James Gunn has spoken out about how 'uncomfortable' he felt while directing a scene where John Cena smooches his wife.
Having to instruct another man about how to kiss your spouse is hardly an average day at the office, but it's a burden that the filmmaker had to shoulder on the set of Peacemaker.
The hit HBO series - which is based on Cena's character inThe Suicide Squad, Christopher Smith, AKA Peacemaker - stars the likes of Danielle Brooks, Freddie Stroma, Jennifer Holland, Steve Agee, Frank Grillo, and Robert Patrick.
And although Gunn wrote all eight episodes of the second season and therefore knew what was in store, it didn't make watching the WWE legend kiss his wife any easier.
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Cena and Holland lock lips in the season finale of Peacemaker, and poor Gunn had to stand there and survey the pair's technique 'over and over' while they shot the scene.
The renowned director, 59, has now revealed that he was 'admittedly uncomfortable about it' during a recent episode of the Peacemaker podcast.
Actress and model Holland acknowledged that 'it must be weird seeing your wife kiss another person' as they discussed the passionate scene, while admitting it was a 'weird experience' for her too.
"I don’t ever think about it like that, though," the 37-year-old, who married Gunn in September 2022, said. "When two actors are on screen, it feels so technical."
Gunn agreed and described the scene as 'especially technical' due to the kind of camera which was used to ensure that they got the perfect shot.
"We had the Phantom camera, and everything was in slow-motion," the mastermind behind Guardians of the Galaxy said. "You guys had to go back in a certain way, and then you had to come together.
"Then the camera ramps down...ramps down means it goes faster. And we had to do it over and over [again]. Then [Holland is] standing on the lazy Susan as we’re curling around you."
The movie maker then confessed that he had been quite apprehensive about filming this portion of Peacemaker.
Gunn continued: "It wasn’t only that I had to direct you kissing a man, I had to direct you kissing a man in front of, like, 200-300 extras or more, a lot of whom were fans.
"Just the whole thing was kind of weird. Before it happened, I was uncomfortable about it, admittedly. I was like, 'I don’t want to do this.'"
However, Gunn changed his tune when the Peacemaker cast were physically on set and filming it.
"But then once we were doing it, I didn’t give a s**t," he laughed. "I was totally fine. I was looking at the kiss as like, ‘I’m f***ing loving it,’ because it’s these beautiful shots.
"Some of our best shots ever in this series are in that sequence."
Holland then pointed out that Cena's wife of five years Shay Shariatzadeh probably wasn't over the moon about the kiss scene either, as she was also on the set when it was being shot.
She added: "I’m sure it wasn’t great for John, either; his wife Shay is [on the set]."
Gunn then explained that Shariatzadeh had been 'sitting beside him the whole time watching it'.
Topics: Celebrity, John Cena, Sex and Relationships, TV and Film, Entertainment
Olivia Burke