Actors Who Had Crushes on Their Costars: David Schwimmer and Jennifer Aniston, Emma Watson and Tom Felton and More

Credit: Peter Brooker/Shutterstock; Scott Myers/Shutterstock

Actors Who Had Crushes on Their Costars: David Schwimmer and Jennifer Aniston, Emma Watson and Tom Felton and More

What could have been! Working on film and TV sets puts actors in close quarters — which can sometimes lead to unexpected feelings off screen. For David Schwimmer and Jennifer Aniston, it was getting into character as Rachel Green and Ross Geller, respectively, that sparked something for the costars. “The first season, I had a major crush on Jen,” Schwimmer shared during the May 2021 Friends reunion special on HBOMax. Aniston revealed that the feelings were "reciprocated" while filming the original series, which aired from 1994 to 2004. Schwimmer explained that even though they both felt strongly for each other, they chose not to pay attention to those feelings. “I think at some point we were both crushing hard on each other, but it was like two ships passing because one of us was always in a relationship, and we never crossed that boundary,” he said during the special. “We respected that.” Instead, the cast members became close friends over the years and allowed the romance to stay between their fictional counterparts. Not all actors developed crushes on their fictional love interests. While Hermione Granger wasn't romantically interested in Draco Malfoy during the Harry Potter film franchise, Emma Watson was definitely interested in her costar at the time. [jwplayer 83dz1xOn-l3ahXupL] “Between the ages of 10 and 12 I had a really terrible crush on Tom Felton, to the extent that I would go into work in the morning and look down the numbers on the call sheet to see if he was going to be in,” Watson told Jonathan Ross in 2009. “We love a bad guy, he was a few years older and he had a skateboard — and that just did it really.” Watson added that Felton knew about her crush, but he didn't reciprocate those feelings. “He totally knew and the thing is that he’d tell everyone, ‘I see her in a younger, sisterly way,' and it just broke my heart," she said. "It still does." Watson's costar Evanna Lynch may not have been there at the time, but word spread quickly about the unrequited crush. “Oh, it was so disappointing for me because I joined on the fifth one," Lynch exclusively told Us Weekly in June 2021. "I was on Order of the Phoenix and there was this sense that exciting things had happened in the last movie, and I just missed it. [I joined when] everyone had kind of grown out of their crushes and they were moving on to, like, people in the outside world." She added: "And I felt that like, damn, I missed all the drama! It was so fun the last film, according to some stories. But no, by the time I got there, they were all mature and those hormones were calming down.” Scroll down for more actors that spoke about the crushes they developed on set: [podcast_block]

Credit: Peter Brooker/Shutterstock; Scott Myers/Shutterstock

Actors Who Had Crushes on Their Costars: David Schwimmer and Jennifer Aniston, Emma Watson and Tom Felton and More

What could have been! Working on film and TV sets puts actors in close quarters — which can sometimes lead to unexpected feelings off screen. For David Schwimmer and Jennifer Aniston, it was getting into character as Rachel Green and Ross Geller, respectively, that sparked something for the costars. “The first season, I had a major crush on Jen,” Schwimmer shared during the May 2021 Friends reunion special on HBOMax. Aniston revealed that the feelings were "reciprocated" while filming the original series, which aired from 1994 to 2004. Schwimmer explained that even though they both felt strongly for each other, they chose not to pay attention to those feelings. “I think at some point we were both crushing hard on each other, but it was like two ships passing because one of us was always in a relationship, and we never crossed that boundary,” he said during the special. “We respected that.” Instead, the cast members became close friends over the years and allowed the romance to stay between their fictional counterparts. Not all actors developed crushes on their fictional love interests. While Hermione Granger wasn't romantically interested in Draco Malfoy during the Harry Potter film franchise, Emma Watson was definitely interested in her costar at the time. [jwplayer 83dz1xOn-l3ahXupL] “Between the ages of 10 and 12 I had a really terrible crush on Tom Felton, to the extent that I would go into work in the morning and look down the numbers on the call sheet to see if he was going to be in,” Watson told Jonathan Ross in 2009. “We love a bad guy, he was a few years older and he had a skateboard — and that just did it really.” Watson added that Felton knew about her crush, but he didn't reciprocate those feelings. “He totally knew and the thing is that he’d tell everyone, ‘I see her in a younger, sisterly way,' and it just broke my heart," she said. "It still does." Watson's costar Evanna Lynch may not have been there at the time, but word spread quickly about the unrequited crush. “Oh, it was so disappointing for me because I joined on the fifth one," Lynch exclusively told Us Weekly in June 2021. "I was on Order of the Phoenix and there was this sense that exciting things had happened in the last movie, and I just missed it. [I joined when] everyone had kind of grown out of their crushes and they were moving on to, like, people in the outside world." She added: "And I felt that like, damn, I missed all the drama! It was so fun the last film, according to some stories. But no, by the time I got there, they were all mature and those hormones were calming down.” Scroll down for more actors that spoke about the crushes they developed on set: [podcast_block]

