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Some auditions are pure magic, proving that the right pairing can ignite unforgettable sparks before filming even starts. From shy smiles to electrifying embraces, these chemistry screen tests captured moments that sealed the deal for some of the most iconic on-screen romances. Watch how these pairs created an instant connection that sold us on their love stories, long before cameras rolled.
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00:00There, potty the other leg.
00:02So, you know, lifting your chest so I don't hurt your ribs.
00:03I hurt my ribs.
00:05Welcome to Ms. Mojo.
00:06And today we're counting down our picks for the most memorable auditions
00:10that proves the right pair of actors can make sparks fly before filming even begins.
00:17So, it's going to be hard.
00:21We're going to have to work at this, but come on.
00:25Number 10, Lana Condor and Noah Centineo.
00:29To All the Boys I've Loved Before.
00:32What?
00:33Scary?
00:37Why?
00:39Why is that scary?
00:40A slightly awkward beginning made the payoff in the audition room even sweeter.
00:45Condor said her last chemistry read for the film was with Centineo
00:49and later called reading with him a no-brainer,
00:52saying they had pretty instant chemistry.
00:54Director Susan Johnson remembered immediate sparks when she put them together
00:58and said they were, quote, magical in the room.
01:02All right, then you should be honest with me.
01:03Why I wish you had a boyfriend?
01:05Because no one has ever liked me like that.
01:07That is, oh my God.
01:08That is so true.
01:09That is bullshit.
01:10I know for a fact that Carla's mayor asked you to spread hormone last year
01:13and you said no.
01:15That is a fact.
01:15The audition footage captures Peter asking Lara Jean why she is afraid of love,
01:20giving them something more vulnerable than simple flirtation to play.
01:24Watching it now, the appeal is obvious.
01:26Their timing feels relaxed, attentive, and already comfortably lived in.
01:31Why is it that they don't seem afraid to be here with you?
01:36Because there's no reason to be.
01:38Okay, why is that?
01:40Because this doesn't mean anything.
01:47Great.
01:48Thank you for being honest.
01:50Number nine.
01:51Millie Bobby Brown and Louie Partridge.
01:54Enola Holmes.
01:56What are you?
01:57Well, um, I'm Viscount Tewkesbury, Marquess of Baselware.
02:03You are a nincompoop.
02:06Sorry, I'm blanked.
02:08Sorry, what's the line?
02:09The nerves were obvious, but so was the connection waiting underneath them.
02:13Brown remembered Partridge arriving red-cheeked straight from French class
02:17and still in his school uniform, and immediately thinking, quote,
02:21that's Tewkesbury.
02:22Partridge, who was 15 at the time, recalled feeling intimidated,
02:25though he remembered director Harry Bradbeer as lovely and brown as, quote,
02:30really friendly.
02:31He later said he completed two chemistry reads before filming,
02:35with one going much better than the other.
02:37And if I were the one to ask you to stay?
02:46Um...
02:47It's fine, you don't...
02:50You will see me again, Viscount Tewkesbury, Marquess of Baselware.
02:54Crucially, the audition let him stop simply reciting lines
02:58and actually have fun with the character.
03:00Brown's instinct proved prophetic.
03:03The pair's chemistry became one of the movie's sweetest assets.
03:07When will I see you again?
03:10You're not rid of me yet, Viscount Tewkesbury, Marquess of Baselware.
03:22Sometimes you know a perfect match the second you see it.
03:25Scan the QR code on screen to join Miss Mojo's 24-7 live stream
03:29and see if we've got that kind of chemistry.
03:32Or we could do something else, or we could...
03:35If you don't...
03:35I mean, like...
03:35We could...
03:36Yeah.
03:37Yeah?
03:37Yeah, either one.
03:38Number 8.
03:39Hilary Duff and Chad Michael Murray.
03:42A Cinderella Story.
03:43A few tentative smiles and one well-timed pause
03:46were enough to sell the connection.
03:48This duo's early test footage made it onto the DVD extras,
03:52giving viewers an extended look at Duff and Murray
03:55before the finished film.
03:56Were you, um, disappointed when you found out it was me?
04:00That I was Tiger Man?
04:02Be honest.
04:05Surprisingly, no.
04:06In those scenes, their appeal is wonderfully unpolished.
04:10She brings bright, slightly guarded energy,
04:12while he answers with softer, earnest charm.
04:16Years later, Duff admitted she, quote,
04:18definitely had a crush on him.
04:20Do you believe in love at first sight?
04:22Mmm, no.
04:25But I've seen you.
04:26Yes.
04:29How could I have seen you,
04:30and known you,
04:33and yet,
04:34not know who you are now?
04:37I'm, I don't know.
04:38You're gonna have to find that out for yourself.
04:40That little real-life detail
04:42makes the footage even more fun to revisit,
04:45because the uncertainty feels like part of the magic
04:47rather than something to smooth away.
04:49The finished movie simply turns that tentative rhythm
04:52into peak early 2000s teen romance comfort viewing.
04:56Do you, Princeton girl,
04:59feel like you made the right choice
05:01meeting me here tonight?
