Shailene Woodley shared a few intimate scenes with her Divergent co-star and love interest Theo James. But an unexpected turn of events led to the scene being more embarrassing than it should’ve been for James.
Theo James wanted to practice his kissing scenes with Shailene Woodley as much as possible
Woodley was already cast in Divergent by the time a search was being done for her potential love interest in the film. Although Woodley’s casting was considered a no-brainer, hiring her co-star proved to be much more challenging. Especially when Woodley would often outperform the other actors who she screened with by a long shot.
“We were seeing all of the young stars in town, and as we brought each of these guys in to read with Shailene, she blew them away. She made them seem weak,” Divergent director Neil Burger once said according to Bustle.
James was the one actor who was able to match Woodley’s intensity.
“So we kept looking and finally we tested Theo, who in the first moment, was so exactly right. He’s a great actor, he has an incredible screen presence, he is a great fighter, he really has it all,” Burger said.
But after discovering their chemistry, James wanted to rehearse his intimacy with Woodley as much as possible. If only to make sure it translated well enough on the big screen.
“I just wanted to practice the kissing scene with Shai as much as possible. I’d say ‘Listen, after dinner we could just go over that scene again,’” James said. “The kissing scene with Shai and I, we wanted that to be as good as possible. Because it’s the only scene where [Four and Tris] get together, and we wanted it to be real and not just be lots of cheese. So, we shot that a second time because the first time it didn’t feel right, and we wanted to honor it in the way that it earned.”
Theo James was made fun of for months after his love scenes with Shailene Woodley
James is accustomed to doing love scenes in films even before the Divergent franchise. Although given that the sci-fi films were usually PG-13, the love scenes weren’t nearly as graphic as scenes from other movies. Still, James asserted that even in PG-13 settings, love scenes could turn awkward depending on circumstances.
”Sometimes booze helps if it’s really hard-core. With this, it’s okay, because at the end of the day it’s going to be PG-13. Sometimes the most awkward thing is [when] you’re shooting and you’re doing something, and then something has to be tweaked, so you can’t move, but you’re right there. So you’re like, ‘What’s up?’ And you’re completely naked, covered in sweat,” James said in a resurfaced interview with E-News.
But perhaps his most uncomfortable love scene in Divergent was when James’ brothers accidentally walked in on him and Woodley.
“My sex scene with Shai was the last of the whole shoot, and my brothers had flown in for a trip to [Las] Vegas. Since filming was delayed, they literally walked off the plane and onto the set to see my getting funky. It was surreal. I got made fun of for months,” James once told People (via Female First).
Theo James experienced an awkward moment when his co-star’s boyfriend showed up in the middle of a love scene
It wasn’t the first time James had an unexpected visitor during an intimate onscreen moment. In a 2015 chat with Harper’s Bazaar, the White Lotus star opened up about one of his most embarrassing love scenes yet. And it involved a co-star and her boyfriend.
“I’ve had one intimate scene where the girl’s boyfriend turned up. And that wasn’t great, I’ve got to say. Because it was, you know—it wasn’t just a kiss, as you’d say,” James said.