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Jackson White and Grace Van Patten ('Tell Me Lies')

After playing White's love interest in Tell Me Lies, Patten confirmed she had a crush on her costar. "Yes, biggest crush ever," she told E! News in October 2022.

The California native, for his part, noted that he also felt chemistry with Patten. "Our lives are built in together. It's crazy, we have so much to do together," he said during an October 2022 episode of the "Not Skinny But Not Fat" podcast. "She is the f—king coolest, most grounded, amazing person IRL that you'll ever meet."

White added: "All I'm saying is that I'm obsessed with her because she's f—king amazing."

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Daniel Radcliffe and Helena Bonham Carter ('Harry Potter' series)

The Broadway star, who played the Harry Potter franchise's title character in all eight films, was smitten by Carter despite their 23-year age difference. During the Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts special, he read a note he'd written his costar after the series wrapped.

"Dear HBC, it was a pleasure being your costar and coaster in the fact I always ended up holding your coffee," the letter read. "I do love you and I wish I'd just been born 10 years earlier so I might've been in with a chance."

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Matthew Davis and Selma Blair ('Legally Blonde')

"I discovered that [Matthew had a crush on Selma] during the trial scene," Alanna Ubach, who played Serena in Legally Blonde, told The New York Times in July 2021. "We could see that heart beating every time he was around her. He was so nervous, and I thought, 'How could someone looking like that be as nervous as he is?'"

Davis, who played Elle's ex-boyfriend Warner, corroborated his costar's story, adding, "I’ll adore [Selma] till the day I die. I will always cherish her taking care of me and looking after me because I was so damn green."

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David Schwimmer and Jennifer Aniston ('Friends')

“I remember saying one time to David, ‘It’s gonna be such a bummer if the first time you and I actually kiss is going to be on national television,’” Aniston explained during the Friends reunion on HBOMax in May 2021. “Sure enough, the first time we kissed was in that coffee shop. We just channeled all of our adoration and love for each other into Ross and Rachel.”

Following the special, producer Kevin S. Bright revealed that the costars’ interest in one another wasn't a secret.

"It was a very hot topic on the set because the electricity between them in the scenes was like, 'Oh, my God, they can’t be acting that, there’s got to be something!' Everybody was suspicious that something was going on," Bright told The Hollywood Reporter about the twosome in May 2021.

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Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves ('Speed' and 'The Lake House')

"I think about how sweet Keanu Reeves was, and how handsome he was. It was hard for me to really be serious because he'd look at me and I'd be like ...,” Bullock said with a giggle during an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in May 2019. "Never dated him. I guess there was something about me I guess he didn't like."

Reeves, for his part, set the record straight that he did, in fact, develop a crush on his Speed costar.

"She obviously didn't know I had a crush on her either... It was nice to go to work. She's such a wonderful person, a wonderful actress," Reeves confirmed on The Ellen DeGeneres Show that same month.

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Emma Watson and Tom Felton ('Harry Potter')

"For the first two movies, I had a huge crush on Tom Felton. He was my first crush," Watson told Seventeen. "He totally knows. We talked about it — we still laugh about it. We are really good friends now, and that's cool."

Her Harry Potter costar explained that his bond with Watson is still strong, even if it isn't romantic.

"I spoke to Emma a couple days ago and immediately it was conversations about, 'Oh, wow, the kitchen sink's been plugged,' or some trivial nonsense like my dog wouldn't eat a particular kind of food," Felton told Entertainment Tonight in June 2021. "As far as the romantic side of it, I think that's a Slytherin/Gryffindor thing rather than a Tom and Emma thing. I absolutely think the world of her."

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Kristen Stewart and Amy Adams ('On the Road')

"Amy Adams, man, she's my favorite actress right now. I have a total crush on her because I got to work with her," Stewart told W Magazine in January 2013 about her On the Road costar.