05:04I do.
05:05Number 7, Sanaa Lathan and Omar Epps,
05:09Love and Basketball.
05:10I'll play you.
05:12What?
05:13One game, one-on-one.
05:15For what?
05:18Your heart.
05:19The romantic tension had a head start,
05:22but the filmmaker watching their audition
05:24had no idea why.
05:25Writer-director Gina Prince-Bythewood
05:27said Lathan was brilliant at an early table reading,
05:30though her lack of basketball experience
05:32complicated the casting process.
05:34Epps was already Prince-Bythewood's
05:36first choice for Quincy,
05:38and both Lathan and basketball player
05:40Nisha Butler read opposite him.
05:42Prince-Bythewood ultimately felt Lathan
05:44had stronger chemistry with Epps.
05:47He had four.
05:49What?
05:50He had four offensive rebounds.
05:58Oh.
06:00The kicker?
06:01Nathan and Epps were secretly dating,
06:03something they deliberately kept from the director
06:06until production.
06:07Prince-Bythewood later said knowing beforehand
06:10would have affected her decision.
06:12Sometimes ignorance really is casting bliss.
06:14This is a little bit short.
06:17I don't know, love.
06:27Number 6.
06:29Jenna Dewan and Channing Tatum-
06:31Step up.
06:32Ready and down.
06:35Up, step, turn, PK, and...
06:39Like this?
06:40The giggles arrived before the choreography
06:43had even had time to make its case.
06:45Dewan said she first auditioned the acting
06:47and screen-tested with Tatum,
06:49who already had his role,
06:50describing their session as a chemistry test.
06:53She then completed a separate dance audition
06:56and went through several callbacks
06:57before landing Nora.
06:59Tatum later recalled that Dewan
07:01delivered an impressive read,
07:02but said her dancing effectively
07:04ended the search for the character.
07:06There we go.
07:07Nice.
07:08Oh, nice.
07:09Oh, stop it right now.
07:10You said I don't know how to dance.
07:11I don't know how to do that.
07:12Actually, I don't do the steps right there.
07:14I just kind of make it look like I did.
07:16When Dewan released the original footage years later,
07:19fans could see the easy joking, spins,
07:22and close posing for themselves.
07:24Even without hindsight,
07:26their physical comfort makes the pairing
07:28remarkably easy to buy.
07:30I can be taller.
07:33There you go.
07:35It's not a picture, you guys.
07:37It's a movie.
07:38We're like posing for our prom.
07:40Number five,
07:42Rebecca De Mornay and Tom Cruise,
07:44Risky Business.
07:45An early morning living room test
07:47ended up carrying career-sized consequences.
07:50Cruise flew to Los Angeles
07:52and met De Mornay
07:53at producer Steve Tisch's Hollywood Hills home,
07:55where their screen test was shot
07:57on a handheld Sony camera.
07:59Beautiful place here.
08:01Thanks.
08:04Is this all yours?
08:08Yes.
08:09Actually, my folks.
08:12Yeah, great.
08:14Casting director Nancy Clapper recalled
08:16that after they read several scenes together,
08:18the team knew they had their pair.
08:20Executive producer David Geffen agreed,
08:23effectively giving the movie its green light.
08:25You could see it and feel it
08:27and get a real sense of it
08:28when they were together.
08:30And clearly, they were that couple.
08:33Tom and Rebecca
08:34became Joel and Lana
08:37in Risky Business.
08:38Cruise remembered the moment
08:40less triumphantly,
08:41saying they, quote,
08:42didn't test that well,
08:44and crediting director Paul Brickman's faith in him.
08:47That disagreement almost makes the footage more fascinating.
08:50Whatever everyone saw,
08:52it was enough.
08:53I just thought it might be nice
08:55if we spent the evening together.
08:58I'd really like that.
09:01How much you got on you?
09:04How much have I got on me?
09:06I got $20.
09:07Number four, Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron,
09:11High School Musical.
09:12Apparently, being too cute to read opposite
09:15can be an excellent casting problem.
09:17During callbacks, Efron and Hudgens
09:19kept getting paired together,
09:21with Efron later saying
09:22they clicked from the beginning.
09:24Do you remember in kindergarten
09:25how you'd meet a kid
09:27and know nothing about them,
09:28then 10 seconds later,
09:29you were playing like you were best friends
09:31because you didn't have to be anything but yourself?
09:33Yeah.
09:34Singing with you felt like that.
09:36Casting director Natalie Hart
09:38recalled Hudgens becoming so smitten
09:40she initially said she couldn't read with him.
09:42At the final callback,
09:44Efron and Hudgens were paired together again,
09:47and Disney executive Gary Marsh
09:48later remembered their chemistry
09:50making the choice obvious.
09:52You're so sweet and beautiful and perfect.
09:56Singing with you felt like that.
09:58That was it!
09:59That was it, and you booked the job.
10:01Disney later released footage
10:02from those auditions
10:03for the movie's 10th anniversary reunion.
10:06Letting fans see the early connection
10:08for themselves.
10:09Considering Troy and Gabriela
10:11became the franchise's central romance,
10:13The Room clearly read them right.
