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When two actors play sworn enemies in a movie, one can assume that they have a tense relationship in their off-screen lives. Especially if it’s a virtuoso performance that blurs the lines between plot and reality in the eyes of the audience…

Forget about prejudices. In fact, behind the scenes, they often not only get along well, but become almost best friends!

So, which stars have played enemies/competitors in a movie or TV series, but in real life they are great friends? Read about it in the article of OBOZ.UA.

1. Steve Carell and Paul Lieberstein

In the cult TV series “The Office,” American actor Steve Carell played Michael Scott, a regional manager of the Dunder Mifflin branch, who hates his colleague, a character named Toby (the image was embodied by American actor Paul Lieberstein). Just look at the selection of scenes that show the ironic interaction between these two!

Lieberstein was not offended by Michael Scott’s rude remarks, because he perceived his character differently than the directors intended. He told about this in an interview with The Daily Beast: “I always thought that Toby Flenderson was the father of a three-year-old child, Michael Scott, who throws tantrums all the time. He’s just here to be patient, to wait… Of course, it affects his day, but you can’t get too angry with your three-year-old. So you just have to accept it.”

In real life, Carell and Lieberstein get along great. For example, the former told the Office Ladies podcast that they often go to social events together, and that he admires his colleague’s acting and writing skills (in case you didn’t know, Liberstein was one of the writers of the Office series).

2. Bryan Cranston and Giancarlo Esposito

American actors Bryan Cranston and Giancarlo Esposito starred in the cult American drama TV series Breaking Bad. Cranston took on the role of school chemistry teacher Walter White, who started producing methamphetamine to financially secure his family’s future. Esposito played Gustav “Gus” Fring, the owner of the Los Pollos Hermanos chain of eateries and a meth lab. Both characters act exclusively in their own interests, which later turns into a fierce rivalry.

In real life, these celebrities are close friends. Although the series ended in 2013, they still keep in touch. Bryan Cranston once jokingly demonstrated how well he gets along with his colleague. When Esposito won the Robert & Sibylle Redford Creative Achievement award, he recorded a video in which he called the winner a valuable friend and a great actor who deserved to be recognized. At the end of the speech, it turned out that Cranston was congratulating a colleague while sitting on the toilet.

3. Rupert Grint and Tom Felton

In the Harry Potter franchise, British actor Rupert Grint played the wizard Ron Weasley, Harry Potter and Hermione Granger’s best friend, and British actor Tom Felton played the wizard Draco Malfoy, a supporter of the central negative character Lord Voldemort, as well as a rival of Harry and his friends.

On the screen, Grint and Felton’s characters often mock each other and are clearly not in the mood to be friends, but in real life, the two became best friends in early childhood. They are known to go to parties together in Las Vegas and publicly declare that they love each other (as friends, of course). For example, Rupert Grint attended the premiere of Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) wearing a T-shirt with the words “I [heart] Tom Felton” on it. Later, Felton wore a shirt with a similar “confession” to a colleague – “I [heart] Ron Weasley”. How can you not believe in the sincerity of their relationship?

4. Tom Hiddleston and Chris Hemsworth

The English actor Tom Hiddleston played the role of the god Loki in the Marvel franchise, and the Australian actor Chris Hemsworth played his brother, the god Thor. The on-screen disputes between these characters often went beyond sibling rivalry… In real life, the opposite is true: the actors say they have a “bromance” (a close, non-sexual relationship between two men).

In addition, in 2011, in a conversation with Collider, Hemsworth said that his on-screen chemistry with Hiddleston made it easier to work on the set: “You either have chemistry with someone or you don’t, and luckily we did. Playing the brothers was easy and fun.” In the same interview, Hiddleston recalled a seemingly unremarkable story, but one that confirmed their warm and trusting relationship: “Chris had a drink at the wrap party (after the filming of Thor (2011). – Ed.) had a few drinks… Later, at the hotel, before we went up to our rooms, he said that I was the only one who understood him… In general, without him and his jokes, it would be terrible to go to work.”

5. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Vin Diesel

In the Fast and the Furious series of films, the characters of American-Canadian actor Dwayne Johnson and American actor Vin Diesel were mostly unable to get along and were the fiercest rivals. We are talking about Luke Hobbs, a special agent of the American diplomatic security service, and Dominic Toretto, a talented street racer. In real life, however, celebrities are not just good friends, but call each other part of the family. “I don’t think the world really realizes how close we are. In my house, he is Uncle Dwayne. And Dwayne Johnson has only one older brother in the movie world. And that’s me,” Diesel proudly said in a 2017 interview with USA Today.