10+ Acting Duos Who Played Best Friends On-Screen But Actually Hated Each Other In Real Life
Talk about awkward—these coworker shenanigans make the lady who steals and eats your lunch look like small fries.
Some on-screen friendships are a lot messier than they look. A few of Hollywood’s most memorable best-friend pairings were built by actors who reportedly could not stand each other off-camera, which makes the performances even more surprising in hindsight.
From TV favorites to blockbuster franchises, these co-stars still managed to sell the bond while dealing with real-life tension behind the scenes. That contrast is exactly what makes these stories so hard to look away from.
Here are the actor pairings that played best friends on-screen but allegedly hated each other in real life.
1. Nina Dobrev and Paul Wesley, The Vampire Diaries
"I realize now that there's a fine line between love and hate, and we despised each other so much that it read as love," Nina said."We really just didn't get along for maybe the first five months of shooting." They have since joked about hating each other and now appear to be close friends.
CW Network / Courtesy Everett Collection2. Kim Cattrall and Sarah Jessica Parker, Sex and the City
Sarah addressed the question of Kim possibly joining And Just Like That by saying, "I don’t think I would [be okay], because I think there’s just too much public history of feelings on her part that she’s shared."
Warner Bros / Courtesy Everett Collection3. Rose McGowan and Alyssa Milano, Charmed
"I cried every time we got renewed because you made that set toxic AF," Rose said in 2020 in a tweet.Alyssa responded, "It makes me really sad. Then I think, hurt people hurt people. I wish her well, and I’ll leave it at that and hope that she heals."
Viacom / ©Viacom/Courtesy Everett Collection / Everett Collection
4. Jamie Lynn Spears and Alexa Nikolas, Zoey 101
Alexa has accused Jamie of bullying on set, and the whole issue resurfaced after Jamie said that Alexa spread some rumors about her being "mean and bitchy" in a memoir. Alexa stated that Jamie was just "lying up a storm."
Nickelodeon
5. William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy, Star Trek
The two began to be rivals on the Star Trek set.
According to ScreenRant:
"William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy allegedly had some trouble on the set when Nimoy's character became more popular, particularly with the ladies. Shatner reportedly became jealous to the point where Nimoy accused him of pilfering both his bicycle as well as his lines on the show. Afraid that Spock would make Kirk look stupid, Shatner demanded many of Spock's lines, according to Nimoy."
Paramount / courtesy Everett Collection
6. Dwayne Johnson and Vin Diesel, the Fast and the Furious franchise
In 2016, The Rock posted on Instagram, implying that there were "candy asses" on the set of Fast and Furious. Vin then took it upon himself to assume that the post was about him and said, "Honestly, give me a second and I will tell you everything. Everything."
Universal / Courtesy Everett Collection
And if you thought real-life “best friends” were wild, The Secret Twins Of Your Favorite Stars is full of surprise lookalikes hiding in plain sight.
7. Mark Harmon and Pauley Perrette, NCIS
Pauley reportedly left NCIS after a biting incident caused by Mark's dog that resulted in someone needing stitches, but he still brought his dog on set.
She later tweeted, "I too went to CBS, told about abuse by MH on set & I was asked THREE TIMES 'are you asking for money?' I was like 'Huh? No!' And I did NOT! I wanted me & my crew to be safe from him."
CBS
8. Naya Rivera and Lea Michele, Glee
This one's definitely not a shocker. In her memoir, she wrote about Lea:
"It seemed like she blamed me for anything and everything that went wrong. If I'd complained about anyone or anything, she'd assumed I was bitching about her. Soon, she started to ignore me, and eventually, it got to the point where she didn't say a word to me for all of Season 6."
20th Century Fox / Courtesy Everett Collection
9. Jennie Garth and Shannen Doherty, Beverly Hills, 90210
Shannen was asked in 2019 about her worst fight with Jennie, and she replied, "I can only remember one incident, and that was when, yeah, we took it outside."
Aaron Spelling Prods / Courtesy Everett Collection
10. Isaiah Washington and Patrick Dempsey, Grey's Anatomy
Isaiah was sacked from Grey's Anatomy after using an anti-gay slur during an argument with Patrick.
Abc / Courtesy Everett Collection
11. Dominic Monaghan and Matthew Fox, Lost
In 2012, a fan asked Dominic to tell Matthew to join Twitter, but he only replied, "He beats women. No thanks." Matthew has since denied the allegations.
Mario Perez / ABC / Courtesy: Everett Collection
12. Ashley Tisdale and Lucas Grabeel, High School Musical franchise
“We were not good friends, let’s just be honest. It’s been 10 years… We can totally talk about this now. We hated each other," Ashley recalled in 2017, and Lucas said she was too much like her character, so it was hard to get along with her.
The two are good friends now and even dueted "What I've Been Looking For" on Ashley's YouTube channel.
Disney Channel / Courtesy Everett Collection
13. Betty White and Bea Arthur, Golden Girls
"Bea had a reserve. She was not fond of me. She found me a pain in the neck sometimes. Sometimes if I was happy, she'd be furious," said Betty. On the other hand, the casting director once heard Bea call Betty a "f*cking c*nt."
Touchstone Television / Courtesy Everett Collection
14. Alex Pettyfer and Channing Tatum, Magic Mike
“Channing Tatum does not like me. For many reasons, many being my own fault," Alex told the Hollywood Reporter in 2015.
Claudette Barius / Warner Bros. / Courtesy Everett Collection
We definitely admire these actors for putting up with someone they absolutely had a hard time working with because they disliked them and pretending (outstandingly at that) to be the best of friends with them while acting on screen. Do you think you would be able to control yourself if you were an actor in this particular situation?
Comment down your thoughts, or share this article for all your family and friends to see!
For another on-set power play, see how Kaley Cuoco handled a tense moment after an A-list actress overlooked her.
