Top 10 TV Enemies Who LOVE Each Other in Real Life

As “The Flash,” Grant Gustin is living out a rivalry that spans centuries, multiple realities and timelines with the Reverse Flash, often played by Tom Cavanagh. But off screen, they’re the best of buds. Besides posting pictures of one another on social media and hanging out together on set, the duo has also collaborated together on side projects, like a short film about inept bank robbers, aptly titled, “Tom and Grant.” As much as their characters might bump heads, this duo apparently enjoys working together so much they came up with an excuse to do so even more often!

The drug business seems an odd place for friendships to bloom, particularly between bitter rivals. In “Breaking Bad”, Bryan Cranston plays chemistry teacher turned meth cook Walter White, while Giancarlo Esposito portrays Gustavo Fring, Walter’s boss turned mortal enemy. The two drug lords may try their best to be rid of one another, but their mutual respect is apparent both on and off the screen; both have praised the other’s acting, and Cranston has gone so far as to call Esposito a “dear friend.”

One of the most bizarre friendships in TV history occurs between the infamous cannibal serial killer and psychiatrist Hannibal Lecter and his FBI profiler colleague, Will Graham. As the two come to see each other for who they really are, they develop a weird kind of friendship - while simultaneously threatening each others’ lives. Then again, maybe it isn’t so farfetched, since their actors have been friends for years, ever since appearing in the 2004 version of “King Arthur” together. Whether they’re in front of the camera or not, these two have a friendship that’s so delectable you could just eat them both up. Figuratively speaking, of course.

“Riverdale” may be based on Archie comics, but its characters and setting are far darker, weirder, and more murder-prone than its source material. That being said, Betty Cooper is still the girl next door, and Cheryl Blossom is still a schemer, and so their relationship on-screen, like in the comics, is still frequently defined by mutual animosity. When not on camera though, their actresses, Lili Reinhart and Madelaine Petsch, are actually quite close. Not only did they live together as roommates, but Petsch has called Reinhardt her best friend; the two of them even help one another with their skin care routines! Now that’s friendship.

Daryl Dixon and Negan are two badass zombie apocalypse survivors with very different outlooks on life. On-screen, they fight on opposing sides, but the actors who play them are best described as brothers from different mothers in the real world. Norman Reedus and Jeffrey Dean Morgan are very good friends in real life, spending time riding motorcycles and getting up to all sorts of shenanigans that are far less violent than what the tyrannical Negan would call “fun.” If a zombie apocalypse does happen, we’d definitely want to follow these two, since they’d undoubtedly prove to be a formidable team.

Snow White and her stepmother the Evil Queen may be family, but they’re hardly friends on “Once Upon a Time”. Each has good reasons to despise the other, mostly stemming from them both blaming each other for the death of a loved one - (again) usually with some merit. Yet Ginnifer Goodwin and Lana Parrilla are good friends behind the scenes. Parrilla has repeatedly congratulated Goodwin on her role as Judy Hopps in “Zootopia,” as well as praising her relationship with Goodwin’s real life Prince Charming, Josh Dallas, calling them “the perfect couple.” Sounds like Snow White and Evil Queen could learn a few things from these two!

Ruby is a demon who forms a relationship with Sam Winchester, despite the hunter of supernatural beings frequently going after her kind. As it so happens, she was only using him to free Lucifer from imprisonment. Fortunately, actors Cortese and Padalecki have a far healthier relationship in real life, with their characters’ false romance leading to a real one between them, and eventually to marriage. Dean’s actor Jensen Ackles would also get a chance to act alongside his wife Danneel Harris-Ackles in an adversarial role too, but not to quite the degree as Genevieve and Jared.

#3: Jim Parsons & Wil Wheaton “The Big Bang Theory” (2007-19)

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The animosity between Sheldon Cooper and a fictionalized version of actor Wil Wheaton spans seasons on “The Big Bang Theory”. In fact, it actually predates the events of the show, with the grudge beginning when a young Sheldon was disappointed by Wil Wheaton missing a convention appearance. Sheldon’s hatred towards Wheaton, which waxes and wanes during the show’s long run, thankfully isn’t shared by his actor, however, as Jim Parsons and the real Wheaton get along well. The two of them have exchanged messages on social media expressing well wishes for each other, which is certainly friendlier than being on someone’s “enemy list”.

#2: Jenna Fischer & Angela Kinsey “The Office” (2005-13)

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Pam Beesly rarely sees eye to eye with prim and judgmental accountant Angela Martin. Angela sees Pam as promiscuous, despite very little evidence (and Angela hardly being one to cast that stone), while Pam naturally clashes with the icy blonde over everything from party-planning to which colors are “whorish”. But in real life, actresses Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey are self-described BFFs, developing a close, lasting friendship during their 9 years on “The Office,” a period they’re currently revisiting on a podcast they’ve started together. You know you’re friends for life when you’ve got matching outfits! Before we get to our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions: Benedict Cumberbatch & Andrew Scott “Sherlock” (2010-17) Andrew Lincoln & David Morrissey “The Walking Dead” (2010-) Iwan Rheon & Alfie Allen “Game of Thrones” (2011-19)

Cersei and Tyrion Lannister may be siblings, but they certainly don’t love each other; at least not in the that way Cersei loves her other broth-…you know what, bad example! These two characters but can’t help but bicker whenever they’re in the same scene, and that’s on a good day; each has wished the other dead on many occasions. Yet this enmity doesn’t extend to the actors who portray them. Peter Dinklage and Lena Headey were known to joke around on-set, and the two of them were even roommates during filming. If only their characters could have been as nice to one another. Ahem. Platonically.