10:15And now looking in your eyes
10:18I'm feeling my heart
10:22The start of something new
10:25The start of something new
10:35The start of something new
10:55Why would I stay with you?
10:56Look at us!
10:56We're already fighting!
10:57Well, that's what we do.
10:59She recalled that one of their scenes
11:00left everyone crying,
11:02with casting director Matthew Berry
11:04pausing to grab a tissue.
11:06By the third scene,
11:07she called the experience
11:08quote,
11:09pretty electric,
11:10and later described it
11:11as her best audition experience ever.
11:14Forget about everyone
11:15and me
11:15and him
11:16and your parents
11:17and what you think you should do.
11:20What about you?
11:21What do you want?
11:22It's not that simple.
11:23Yes, it is, Al.
11:24No, it's not!
11:25Gosling remembered
11:26that after she left,
11:28he and Cassavetes
11:29gave each other a hug.
11:30For a romance
11:31powered by overwhelming feeling,
11:33that test already had plenty.
11:35So what?
11:35So it's not gonna be easy.
11:37It's gonna be really hard.
11:38And we're gonna have to work
11:39at this every day,
11:40but I wanna do that
11:41because I want you.
11:42Number two,
11:43Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield,
11:45The Amazing Spider-Man.
11:47Oh, lovely.
11:49Yeah, they're beautiful, right?
11:49They're beautiful.
11:50They were nice.
11:52No, they're beautiful.
11:53I'm sorry.
11:54No, it's impressive.
11:55They actually held together very well.
11:56The chemistry arrived quickly
11:58and the room noticed.
12:00Garfield had already been cast
12:01as Peter Parker
12:02when Stone came in
12:03to test for Gwen Stacy
12:04and Webb deliberately wanted
12:06to cast the chemistry
12:08rather than hope it appeared later.
12:10During the screen test,
12:11Stone's quick humor
12:12and Garfield's responsiveness
12:14created what Webb described
12:15as both a spark
12:16and a naturalness between them.
12:19When we tested them,
12:20there was fireworks.
12:22She could take on Andrew's
12:23improvisation and witticisms
12:25and one-up them.
12:26I mean, it was amazing
12:27to see them go back and forth
12:29and it was really,
12:30really fun to watch them.
12:32And again,
12:32it became an obvious combination
12:34because that's what people
12:35are there for.
12:36He especially remembered
12:37their hallway scene,
12:38where both actors
12:39brought nervous teenage energy
12:41and made a familiar setup
12:43feel human.
12:44Stone later said
12:45the audition included improvisation
12:47and that she could feel
12:48the connection.
12:49That early ease
12:50gave the film exactly
12:51the romantic foundation
12:53it needed.
12:54I really liked kissing you.
12:59You're an amazing kisser.
13:03Well, you know,
13:04it was good for me too.
13:08Are you a musician,
13:10singer, producer,
13:10or band?
13:11Sound Mojo is committing
13:13$50,000 to turn our demos
13:15into real recordings.
13:18Earn $1,000 per song
13:20or $500 plus a 50% revenue share.
13:24Think you can bring our music
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13:27Apply to the Sound Mojo
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13:35Number 1.
13:36Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze
13:38Dirty Dancing
13:39Is that your idea of fun?
13:41Oh, yes.
13:42As a matter of fact, it is.
13:43We're supposed to do the show
13:44in two days.
13:45You won't show me lifts.
13:46I'm not sure it turns.
13:47I'm doing all this
13:48to save your ass.
13:49What I really want to do
13:50is drop you on it.
13:52One embrace completely changed
13:54the temperature in the room.
13:56Grey had already worked
13:57with Swayze on Red Dawn,
13:58an experience she hadn't enjoyed
14:00and initially resisted
14:02the idea of pairing
14:03with him again.
14:04During their chemistry read,
14:06he pulled her aside
14:06and apologized
14:07for that earlier experience.
14:09Swayze later recalled
14:11that at their second audition,
14:13he lifted Grey,
14:14lowered her with their eyes locked,
14:15and left the room
14:16absolutely silent.
14:18You couldn't have picked
14:19two people better
14:20to tell the story
14:21of Dirty Dancing
14:22in terms of their chemistry
14:23together,
14:24which I remember
14:25Emil Ardolino thinking,
14:26perfect.
14:27Grey remembered the chemistry
14:29just as strongly,
14:30saying that once he took
14:31her in his arms,
14:32she knew there would be
14:34no competition.
14:35Whatever baggage
14:36they carried in,
14:37the camera found
14:38exactly what the movie needed.
14:41When you're all alone,
14:45you're all alone,
14:49tell me to know
14:52you're all this love.
14:57Which on-screen couple
14:58had chemistry so strong
14:59you can't believe
15:00anyone else
15:01was ever considered?
15:02Let us know
15:03in the comments.
15:03in the comments.
15:05I don't know
15:06if you're all alone,
15:06but if you're all alone,
15:07you're all alone.
15:07what the movie's
15:07and what I'm gonna do
15:08and I'm gonna do
15:08even next time.