Diane Keaton kissing scenes were often part of the job she genuinely enjoyed, but her romantic moments with Jack Nicholson in Something’s Gotta Give came with an unexpected amount of embarrassment. The two actors looked wonderfully relaxed together on screen. Behind the camera, however, Keaton admitted that they were often nervous, exposed and, in her own words, “humiliated” by how intimate the filming became.
That may sound strange considering the natural chemistry between them. Watching the 2003 romantic comedy, it is easy to believe that Keaton and Nicholson were simply having fun. Their teasing feels real, the awkward pauses work, and even their more emotional scenes never seem overly planned. Still, what appears effortless in a finished movie can feel completely different when dozens of crew members are standing nearby.
Keaton generally had a surprisingly positive attitude about kissing her male co-stars. While some actors describe romantic scenes as uncomfortable or mechanical, she seemed to view them as one of the more enjoyable parts of acting. She once named Morgan Freeman, her co-star in 5 Flights Up, as her favourite screen kiss. Nicholson also ranked highly, although the experience with him was apparently much more intense.
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The kissing was more frightening than romantic
In Something’s Gotta Give, Nicholson plays Harry Sanborn, a wealthy music executive who has spent decades dating much younger women. His comfortable routine changes after he suffers a heart attack while visiting the Hamptons home of Erica Barry, played by Keaton.
Erica is the mother of Harry’s young girlfriend, Marin, portrayed by Amanda Peet. She is also a successful playwright who has become used to living independently. Harry and Erica initially irritate each other, perhaps more than either of them wants to admit. Forced to spend time together during his recovery, they slowly become attracted to one another.
The story required Keaton and Nicholson to film several scenes involving kissing, bed-sharing and emotional vulnerability. Speaking to the Los Angeles Times in 2003, Keaton said the pair felt humiliated much of the time because they were doing so much kissing and spending so many scenes in bed. She also described a sense of fear about being so exposed. Oddly enough, that discomfort brought them closer as performers.
It makes sense, I think. Embarrassment can sometimes break down the careful distance actors normally keep between themselves. Once two people have stumbled through a scene that leaves them feeling vulnerable, there is not much room left for pretending to be perfectly composed.
The film’s romance also felt unusual for a major Hollywood production of that period. Rather than treating love after 50 as a side story or a joke, writer and director Nancy Meyers placed it at the centre of the movie. Erica is not simply waiting around to be chosen. She is intelligent, successful, emotional and occasionally confused by what she wants. Harry, meanwhile, is forced to confront how shallow his romantic habits have become.
Diane Keaton still loved kissing Jack Nicholson
Although Keaton described the filming as humiliating, she did not mean that kissing Nicholson was unpleasant. Quite the opposite. Years later, she spoke warmly about one especially passionate scene in which Erica grabs Harry and kisses him forcefully.
For Keaton, the moment mattered because she was playing a woman close to her own age who was falling deeply in love. Erica was not behaving like someone who had everything calmly figured out. She was experiencing the excitement and fear of a first serious love, even though she was already in her 50s.
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Keaton seemed amused by the fact that she was allowed to perform such a bold romantic moment with Nicholson. She described the experience as fantastic, though there was clearly still a bit of disbelief in the way she remembered it. After all, Nicholson already carried a huge reputation as both an actor and a Hollywood heartthrob.
Her admiration for him was hardly a secret. In a 2004 interview, Keaton admitted that she had been crushing on Nicholson for about 20 years and called him irresistible. Nicholson returned the praise in his own, rather direct way. While promoting the movie, he reportedly said that convincing audiences he was attracted to Keaton was the least of his concerns.
That comment could sound like ordinary promotional charm, but their ease around each other suggested real affection. They had also worked together years earlier in Warren Beatty’s 1981 drama Reds, so Something’s Gotta Give was not their first meeting on a film set.
Still, Keaton did not believe their connection would ever become a real-life romance.
Their chemistry stayed firmly on the screen
Keaton was quite clear when asked whether she and Nicholson might fall for each other away from the cameras. She said she did not consider it even a remote possibility.
Part of her reasoning was practical. She doubted Nicholson would seriously date a woman in her 50s, given his well-known interest in younger women. She also felt that they were both too settled in their habits. Then there was Nicholson’s enormous reputation. Keaton saw him as more than an ordinary co-star. To her, he had become a myth and a legend, which probably made the idea of an everyday relationship feel a little ridiculous.
Nicholson also pointed out that their real personalities were very different from the characters audiences saw in the film. Keaton apparently enjoyed joking about finding him disgusting, although that sort of teasing seemed to be part of their friendship rather than a genuine insult.
Perhaps that distance helped their performance. They could enjoy each other, admire each other and create believable romantic tension without confusing it with an actual relationship. Not every convincing screen romance needs to become something real. Sometimes it works better when it does not.
The movie also included another romantic option for Erica. Keanu Reeves played Julian Mercer, the much younger doctor who treats Harry after his heart attack and quickly becomes interested in Erica. Julian is thoughtful, successful and openly attracted to her, offering a sharp contrast to Harry’s more complicated behaviour.
Keaton filmed romantic scenes with Reeves as well, and their playful connection remained memorable enough that their reunion while presenting at the 2020 Academy Awards sparked fresh nostalgia for the movie
Yet when Keaton was asked to choose between kissing Reeves and Nicholson, she reportedly chose Nicholson without hesitation.
Maybe that was because the Harry and Erica romance carried more emotional weight. Or perhaps it was simply Jack Nicholson being Jack Nicholson, which Keaton herself seemed to consider a perfectly reasonable explanation.
Whatever happened behind the scenes, the nervousness did not damage the final result. If anything, the discomfort may have added to the strange, vulnerable energy between Erica and Harry. Their kisses did not look polished or empty. They looked slightly risky, a little frightening and surprisingly sincere.
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