Turns out there really was some off-screen tension on the set of Death Becomes Her. The iconic 1992 film revolves around a dangerous rivalry between Madeline, played by Meryl Streep, and her former friend Helen, played by Goldie Hawn, over the same man they both fall in love with. It seems that a bit of the beef spilled over into real life, too, as Streep shared that there was some tension between her and her former co-star because the latter mostly arrived late to set. 

Looking back on those filming days, she admitted that despite her frustration with Hawn’s chronic lateness, she still could not dislike her for one reason.

Meryl Streep recently spoke to Vanity Fair about her experience filming Death Becomes Her. And she revealed that while she was always punctual, her co-star Goldie Hawn had a habit of arriving late to set. She recalled that Hawn would often drive herself in a red convertible, and wondered if that was the reason for being late. 

"She'd drive herself to set. She had her hair all…'Oh gosh, sorry!' And everybody thought, 'Oh, she's so cute.' Yeah. So I had a beef with her," she said. However, despite the occasional frustration, Streep said she never disliked Hawn, and went on to describe her as one of the warmest people she knows. 

The actress also shared fond memories of filming alongside Hawn and affectionately called the actress one of her “buddies.” She reminisced about how shooting the film’s goofy yet intense scenes was both fun and memorable.

“We just had a lot of fun. And she's the best laugher in America, really. She laughs like, 'Ahahaha!' And then they have to stop shooting,” she said.

The Mamma Mia! actress also spoke about her co-star Bruce Willis, who played Dr. Ernest Menville in Death Becomes Her. Streep described him as amazing and fun to work with. However, while recalling those filming days, she admitted there was one aspect she did not enjoy. 

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While she felt the entire experience of the filming was entertaining, Streep called the film’s technical side excruciating.

Death Becomes Her had several intense and grotesque moments, like a gunshot hole through the torso, and much more. But bringing these scenes to life required heavy technical work, which Meryl Streep found particularly challenging. She recalled having to film in an oversized green spandex suit, with pins attached all over it to help achieve the visual effects.

“It's a completely different animal,” she said. “Tedious is kind of a little word for what it is. It's excruciating.”

In one memorable scene from Death Becomes Her, Streep’s character, Madeline, has her neck twisted after falling down the stairs, yet she survives, as both Madeline and Helen become undead in the movie after drinking a magical potion. Now, this scene was achieved using early CG, requiring meticulous effort from both the cast and the crew. And the countless hours that went into perfecting these technical details paid off. Death Becomes Her remains one of the cult favorites and continues to be revisited, especially around Halloween. 

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What do you think about Meryl Streep's hilarious beef with Goldie Hawn? Let us know in the comments.