Somehow, Matt Damon calling it “hell” to kiss Scarlett Johansson sounds less like a complaint and more like Hollywood’s worst joke. Johansson has long been one of her generation’s most alluring actresses, leaving Ewan McGregor flustered and earning a title of the same from Esquire twice; all are just a few credentials that testify to the impact Johansson has had on pop culture.

As Damon looks back on We Bought a Zoo, he somehow makes an on-screen romance with Johansson hilarious rather than sentimental.

Matt Damon and Emily Blunt were discussing the unwritten etiquette of on-screen kissing during a 2023 Agree to Disagree session with LADbible, agreeing that co-stars should at least brush their teeth beforehand. Blunt jokingly lamented how “awful” it must have been for Damon to kiss Scarlett Johansson, setting up a story that made the whole complaint even funnier.

“It was hell,” Damon sarcastically replied, fully embracing Blunt’s mock sympathy over his supposed hardship. The joke quickly turned into a story about an unfortunate lunch break, when Damon and Johansson thought their kissing scene was finished. Then director Cameron Crowe moved the camera in for a much tighter shot.

Johansson had returned from lunch after eating an onion sandwich, only to realize that another kiss was suddenly required. Her horrified “Oh, shit” reaction said it all, while Damon recalled the absurd predicament with perfect comic timing. The anecdote gave LADbible’s conversation about co-star kissing etiquette a wonderfully pungent punchline.

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Matt Damon has quite the collection of behind-the-scenes stories, from Saving Private Ryan cast resenting tactics to his infamous Scarlett Johansson kiss. Naturally, that takes us back to the movie where that memorable moment happened.

Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson found themselves trading Hollywood glamour for muddy boots and runaway wildlife in We Bought a Zoo, Cameron Crowe’s 2011 family comedy-drama. Damon plays Benjamin Mee, a widowed father who purchases a sprawling countryside home for his children, only to discover that the property comes with a rather enormous complication: a rundown zoo.

Johansson plays Kelly Foster, the passionate head zookeeper determined to bring the neglected animal park back to life, while Benjamin gradually finds himself drawn into her world. Their characters juggle inspections, finances, unruly animals, and the messy business of rebuilding a family. It is within that gentle romance that Damon and Johansson’s famously memorable on-screen kiss enters the story.

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What do you think of Matt Damon's and Scarlett Johansson's bad stroke of luck with the onion sandwich? Let us know in the comments!