The most memorable duos in Hollywood history

Ever since Good Will Hunting , these two have been tied together. To be fair, that was a big hit and also won them an Oscar for screenwriting. They’ve acted together a few times since, though. Their most recent collaboration is the Ridley Scott movie The Last Duel.

Scorsese has had a few frequent collaborators. However, to us, nobody is more synonymous with “Marty” than De Niro. They broke out together in Mean Streets. De Niro starred in what many think is Scorsese’s masterpiece Raging Bull. Do you think Goodfellas is his best film? Guess what? De Niro is also in that one.

Owen Wilson has been in several of Anderson’s films, including The Royal Tenenbaums and The Darjeeling Limited. However, their collaborations date back to when they went to college together. Wilson worked as a writer on three of Anderson’s films, including his debut, Bottle Rocket.

Granted, on-screen, Ball and Arnaz are mostly remembered for I Love Lucy. That was one of the first hit sitcoms, a show so iconic it remains remembered. While filming that show, they also made a couple of movies together. The married couple (who divorced in 1960 after their sitcom ended) were also vital cogs in Hollywood due to their studio Desilu. Without Desilu, we may not have gotten Star Trek.

Hepburn and Tracy won multiple Oscars in their careers. Tracy and Hepburn were so iconic that they have their own Wikipedia page as a duo. They made nine movies together, culminating with Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? which Tracy died soon after finishing.

Crosby had a massive career as a singer and actor, while Hope will forever be synonymous with comedy of his era. When they collaborated, they became a comedic force to be reckoned with. Hope and Crosby are known for their "Road to" movies, a series of films where they both got to play into — and against — their well-known personas. They made seven of them in total. Although, we should also shout out Dorothy Lamour, who appeared in six of the movies.

If you have seen Reilly’s work outside his collaborations with Ferrell, you can see what a talented, serious actor he can be. Then, you watch a Ferrell comedy like Step Brothers or Talladega Nights. If that is how you know Reilly, you might think he is one of the goofiest, most absurd comedic actors. Both are true.

Hoffman was arguably the greatest actor of his generation, and Anderson made great use of his skill. The two worked together several times, culminating in The Master, which Hoffman more than deserved an Oscar for. Sadly, Hoffman’s untimely death ended their time working together, but life is full of twists and turns. Anderson’s 2021 film Licorice Pizza stars Cooper Hoffman, PSH’s son.

They called them “Bogey and Bacall” on-screen and in their personal lives as a couple. The two only made four movies together, but what an impact they made. It was enough for them to be considered one of their era's preeminent screen couples (and couples, period). Noirs like The Big Sleep and Key Largo were bolstered by their chemistry.

Hey, the Golden Globes are part of showbiz, and Fey and Poehler have made a splash hosting together. Before that, they were at the “Weekend Update” desk on Saturday Night Live for a while. Also, they’ve been in several movies together. Fey and Poehler are great friends who make a great pair on screen.

In Joe vs. the Volcano, Hanks interacts with three different characters played by Ryan. That alone could get them on this list. However, their status as romcom Hall of Famers also relies on resumes that include Sleepless in Seattle and You’ve Got Mail.

Depp loves to do goth dress-up. Burton loves filming people in goth dress-up. It’s a match made in Heaven. Sometimes, it works out great, like in Edward Scissorhands. Sometimes we get Alice in Wonderland. Either way, these two are tied together.

Johnson and Hart are one of our top modern comedy duos. This is so much the case that Hart showed up in Hobbs and Shaw in a cameo for no reason. They are key to the surprisingly good Jumanji movies and have done other films together sold entirely on their partnership.

Tarantino likes to work with actors repeatedly. Jackson has been in, like, two million films. Both have frequent collaborators is what we’re saying. Ultimately, we feel they are synonymous with one another more than anybody else.

Rogen and Franco were both in Freaks and Geeks, and that was just the beginning of a series of collaborations. Perhaps the pinnacle came in Pineapple Express, a very effective action-comedy. However, allegations against Franco have put a kibosh on this duo, ending their run at a whopping 11 films.

Frost owes his career to Pegg in some ways. When the two met, Frost was just a waiter, and Pegg thought he was funny. They became friends, and Frost got a role in Pegg’s sitcom Spaced when he had basically no acting experience. That led to Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and a successful career for both of them. Frost has done plenty away from Pegg as well. While his friend may have given him a leg up, he had the skills to make it happen himself.

Sandler loves to work with his friends. You can always count on, say, Rob Schneider or David Spade to pop up in his movies. Still, we remember Sandler and Barrymore working together more than any cameo from Schneider where he’s doing a lot of comedy business. They made a few romcoms to varying success, but they are tied together in that realm.

Pryor was a live-wire standup, while Wilder was a gentle, talented actor. You might not think they would work together all that well. And yet, they became a preeminent comedy partnership for a moment. Starting with Silver Streak, they would end up making four films together.

Newman and Redford are often linked together. They seem like an iconic Hollywood duo. Would you believe they only made three movies together? It’s true. Granted, two of them are Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid and The Sting. The latter won Best Picture. 

The collaborations between Lemmon and Matthau span decades. They made The Fortune Cookie together in 1966. In 1998, they joined forces for The Odd Couple II. In between, they made several films together and cemented their legacy for generations.

They worked separately — Rogers even won an Oscar for dramatic work — but Astaire and Rogers will always be joined in our memories. Their dances were the stuff of legend. How many other actors do you remember for their dance work? These two were superstars of early Hollywood, dancing into our hearts.

Fonda and Tomlin first worked together on the hit ‘80s comedy 9 to 5. There was not a ton of collaboration between the two for a while. Then, in 2015, they started working together on the Netflix show Grace and Frankie. The show ran for many years and engrained the idea of Fonda and Tomlin as a duo.

Short’s first real film role of any note was in Three Amigos , which co-starred Martin. Since then, they’ve become thought of as always working together, even if that isn’t always the case. In recent years it has been. The two share comedic sensibilities, which led to a touring night of comedy, which then led to a Netflix special. Now, they are starring together with Selena Gomez in the Hulu comedy Only Murders in the Building.

Ringwald wasn’t a big star for very long, which is not a knock. She’s had a long, successful career. But in the ‘80s, she starred in three big teen comedies in three consecutive years. Two of them were written and directed by Hughes, while the other was written by him. They are Hughes and Ringwald’s biggest movies, which ensures they are remembered together.

These two longtime comedy icons got some late-career love from the public and the Emmys for Schitt’s Creek. However, they have been working together for a long time. If you have seen any of Christopher Guest’s mockumentaries, you know that he often pairs Levy and O’Hara together. You also know that typically they are the best thing in his movies. If you want, go back even further to the “SCTV” days. In the end, Levy and O’Hara are a truly beloved comedy duo.