Let's be honest for a second: Two heads are better than one. In the world of cinema, the same is true of movie stars and duos. Everyone loves to see a great pairing of actors on screen, but it's even better if the performers find a synergy between each other and continue to appear together in other films. Of course, the MCU features regular duos, as well as the Star Wars Universe - but what about the actors who transcend franchises and become cinematic soulmates?
From Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet as the on-screen couple who go through the most to Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson being the comedic duo we deserve, let's take a look at the movie star tag teams who push each other to the next level of greatness.
Who is the best comedic duo in cinema? While Laurel & Hardy and Abbott & Costello certainly pop into mind, the correct answer is (arguably) Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson. These two split the sides of the audience whenever they decide it's time to make a movie again.
Stiller normally plays the over-the-top, more animated character, while Wilson delivers as the aloof pacifist. The formula works, though, as the movie stars' comedies are modern classics. They can be models in Zoolander or silent rivals in Meet the Parents, but one thing is always certain: They know how to make people laugh, and to paraphrase Mugatu: “They are so hot right now.”
If Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan are the two names listed on a movie poster, it's guaranteed the audience will come out of the film feeling like an inadequate partner to their significant other. These two actors are box office dynamite and embody the perfect romance in whichever film they star in.
Whether it's finding love in the midst of tragedy in Sleepless in Seattle or online dating before the days of Tinder in You've Got Mail, Hanks and Ryan are the picture-perfect on-screen couple. There's simply no contest when it comes to the best rom-com couple in cinematic history, as they could easily claim first, second, and third places on any list. Just give up if they're in the running.
To be fair, Samuel L. Jackson could bring out the best in a brown paper bag since he's charisma on legs. However, it's clear to anyone who is a movie lover that Bruce Willis had the time of his life when Jackson was in the same picture as him.
The two have appeared alongside each other in M. Night Shyamalan's Unbreakable and Glass. Yet, their best pairing is easily in the buddy cop format of Die Hard with a Vengeance. Many fans have argued it's the best Die Hard sequel, if not even the best entry in the franchise, and that's all down to Jackson and Willis tearing it up on screen.
People often talk about actors needing chemistry together, so what could provide a stronger bond than two performers being real-life BFFs? Childhood friends Matt Damon and Ben Affleck have lived the dream of ascending through the ranks of Hollywood together.
The two announced their arrival in Tinsel town in 1992's School Ties before they stole all the headlines for 1997's Good Will Hunting, which they also wrote. Then, they brought the laughs as the two fallen angels Bartleby and Loki in Kevin Smith's controversial comedy Dogma.
The two weren't always glued at the hip in their respective careers and went on to have their own successes. However, they did return for a team-up in Ridley Scott's epic The Last Duel. It's a much different film from what they had done together in the past, but it proved once again that their chemistry is undeniable - if not electric - on screen.
Adam Sandler and Rob Schneider may be stuck at the hip for most of their lowbrow comedies, but when Sandler wants to class it up a bit, he brings in Drew Barrymore. Sandler and Barrymore have shared the screen in three films: 1998's The Wedding Singer, 2004's 50 First Dates, and 2014's Blended. Unsurprisingly, all of these pictures are romantic comedies.
In fairness, none of these are in the same league as rom-coms like Sleepless in Seattle or When Harry Met Sally. However, there's an earnest charm that Sandler and Barrymore deliver in their performances. Together, they know how to make people laugh out loud and smile about the heartfelt moments in equal measure.
While Claire Danes starred alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in the ultimate tragic romance story of Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet, Kate Winslet is undoubtedly Leo's most beloved co-star. In James Cameron's Titanic, the actors broke the hearts of millions worldwide as Winslet's Rose and DiCaprio's Jack fall in love before disaster strikes and stops their romance from ever reaching full bloom.
The two teamed up 11 years later for Sam Mendes' highly acclaimed Revolutionary Road. Again, this is a tearjerker as DiCaprio and Winslet play married couple Frank and April Wheeler and experience marital woes that culminate in a tragedy. Moral of the story: If DiCaprio and Winslet are in a film together, bet money on one of their characters perishing before the final credits roll.
