Just finished watching **The Holiday **, starring Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet and was struck by the fact the two stars were never acting in the same scene together (there was a brief glimpse of them in the same room in the final scene, but no dialog) and was wondering about other films where this happened.
Talking on the phone is OK (there was one scene of that, too); I mean no face-to-face scenes where they are in the same room and talking to each other.
The Godfather part II
Wrath of Khan, although I will grant that technically Montalban wasn’t “top-billed.”
The Fifth Element-Bruce Willis and Gary Oldman; they just barely missed each other when the Willis character gets on an elevator right when Oldman gets off one.
Sleepless in Seattle, Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks don’t speak until the very final scene.
Best Defense with Eddie Murphy and Dudley Moore. The movie initially focused on Moore’s character and was considered so bad, a part was created for Murphy. Murphy’s and Moore’s plot lines never coincided, being separated in time by eight years. I seem to recall the final scene had a dialogue between Moore and Murphy, but the two never shared screen time for the bulk of the movie.
Well they’re alway Citizen Kane who didn’t talk directly to anyone at least in present tense, and didn’t talk to the reporters at all, what with being all dead and stuff.
In the movie Heat, there is only one scene featuring both Robert De Niro and Al Pacino but the actors were filmed separately.
**Truman Show ** - Jim Carrey and Ed Harris never shared a scene, although they did speak.
Well, technically they were on screen together, talking on another screen, so that’s a scene together in my books.
Another not quite fitting the OP but almost might be Star Wars. Hamil only sees Prowse from a distance and the characters meet again in SFX only.
Anne Bancroft & Anthony Hopkins in 84 Charing Cross Road.
They correspond from different continents and I don’t think they even talk on the phone.
Was David Prowse top-billed?
There’ve been many movies where big stars of different generations played the same character at different ages.
And of course, none of them comes to mind now.
There’s The Hours where the three top stars – Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore, and Nicole Kidman are in different time periods and thus never meet.
The 1996 film Courage Under Fire, starring Meg Ryan and Denzel Washington. Ryan’s character is dead before Washington’s ever aware of her existance.
In Evita Anotnio Banderas and Madonna only interact in one scene (Waltz for Evita and Che).
I read the book “The Fan” and it’s all a series of letters and telegrams. I don’t know they did the movie, but I don’t think Lauren Bacall and James Gardner could have had many scenes together (she was the actress on the East Coast, he was her ex-husband on the West Coast).
Best Defense with Dudly Moore and Eddie Murphy:
Ahh! I missed that cochrane already posted it. Sorry.
Ewan McGregor and Albert Finney as young and old Ed Bloom in Big Fish.
The Sixth Sense, for the psychologist and the troubled kid. In a way. 