Nearly 25 years later, one of the Olsen Twins‘ leading men is reflecting on the problematic nature of their onscreen romance.
Austin Nichols, who starred alongside the twins in 2001’s Holiday in the Sun, recalled that his kiss scene with Mary-Kate Olsen “felt wrong,” acknowledging that she and Ashley were “children” at the time.
“I was definitely nervous because Mary-Kate was 15, and I was, I think, 18 or 19, or maybe even 20,” he said on the Drama Queens podcast. “I don’t remember, but I was too old, and it felt weird, and it felt wrong. And, you know, I looked very young, so watching the movie, I don’t think you notice. I’m real tall and skinny and, like, nerdy, but I don’t think you can tell there’s a big age difference, but for my brain, was like, she’s 15, this is not, this is weird.”
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Nichols continued, “So I remember talking to producers and I remember talking to even her dad was there and … I was like, ‘Is this okay with you guys?’ And they were all like, ‘Oh, don’t worry about it.’ Nobody was you know, nobody seemed concerned, and I was very concerned, but it turned out fine. It was all very G-rated.”
In Holiday in the Sun, Mary-Kate and Ashley played teen twins Madison and Alex, who accompany their parents on vacation to the Bahamas, where they stumble up on a smuggling ring and find romance.
The Olsens made their onscreen debut at 9 months old as Michelle Tanner on ABC’s Full House. Before they were 18 they had led 20 projects including the movies How the West Was Fun (1994), It Takes Two (1995), Billboard Dad (1998), Passport to Paris (1999), Our Lips Are Sealed (2000) and New York Minute (2004), as well as the shows Two of a Kind (1998-1999) and So Little Time (2001-2002).
“It’s one of those things … where, when you’re young and you’re trying to make your career as an actor and do all these cool projects, when you have this one that you feel is maybe a little silly, I had to give that up years ago because people love it,” added Nichols.
The post Austin Nichols Admits Kissing 15-Year-Old Mary-Kate Olsen In ‘Holiday In The Sun’ “Felt Wrong” appeared first on Deadline.