When Russell Brand talked about kissing Meghan Markle, people were right to be dubious. The two never dated, of course, but they did work together on the set of a film. It was during that film that Russell kissed Meghan, but only because it was in the script.
Of course, it’s entirely possible that Russell had no hand in creating the scenario, yet he still bragged about it years later.
Meghan Markle Was An Actress Long Before Marrying Into The Royal Family
Sure, she’s famous for plenty of royal controversy these days, and for being married to Prince Harry, but Meghan Markle hasn’t always been a big name because of those ties. The former actress was active in Hollywood, even if mainstream audiences didn’t know who she was pre-marriage.
Meghan Markle is probably best known today for her time on Suits, but that wasn’t her only acting gig. Early on, Meghan worked on Deal or No Deal, working on over 30 episodes, though she later quit and seemed to criticize the gig.
Meghan snagged other jobs before that, but most were bit parts, like an uncredited gig on Married… with Children. She went on to appear in various TV series with small parts, like as a police officer on CSI: Miami and a Junior FBI Agent on Fringe (for two episodes).
Mixed in there was a 2010 film where Meghan worked with none other than Russell Brand, who was—at the time—in high demand. Of course, that doesn’t mean Russell necessarily remembers the moment he’s been bragging about.
Meghan Markle Acted In ‘Get Him To The Greek’ With Russell Brand (And Jonah Hill)
Was Meghan Markle in Get Him to the Greek? Yep. It turns out Russell Brand did kiss Meghan Markle while they were working together, but only because it was in the script. Yet Russell didn’t really remember the scenario and was apparently pleased to learn he had actually kissed the one-time royal.
In 2010’s Get Him to the Greek, Jonah Hill (an intern at a record company) is hired to get Russell (a rock star) to a concert. The film is filled with hilarious moments where Aaron (Hill) tries to keep Aldous (Brand) on track.
Interestingly, the film definitely cast Russell in the right character; he played an “out-of-control British rock star” during a time when he was struggling with personal issues himself. In Brand’s own recollection of filming, which took place in 2009, he was “still out of it.”
It’s unclear what he meant, exactly, by that; he has previously claimed to have been clean since 2002.
Brand said he didn’t remember the movie that much, though he called it a “bloody good film,” recalling that he had forgotten all about the scene (and Meghan) in the years afterward.
In 2018, when he was asked about “snogging” Meghan ahead of her wedding to Prince Harry, he said, “I think I planted one on her in the scene. It was scripted in the scene. I only know this because I think I saw a clip of it somewhere.”
To Russell’s credit, he did redirect the interview at first, suggesting that the wedding was that Saturday (after the interview) and they needed to “focus!” A few moments later, he joked about stopping the wedding because of the kiss.
Russell’s Ex-Wife Katy Perry Was In ‘Get Him To The Greek’ Too
The 2009 filming of Get Him to the Greek might be memorable for different reasons today, but for Brand, it was memorable for a different reason before Meghan Markle became famous.
Russell met Katy Perry on the set of the film, in which she had a cameo that was later cut, and the two wound up getting engaged that same year (on New Year’s Eve) and married the next.
The divorce was scandalous during its time, and Katy even cut all communication with her ex after he dumped her via text.
What Other Actors Has Meghan Markle Kissed?
Like any actor (former or otherwise), Meghan Markle has been in plenty of projects that involve acting out relationships with people other than her current spouse (or her ex-spouse). In addition to playing a random girl at a party (her character was named Tatiana, but the role was uncredited), Meghan had other gigs where she kissed co-stars.
While playing Rachel on Suits, Meghan kissed at least two co-stars; Patrick J. Adams as Mike and Brendan Hines (as Logan). Meghan even led a TV film (from the Hallmark Channel) which also involved some on-screen smooches with her co-stars Kristoffer Polaha and Jonathan Scarfe.
There was also 2015’s Anti-Social, where Meghan kissed Gregg Sulkin, and various other TV shows and films, too, so she’s racked up many on-screen kisses even though she has since quit acting.
Clearly, Russell was not the only actor privileged enough to kiss the Duchess, but to date, he appears to be the only one who’s given interviews and seemingly bragged about it.