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Cole Sprouse and Jennifer Aniston ('Friends')

Like father, like son? Schwimmer wasn't the only Friends costar that had a crush on Aniston during their time on the show. 

"I had a really, really hard time working with Aniston because I was so in love with her. I was infatuated," Sprouse, who played Ross' son on the show, told the New York Post in March 2017. "I was speechless — I'd get all bubbly and forget my lines and completely blank ... It was so difficult."

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Lucy Hale ('Pretty Little Liars')

The Pretty Little Liars alum revealed that she had such a crush on one of her costars that inspired one of her songs — but she wouldn't say who it was.

“In life, in general, I’m not one to fall to pieces over a guy or give up anything. I’m very headstrong. I’m very focused on what I do and very independent, but there was this certain guy that I was acting like an idiot around," she told MTV News in July 2014.

Her feelings were very strong for the mysterious costar on the Freeform series. "I was fumbling over my words, I was stuttering, I couldn’t focus, I couldn’t look him in the eye. I was just crushing so hard on him," Hale added.

The Tennessee native did say she would be willing to share his identity, but under one condition. "If the song does really well, maybe I'll tell him," she said.

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Helen Mirren and Vin Diesel ('Fast & Furious')

Mirren's crush developed before she actually worked with Diesel on 2021’s Fast & Furious 9. During an appearance on Late Night With Seth Meyers, she said she "fell a little bit in love" with the filmmaker.

Diesel shared the same sentiment about Mirren.

"No one else in the room mattered. Nothing existed but this bond between her and I, and there was something really magical and really special about it," Diesel said at Lincoln Center’s 45th Chaplin Award Gala in May 2018. "It's something that I'll take with me for the rest of my life. It’s probably her which is why The Fate of the Furious was the fastest movie in history to hit a billion dollars.”

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Zac Efron and Rose Byrne ('Neighbors')

"She might be my favorite actress in the world! She's got, like, a light about her you can't teach or learn. It's really kinda magical," Efron said about his Neighbors costar to Cleo Magazine in June 2014.

He added: "[Rose] has a unique perspective on life, it's really upbeat and funny. You could say that's gotta be from Australia."

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Selena Gomez and Billy Crudup ('Rudderless')

"I had a crush on him. I went through my whole Almost Famous phase, so I was like Penny Lane for a good month. I wore the outfits and had the hair and the glasses ... and then, I found out I was going to be a part of the movie [with Billy] and it took me a minute at first, because I kind of had a little bit of a crush on him!" Gomez revealed about her previous crush on her Rudderless costar during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in October 2014.

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Hilary Duff and Chad Michael Murray ('A Cinderella Story')

"I definitely had a crush on [Chad]. We had a few kissing scenes in the movie and I remember feeling pretty nervous about that, but then we became friends and I wasn't so nervous anymore," Duff said about her A Cinderella Story costar to Cosmopolitan in January 2016.

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Tom Felton and Helena Bonham Carter ('Harry Potter')

While Felton didn't develop feelings for Watson on the Harry Potter set, he did end up with a crush on Helena Bonham Carter instead.

"She is completely unique, an English rose with a crazy twist," he told the Evening Standard in 2011. "She wears vintage French clothing and she's very cheeky. Off the set it's all hugs and darlings, then when the camera starts rolling, she turns into a complete psycho. It's amazing to watch."

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Shane West and Mandy Moore ('A Walk to Remember')

"I think we [Mandy and I] both had a little bit of a crush, but then we were just there for each other in the most honest and purest of ways. That sounds incredibly corny but is true and rare," West explained about his A Walk to Remember costar in an interview with Vulture in June 2021.

Moore previously opened up about the feelings she developed for her onscreen love interest while working on the 2002 film.

"Shane was so cool. Everything about him — the way he dressed, the little cigarettes that he smoked, and the music he listened to. He was the character to me and there was definitely a part of me that absolutely fell in love with him," Moore told Entertainment Weekly in January 2017.

For the Tangled star, her chemistry with West jumped off the page. 

"I don’t know if I could discern the difference between him and the character at that point in time because, again, it was my first experience doing anything like this and I was a 16-year-old, impressionable girl," she added. "I was just so caught up in the moment and the experience. I absolutely walked away from that project so convinced that there would never be a project as special as that. Shane was so wonderful."