Marvel Actors That Turned Out to Be More Than Just Colleagues in Real Life

Actors often develop so much chemistry on screen and in interviews while promoting their films, that more than one viewer has been left with the illusion that the feelings they convey are real. Many times it’s just our imagination, but there are cases where during the shoot, celebrities got along so well that they became a couple, beyond even the wildest imaginations of the scriptwriters.

Bright Side is very inquisitive, so we’ll tell you about 8 cases in which the media’s suspicions about the relationship between celebrities were real, and as a bonus, another 4 in which they ended up being nothing but rumors and hopes.

1. Ben Affleck and Gwyneth Paltrow

In 2008 Gwyneth Paltrow won over everybody’s heart on the big screen (including Iron Man’s) when she played Pepper Potts, his intelligent and beautiful assistant. And maybe not everyone remembers this, but actually 10 years earlier Ben Affleck was the one who fell in love with her. Yep, Daredevil and Pepper had a very publicized affair in the media back in the day. How would Tony Stark handle the news if he learned that his sweetheart was dating a superhero?

2. Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner

The love of movie characters has gone beyond just fiction and become something real many times! And that was exactly what happened with these actors, who conquered their audience to the point of making fiction come true and becoming a real couple. Although their relationship was surely strengthened after Affleck put on the superhero costume for the film Daredevil in 2003 and where Garner played Elektra too, the fact remains that they had already met in 2001. Back then, Affleck played a war hero in Pearl Harbor and Jennifer Garner played a nurse.

In 2004, both of them caught the attention of the paparazzi and in 2005 they got married. Their marriage ended in 2017, but today they have a very good relationship and share custody of their children.

3. Chris Evans and Jessica Biel

Wait a minute... Jessica Biel worked with Marvel? Of course she did! Although she didn’t share the stage with her then partner Chris Evans, she was part of the superhero universe playing Abigail Whistler in Blade: Trinity, which premiered in 2004. This is, of course, many years before the release of the first film of the new Avenger franchise, Captain America: The First Avenger. So they certainly didn’t meet while working as heroes trying to save the world.

They met back in 2001, went out together, and even had a 5-year relationship, in case you didn’t remember. They broke up in 2006. Nobody is really sure what happened there or why they broke up, but at least we can rest assured that today they both remain on good terms with each other.

4. Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly

Vision might be one of the few characters of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with a heart so pure that he can raise the Mjolnir (Thor’s hammer), but actor Paul Bettany is not to be underestimated either. He must surely have great virtues to have conquered nothing more and nothing less than the heart of Jennifer Connelly. Jennifer played Hulk’s sweetheart in the previous film, released in 2003, with Eric Bana as the protagonist. Bettany and Connelly have been married to each other for 17 years and counting, and have 2 children together, making them one of the most stable couples in Hollywood.

5. Robert Downey Jr. and Marisa Tomei

So Tony Stark went out with Aunt May? I’m sure this won’t sound like a cool story for Peter Parker, but... yep, that’s right, they were a couple. Don’t worry though, it was a very short romance. After they worked together on Only You in 1994, they went out for a few months, and boy, did they look good together! It’s a relief that today that you can still see them working with such a great chemistry, even though they’re not a couple anymore.

In fact, they’ve had such a good relationship over the years that it was Robert Downey Jr. himself who recommended that she play the role of Aunt May: “He recommended me for the role and we had a flirtatious little scene together in Captain America: Civil War. Having a familiar face around certainly made me more comfortable.” said Tomei.

6. Scarlett Johansson and Ryan Reynolds

Maybe imagining that someone as serious as The Black Widow wanted to be with someone like Deadpool willingly, without any kind of plan in mind, could be a tricky thing to do. After all, on what planet could those 2 be together? Well, it turns out that in the real world, the actors who played these roles, Scarlett Johansson and Ryan Reynolds, were a couple and even married in 2008, only to divorce in 2011.

Of course, their divorce didn’t stop them from playing their roles in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And even though they have very different personalities... it might have been fun to see them as a couple in the movies too! They would probably have had a very different way of fighting all those villains.

7. Chris Pratt and Emily VanCamp

Wow! Apparently Star Lord dated a human back in the day, and that very person was the same actress that plays Agent 13 in Captain America, Emily VanCamp. These charismatic celebrities were together in 2004, when they met while working on the Everwood series. There, even if they were not superheroes or super-special crime fighters, they played endearing characters.

Pratt and VanCamp were together for 2 years, until they broke up in 2006 and each went on to pursue very successful careers on their own.

8. Zoe Saldaña and Bradley Cooper

And if there’s anything stranger than Star Lord dating a human, it’s thinking of Gamora having a relationship with the very person that voiced Rocket: Bradley Cooper. They were together from 2011 to 2013. And despite them breaking up, they both went on with their lives. It never became a reason to stop them from working together and playing 2 heroes in the same team either. Of course, each of them has different personalities that seemed to be just as opposite as they are complementary. Or at least in Guardians of the Galaxy, that is.

Bonus: Actors who looked so good together that they made us think something else was going on (but it wasn’t 😭)

1. Elizabeth Olsen and Tom Hiddleston

Both actors are very good looking, charismatic, and undoubtedly make their Marvel characters endearing regardless of whether they are heroines or villains. However, it wasn’t until 2015 that both shared the stage in the film I Saw the Light as a couple. Their chemistry was so strong that there were rumors floating around saying that the 2 of them could be much more than just friends.

Although photographers captured many scenes of intimacy shared by the 2 of them, and even if journalists did not miss one single chance to try and have them publicly declare their love, nothing came out. Or at least not from Olsen’s mouth that is. She always denied having a relationship with Hiddleston, let alone breaking up with him...

2. Tom Holland and Zendaya

Both actors are such good friends that they tag each other on their social media posts, they share jokes, and they continuously praise each other. More than once they have been asked if there is even the slightest possibility that their friendship might one day turn into something else, to which Zendaya categorically replied: “No.” So, so blunt...

“We are friends (...) Holland is a great guy and is literally one of my best friends,” explained the actress as she wanted to show how happy she is with the current relationship she has with the actor.

3. Michael B. Jordan and Lupita Nyong’o

What? These 2 are not a couple either? But they look so good together! Well, sorry to disappoint you, but no, they’re just friends. In fact, in response to rumors that the 2 Black Panther co-stars might have a relationship that goes beyond what’s written in the movie’s script, Jordan took it upon himself to ease any doubts: “We’re good friends, honestly, we’ve known each other for a really long time, we respect each other, and I love this girl to death,” proving that they may not be a couple, but they certainly have one of those enviable friendships.

4. Hayley Atwell and Stephen Merchant

Maybe some people might wonder who the celebrity next to the actress playing Peggy Carter is, since Stephen Merchant played the albino mutant named Caliban in the memorable movie Logan. That might be the reason why he can’t be recognized so easily at first sight.

Just like in the previous cases, both actors get along very well, up to the point where it has often been speculated that they have something else going on. All of these rumors have already been dissipated by Hayley Atwell herself, though.

Tell us what your favorite Marvel movie is and which actor you would not hesitate to go out with. Also, which other couples do you think would look good together?