Filming intimate moments in movies is notoriously challenging, and it seems no one knows this better than Liam Hemsworth and Jennifer Lawrence during their time on The Hunger Games set. Hemsworth has openly described his kissing scenes with Lawrence as “disgusting” and “awkward.” The pair, who are close friends, shared several kissing scenes throughout the popular franchise, adding a layer of discomfort to their on-screen romance.
In a candid interview on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in 2014, Hemsworth shared, “Any time I had to kiss Jennifer was pretty uncomfortable. When you look at it on the outside it looks like a great picture. She’s one of my best friends. I love her.” Despite their strong friendship, the physical aspect of their roles didn’t come easy.
He continued, detailing the pranks Lawrence would pull right before their scenes. “But if we had a kissing scene, she would make a point of eating garlic or tuna fish or something that was disgusting and right before the scene she’d be like ‘I didn’t brush my teeth’.” Hemsworth humorously added, “I’d be like ‘great, I can’t wait to get in there and taste it’.”
Lawrence herself has spoken about these moments, providing her perspective on what Hemsworth dubbed the “tuna-gate scandal.” In a 2014 interview with Nylon, she clarified, “I wouldn’t say that … I would just kind of eat whatever I wanted; I think the onions that you were referring to was that I just had a sandwich with mustard and raw red onion.”
Further discussing the playful set dynamics during her appearance on First We Feast’s Hot Ones, Lawrence remarked, “It was not intentional. It was just what I was eating and then we’d kiss.” She playfully suggested to host Sean Evans, “He should just get over it.”
While Lawrence has navigated many complex scenes throughout her career, one particular moment in the film Mother! stands out as especially traumatic for her.
Speaking at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2017, she recalled a distressing scene that left a lasting impact: “It was the scene where I woke up to a surprise, and ran downstairs… that was the worst feeling I’ve ever had in my life. It was awful, and I don’t know if I would ever do such a movie again.” Her reflections in a later interview with Entertainment Weekly echoed this sentiment, acknowledging the backlash but expressing doubt about undertaking similar projects in the future.