When Matt Damon Had to Kiss Michael Douglas for ‘Behind the Candelabra’ He Imagined Kissing Catherine Zeta-Jones

Here’s a great acting tip if you’re a straight male who is required to kiss a much older man in a role: pretend you’re kissing that older actor’s incredibly beautiful wife.  According to Catherine Zeta-Jones, that’s what happened when Matt Damon had to kiss her husband Michael Douglas in HBO’s Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra.

Zeta-Jones reveals to Yahoo!, “Matt actually said to my husband that when he had to kiss Michael, he’d close his eyes and pretend he’s actually kissing me, which I thought to be extremely flattering.”  In the film Douglas stars as Liberace and Damon stars as his lover, Scott Thorson.

However, she admits that regardless of the sexes on-set kissing is never a comfortable thing, pointing out, “When you have to make love or kiss on film, it could be a man, a woman, but it’s always strange. It’s not something that’s an entirely normal day out at the office.”  Nonetheless, she has what is likely a much more desirable story from when she starred in Ocean’s Twelve.  She recalls, “I remember when I had to kiss Brad Pitt once, Michael asked me what I was doing that day.  I went, ‘I’m lying in bed, kissing Brad Pitt. He went, ‘Good for you, darling. You enjoy.’  Someone has to do it.”