The Oscar contenders spoke with W Magazine for the outlet's Best Performances Issue.
Everyone remembers their first kiss and for Academy Award hopefuls like Zac Efron, Colman Domingo and Natalie Portman, it's a good thing they do.
W Magazine recently sat down with more than a dozen actors for their Best Performances Issue, talking with some of 2023's biggest film stars like Greta Lee, Lily Gladstone, Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling about the upcoming Oscars and their careers leading up to this moment.
"For this issue, W took 28 actors out on Hollywood Boulevard, where the stars shine from the sidewalk," a description of the spread reads. "The fantastic portfolio cast posed alongside cyborgs, sci-fi characters, and assorted film memorabilia; they also jumped into bushes and sprawled on leopard-print sofas. Like the year in films, these photos are a salute to reality, but with a joyous twist."
Aside from discussing their respective critically acclaimed movies, the actors and actresses also got candid about their personal lives, including their first kisses, both on-screen and off.
"In a tree house. We played spin the bottle. It was a great first kiss. It was her birthday, and a bunch of us climbed up to the tree house. There were candles—it was pretty cool," Efron tells the magazine.
The High School Musical actor is eyeing a potential Best Actor nomination for The Iron Claw, the film inspired by the tragic real-life story of the Von Erich wrestling family. For his part, Efron plays Kevin Von Erich, the only surviving brother out of the six Von Erich sons.
Gladstone, who stars as Mollie Burkhart -- a member of the Osage Nation at the height of the murders during the early 1900s -- in Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon, said her first kiss also happened at a young age.
"I was freshman class president, and he was sophomore class president. He was popular. I was reluctantly popular. The kiss was at an Associated Student Body retreat. Just a quick, very nervous kiss. We didn't last," she says.
The actress is arguably one of the frontrunners in the Best Actress category, having already picked up more than a dozen wins and two dozen nominations from critic associations across the country and the world.
Oppenheimer star Robert Downey Jr., a veteran actor with more than five decades in the business under his belt, says his first kiss was with none other than Hollywood royalty, Molly Ringwald, on their 1987 rom-com The Pick-up Artist.
"Probably in The Pick-up Artist, with Molly Ringwald. Warren Beatty was on set, and he was giving a lot of direction about the kiss, so much direction that by the time he was done -- and he’s a super genius and I’ve learned so much from him -- I wasn’t even sure I knew how to kiss," he jokes.
The Iron Man actor also said that his first cinematic crush was Meryl Streep in The Deer Hunter, telling her to "call me" if she sees the interview. Downey Jr. is looking to pick up his third Academy Award nomination for Oppenheimer, in which he portrayed Lewis Strauss.
Portman, whose Netflix film May December -- directed by Todd Haynes -- arrived online in November to rave reviews from audiences and critics, spoke about her first kiss while talking alongside her co-star, Julianne Moore.
"At summer camp, on a dare. It was theater camp, so he came out the next year," Portman says.
If nominated for May December, Portman would pick up her fourth nod at the prestigious awards ceremony. She has also been nominated previously for Closer and Jackie and won in 2010 for Black Swan.
W Magazine also talked with Charles Melton, Moore and Portman's co-star, who did not share the details of his first kiss but is heavily favored to pick up a nomination for his role as Joe Yoo, a Vili Fualaau-type character to contrast Moore's Mary Kay Letourneau-esque Gracie Atherton-Yoo. Portman plays an actress who is shadowing Moore's character in order to play her in an upcoming film.
Rustin star Colman Domingo -- also a key player in The Color Purple -- said his first on-screen was none other than America's sweetheart, Paul Rudd. He laughed as he explained the story of how the kiss unfolded on a movie set.
"It's called All Is Bright, with me, him, Paul Giamatti, and Sally Hawkins. This is a little-known Christmas movie we did maybe 10, 12 years ago. I played this guy named Nzomo, who's a South African dude who works at a tree stand. Paul Rudd is a great improviser," Domingo says.
"In one scene, he turned me around and kissed me on the lips. It was very sweet, because he was excited about something. I thought, 'Hey, actually, that's my first screen kiss. Did you know that, Paul?'" he tells W Magazine.
Domingo plays Bayard Rustin -- an unsung hero of the Civil Rights era and an advisor to Martin Luther King Jr. -- whose story went quietly untold as an openly gay Black man. The actor is looking to secure a Best Actor nomination for his role and he could also potentially pull a nom in the Best Supporting Actor category for The Color Purple.
Meanwhile, Past Lives star Greta Lee told the outlet that her first kiss happened before elementary school, something she feels very strongly about to this day.
"His name was Jimmy, and I was in preschool. It was a real kiss. It was in the classroom, but I was serious. I leaned, and he fell back onto the floor, and that didn't stop me," she says, jokingly adding that she thinks her little brother James is "named after him."
Lee -- who stars as Nora in the A24 film directed by Celine Song -- said despite her young age, she took the first kiss very seriously.
"I felt love. I mean, it wasn't requited, but I was in a serious relationship as far as I was concerned. I don't think Jimmy realized that, but yeah," Lee joked with the magazine.
The Morning Show actress has received more than a dozen nominations for her role in the critically acclaimed film, which follows two childhood friends from South Korea, who reconnect decades later after life has taken them on very different paths. If nominated, Lee would be a first-time nominee at the Academy Awards.
The Best Performances Issue of W Magazine hits stands on Feb. 13. Actors were photographed by Juergen Teller and styled by W Magazine’s Editor-in-Chief, Sara Moonves.
Oscar nominations will be announced on Jan. 23. For more award season coverage, check out the links below.
RELATED CONTENT:
