Robert Downey Jr. Recalls His First Onscreen Kiss with Molly Ringwald: ‘I Wasn’t Even Sure I Knew How’

Downey recalled his first onscreen kiss with Molly Ringwald in 1987’s ‘The Pick-Up Artist,’ during an interview for ‘W Magazine’

Molly Ringwald, Robert Downey Jr. in ‘The Pick-Up Artist’. PHOTO:

20TH CENTURY FOX/KOBAL/SHUTTERSTOCK

Robert Downey Jr. is kissing and telling!

The Oppenheimer star, 58, recalled his first onscreen smooch during an interview with W Magazine for its Best Performances issue, revealing that it was with Molly Ringwald in the 1987 romantic dramedy The Pick-Up Artist.

Downey had some misgivings about his skill set for the scene, due to how co-producer Warren Beatty envisioned it going.

“Warren Beatty was on set, and he was giving a lot of direction about the kiss, so much direction that by the time he was done — and he’s a super genius and I’ve learned so much from him — I wasn’t even sure I knew how to kiss,” the actor said.

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JUERGEN TELLER FOR W MAGAZINE

18 Celebs Get Really, Really Honest About Their Best (and Worst) On-Screen Kisses

Downey has come quite a way since his kiss with Ringwald, 55, and Marvel fans might even argue that he eventually perfected the art of the onscreen smooch with his Iron Man and Avengers costar Gwyneth Paltrow.

But that might just be because the two are such close pals. As the Goop founder, 51, said on her podcast in October 2020, “With Robert, [when] I kissed him [I] was like, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me. This is literally like kissing my brother.’ ”

In May 2016, Downey joked Paltrow was his “free pass” in an interview on The Howard Stern Show.

“My free pass is — because her and [his wife] Susan are such good friends — is Paltrow,” the actor said, before jokingly adding, “I gotta get her back in these movies so I can make out with her onscreen again.”

Robert Downey Jr.

JUERGEN TELLER FOR W MAGAZINE

Gwyneth Paltrow Says Robert Downey Jr. ‘Could Probably Always Get Me Back’ into Acting

Also during his W Magazine interview, Downey addressed whether he believes in astrology.

“I’m an Aries. I don’t disbelieve anything, but do we believe there are only 12 kinds of people on Earth?” he said. “We want to feel that the future is not so uncertain and that there’s someone, like a horoscope writer, who knows exactly what we’re going through.”

Asked about his cinematic “boy crush” (“even though I wasn’t even entirely a boy,” he noted), Downey named an acting legend.

“And part of this was enhanced last night watching her take this Icon Award at the Academy Gala — Meryl Streep,” he said. “It might’ve been [in] Deer Hunter. That means I was … 14?”

“Meryl, are you watching this? Call me,” Downey joked.

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