although I don't think he had good chemistry with Winona.

Not coincidentally, they had the two worst performances in Dracula. I don't understand why Winona is cast in anything that takes place before 1950.

Clint Eastwood. Leo DiCaprio.

Eddie Redmayne owns this thread.

Yes, I know he's been married for several years and has two children.

But he can't convey heat for a woman onscreen to save his life.

The best he did was with Katherine Waterston as Tina in "Fantastic Beasts, The Crimes of Grindelwald", telling her that her eyes were like salamanders'.

Redmayne seems too an(a)emic to function.

Abe Vigoda

I never believed he was really fucking Florence Stanley

Is Redmayne even human?

Methinks he's an alien living among us, forgot his original mission, broke away and became a movie star against alien protocol

They don't have movies on his planet and he/she/it was dazzled by Tinsel Town.

It was hilarious how Ben Platt was paired with Hailee Steinfeld in Pitch Perfect 2. There was no chemistry.

[quote] Is Redmayne even human? Methinks he's an alien living among us, forgot his original mission, broke away and became a movie star against alien protocol They don't have movies on his planet and he/she/it was dazzled by Tinsel Town.

How does he compare to Cumberbatch? Is one from Omicron Prime and the other from Arcturus IV?

[quote]Eddie Redmayne owns this thread.

I remember seeing him for the first time in The Good Shepherd and just assumed he was gay.

Francis X Bushman

[quote] I remember seeing him for the first time in The Good Shepherd and just assumed he was gay.

He didn't look anything like his parents in the film, Angelina Jolie and Matt Damon. Every time Redmayne appeared, it took me out of the movie because he didn't look that a child of theirs.

Look that = look like

What r54 said. OUATIH is the only time I've seen Leo connect with anyone. That was a story of two men in love. I didn't buy Leo's marriage in the last act; Rick Dalton and Cliff Booth are going to be together long after she's gone.

I'd add Johnny Depp to the list. I don't think he's ever connected with another person, male or female.

What r54 said. OUATIH is the only time I've seen Leo connect with anyone. That was a story of two men in love. I didn't buy Leo's marriage in the last act; Rick Dalton and Cliff Booth are going to be together long after she's gone.

I'd add Johnny Depp to the list. I don't think he's ever connected with another person, male or female.

R124 it wasn't much better in PP3 when Brittany Snow was paired up with Matt Lanter.

R132 I don't think any of the pairings in those movies worked. Skylar Astin and Anna Kendrick came off more as friends. Adam Devine seemed repulsed at having to be paired with Rebel Wilson for part 2.

[Quote] Adam Devine seemed repulsed at having to be paired with Rebel Wilson for part 2.

I thought they were good. And Adam worked with Rebel again in Isn't It Romantic.

Only a Big Mac or a giant steak or a tub of cake frosting could have chemistry with the disgusting, charm-free Rebel Wilson. She's a horrible creature who needs to be taken to the vet and put to sleep.

[Quote] Only a Big Mac or a giant steak or a tub of cake frosting could have chemistry with the disgusting, charm-free Rebel Wilson. She's a horrible creature who needs to be taken to the vet and put to sleep.

R126 - Unsurprisingly, Redmayne (and I hasten to add that he's hardly alone or unusual in this in his profession) is ferociously ambitious. I always assumed him to be gay, as well. However, he was just good-looking enough to figure that if he evaded the label, he had a shot at leading roles and a bigger career. He was probably right. Ben Whishaw, by contrast, who I think a far better actor - in fact, probably one of the 3-5 best of his generation - knew perfectly well he wasn't cut out for leading roles (which usually means, leading hetero roles), and saw no reason not to be who he really was.

Redmayne probably took one look at Whishaw's likely career trajectory, said, er, No, thanks, and hastily proposed to the woman doing his PR that he'd been seeing publicly for awhile, and got himself two kids as fast as possible.

It sounds harsh, but this is not a field where, if you want a Big Career, squeamishness is an advantage.

R137: would you rate Rory Kinnear's talent at the same level as Ben Whishaw's?

R137 - Interesting question. As it happens, I love Kinnear's work, but I think he and Whishaw are very different. One of my great regrets is missing Kinnear's Iago in 2014 at the NT.

Kinnear held his own as Bolingbroke in The Hollow Crown's "Richard II', although it was Whishaw's show in the end (I thought it a fantastic performance, probably the best in the series). Richard has some of the best interior monologues that Shakespeare ever wrote so it's not a fair compariosn.

But Kinnear's Bolingbroke was a perfect foil for Whishaw's Richard and he certainly wasn't overshadowed by Whishaw.

I appreciate both actors, but I do think there is something extraordinary about Whishaw (and no, it's no THAT).

Timothee Chalamet and Florence Pugh in Little Women. He had better chemistry with Saoirse but it was more like a brother and sister type chemistry.

DiCaprio had the best chemistry with Amy Adams in Catch Me If You Can. I would watch a romcom starring them.

R140 disagree Timmy and Florence Pugh had great chemistry. The first time Laurie and Amy made sense.

R141 I also them together in that movie. I also though Amy Adams had good chemistry with Joaquin Phoenix in Her, even though their characters were just supposed to be friends.