Why Jessica Chastain & Oscar Isaac's Friendship Hasn't Been the Same Since Scenes From a Marriage

It looks like Scenes from a Marriage may have affected scenes in real life. 

Jessica Chastain recently opened up about how filming the emotional HBO miniseries, which follows a couple as their marriage falls apart, ultimately affected her off-screen friendship with costar Oscar Isaac.

"Scenes From a Marriage was very tough. And I love Oscar," she told Vanity Fair in an August 1 interview. "But the reality is, our friendship has never quite been the same."

The Oscar winner noted that the intense process of making the show—based Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman's 1973 series of the same name—left an impact on the pair.

"We're going to be okay," the 46-year-old continued. "But after that, I was like, I need a little bit of a breather. There was so much I love you, I hate you in that series."

And as much as their onscreen chemistry was palpable throughout the five-part series, their offscreen chemistry was just as fascinating to fans. In fact, Oscar and Jessica made headlines while on the red carpet at the series' Venice Film Festival premiere in 2021. The two held hands and wrapped their arms around one another while posing for photos, with Oscar appearing to kiss and sniff Jessica's arm. 

And fans were quick to pick up on the moment.

"The way Oscar Isaac looks at Jessica Chastain," one user tweeted at the time. "I would faint." Added another, "I CAN'T get over Jessica Chastain and Oscar Isaac being the sexiest duo." 

However, the pair subsequently set the record straight on the viral moment, saying it was nothing more than the intimacy between two close friends. (Jessica wed fashion executive Gian Luca Passi de Preposulo in 2017 while Oscar married director Elvira Lind that same year.)

In fact, Jessica made light of the moment by tweeting an image of Gomez Addams kissing Morticia Addams' arm alongside the smiling devil emoji and the words "Sept. 12th," the 2021 premiere date for Scenes From a Marriage. 

She later elaborated on the moment. "We went to college together, so we've been friends more than half of our lives and we know so much about each other," Jessica said on Today that same month, referencing their days at the Juilliard School. "We know how to make each other laugh without even saying anything. We can almost read each other's minds." 

Meanwhile, the following year Oscar attempted to clarify the moment by comparing the pair's relationship to, well, flatworms. 

While on SiriusXM's The Jess Cagle Show in August 2022, the Moon Knight actor explained that in the same way the cells of flatworms communicate on a cellular level through a type of electricity, so do he and Jessica.

"Maybe we should use more actual human language to talk instead of sniffing an armpit and doing things like that," he joked. "That's kind of what starts to happen and no matter how much we annoy each other, no matter what happens, it's like, when you get us together, it's like, it's just other stuff that's going on that is making us grow two heads."  

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