Inside Matt Damon & Scarlett Johansson's Not-So-Romantic Kissing Scene

While most of us can't imagine smooching a coworker as a job requirement, for many actors, this is just another day at the office. Even so, kissing scenes have their challenges, and even the pros can forget that when it comes time to pucker up on camera, minty fresh breath is a must. Superstars Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson have been in countless films over the years, and they've had their fair share of kissing scenes. However, when it came time for the pair of actors to smooch in the 2011 film "We Bought a Zoo," things didn't exactly go smoothly.

Imagine having breath so bad that someone still remembers it a decade later — this seems to be the case for Oscar-nominee Johansson. In a 2023 interview with LADbible TV, which he participated in alongside "Oppenheimer" costar Emily Blunt, Damon dished about smooching Johansson. He recalled that the pair filmed a kissing scene and went to lunch believing that they'd already gotten the take. According to Damon, Johansson "ate, like, an onion sandwich." He explained that she "came in and [director] Cameron Crowe had set the camera up and it was... a tight shot of the kiss." Damon recalled that Johansson said, "Aw s***! I literally just had ... an onion sandwich." 

Despite the onion-y ordeal, Damon insists that Johansson's breath wasn't actually bad. "I was making fun of her the entire time about her onion breath, which I didn't even smell," he explained, joking that, "her breath smells like roses."

While asserting that Scarlett Johansson's breath wasn't actually bad during their onscreen smooch, Matt Damon also poked fun at getting to kiss many folks' celeb crush. "I had to kiss ... Scarlett Johansson — can you imagine how horrible that was?" he joked, playfully adding, "It was hell." So, it seems that Johansson is a pleasant romantic scene partner — even when there's an onion sandwich involved. 

Luckily, Johansson's real-life hubby and SNL star Colin Jost isn't bothered by this. In a 2024 interview with The New York Times, the comedian was asked if it made him jealous to see his wife of four years performing in her many intimate scenes. "I think if I was, at this point, I'd be in trouble," he said. "When Scarlett won the American Cinematheque Award, we were there and one of the things that night was a whole montage of kisses. I was like, 'OK, there you go. I'm glad someone put it together in one package.'" 

Johansson has clearly had many more kissing scenes since smooching Damon, so surely she's made sure to maintain minty fresh breath since that incident. During their interview, Emily Blunt explained that "there's an etiquette" for "intimate scenes." According to her, "You gotta brush your teeth. Use some mouthwash. Stick some gum on the roof of your mouth, and then we can kiss." And, of course — no onion sandwiches.