The 53-year-old actor has been married to his wife, Jackie, since 2003.
Adam Sandler is opening up about his wife, Jackie's, words of wisdom when he has romantic moments onscreen.
The topic came up when the 53-year-old actor sat down with W Magazine as part of a series of interviews with actors and actresses who are hailed as having the best movie performances of 2019.
"My wife thinks I'm good. She told me this morning. I gave her a nice kiss [and] she goes, 'Ew!' So she gave me an 'ew' this morning, so I do well at home," he quips of his wife of nearly 17 years. "And then when I have to do any romantic scenes in a movie I never get excited for that. I get tense and feel awkward. And then everyone else, I'm sure, is awkward."
"My wife is always saying, 'Just get in there. Do a good job. Be nice.' My wife loves the women I work with, so she's very like, 'Come on! Make sure you [do] the best you can. Give it up. It looks crazy when you don't kiss good enough,'" he continues. "I'm very relieved when we do a movie and at the end of the script I go, 'I don't have to kiss anyone!' Anyway, that's fantastic. But when I do, I get it done. I get it done."
His wife's advice must have paid off because his Murder Mystery and Just Go With It co-star, Jennifer Aniston, has called him a good kisser. "Even if I was not great at that, [Jennifer] would try to protect me," he says of the actress.
As for his own first kiss, Sandler says he doesn't remember it fully, though some details do stick out.
"I think I was in New Hampshire. I like I was very young. I don't know if this person is married and has a husband who would say, 'What happened?'" he jokes. "I remember... she was wearing a retainer. Everything worked out good."
"I didn't even know there was such a thing as a good kisser. I was just doing the best I could," Sandler adds. "And I couldn't believe someone wanted to do that with me. It was definitely a brand new feeling and I look forward to more of those."
Even though he had his first kiss young, and counted Goldie Hawn and Elke Sommer as some of his first crushes, Sandler says that growing up his room was decorated with posters of guys skiing and rock stars performing. "No women up there," he quips.
It was during those formative years that Sandler developed a love for comedy, as he was surrounded by his family who "laughed a lot."
"As a kid I'm sure I enjoyed screaming stuff out at a movie theater and getting a laugh from a crowd. Or at school I always liked to be a fool," he says. "But I never really thought about this being my job until around 17 when I was applying to colleges and stuff and my brother said, 'Maybe you should be a comedian.'"
A few years later, fresh out of college, Sandler auditioned for Saturday Night Live, where he ended up working from 1990 to 1995.
"The one that [SNL creator] Lorne [Michaels] always talks about, the one that stood out to him, I don't remember it 100 percent, but it was something about [how] my mom was putting Vicks VapoRub on my chest and we made eye contact when she was doing it and I said, 'Aren't we just friends, mom?'" he recalls of his audition for the sketch show.
Since then, Sandler's gone on to star in many movies, all of which led up to his latest, critically-acclaimed flick, Uncut Gems, which follows a jeweler who makes a series of high stakes bets. To prepare for the project, Sandler met with many real-life jewelers, and got something for his wife in the process.
"My character's name is Howard and I got a nice diamond necklace with a big Howard on it and my wife wears it [to] every Uncut Gems thing we've done yet -- a screening or a premiere or one of those festivals -- my wife's always got the Howard necklace on," he shares. "She looks cute in it. I like it."
"Who is this Howard guy and why is this lady with Adam Sandler?" he quips.
Uncut Gems is out now in theaters.
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