Julian Farino, Director of The Union, Explains Why Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry Don’t Share Kissing Scenes: ‘Need to Maintain Distance…’
Halle Berry and Mark Wahlberg collaborated on their newly released spy action comedy thriller, The Union, marking their first movie together. While the project features many action-packed and thrilling scenes, director Julian Farino recently revealed why Berry and Wahlberg never kiss throughout the film, a decision he said was “long debated.” Read on further to know more details!
Director Julian Farino and cast members Halle Berry and Mark Wahlberg recently attended the premiere of their latest film, The Union, at The Egyptian Theatre Hollywood in Los Angeles, where they spoke with Variety and discussed the project. During his candid chat, Farino explained to the publication why Berry and Wahlberg, who play high school sweethearts Roxanne Hall and Mike McKenna, never kiss throughout the film and how skipping this scene builds anticipation for potential future projects.
He said, “We take the relationship to a certain place, and then I think you’ve got to leave a lot of space to go,” before revealing that Netflix had suggested from the start to consider the project as “a possible three-movie idea.” He added that, in his opinion, if the audience is left wanting a kiss, they have likely succeeded in their goal.
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In the movie, Wahlberg plays Mike McKenna, an underachieving construction worker in New Jersey, whose high school sweetheart, Roxanne (Berry), returns to his life, and knowing he’s the right person for the job, she recruits him for a dangerous intelligence mission in Europe. The mission throws them into a world of spies and high-speed car chases, with sparks flying along the way.
The Catwoman actress and Ted actor agreed with the director’s reasoning for skipping the kiss. Berry mentioned that once Mike and Roxanne kiss, it’s over for them, explaining that they hope to continue the “chase” in a potential sequel if it happens, as fans want to see the journey of these two high school sweethearts finding each other.
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Wahlberg agreed with his co-star’s remarks, saying, “If we get to go on and do something else, I would imagine there’ll be a lot more than a kiss.” However, he noted that they would have to wait and see what happens.
The Union is now streaming on Netflix. The movie also features Mike Colter, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Jackie Earle Haley, J. K. Simmons, Alice Lee, James McMenamin, Jessica De Gouw, and Lorraine Bracco.