Over the last few decades, there have been more sitcoms produced than at any other time in the past. Despite that, there is no doubt that the vast majority of those shows made little to no impact since it would be impossible for every show to succeed the way that Friends did. Still, even though sitcoms like The King of Queens never became a sensation at the level of Friends, that doesn’t change the fact that they were extremely successful.
In an ideal world, every time actors play onscreen friends or couples they would get along great behind the scenes. Unfortunately, however, there are many examples of actors who played friends onscreen who hated each other in real life. Despite that, it is still disappointing when fans learn that actors who seem close onscreen have issues when the cameras were off. For example, it has come out that Leah Remini didn’t like kissing Kevin James some of the time when they filmed The King of Queens.
Kevin James and Leah Remini’s Onscreen Chemistry
From 1998 until 2007, millions of The King of Queens fans tuned in regularly as 207 episodes of the highly successful show aired. As is the case with most hit shows, there were a lot of different reasons why people enjoyed The King of Queens. For example, actors like Jerry Stiller, Victor Williams, Patton Oswalt, Nicole Sullivan, and Merrin Dungey all made The King of Queens fans laugh. Despite all of those talented actors playing a role in the show’s success, it is clear that Kevin James and Leah Remini were The King of Queens' main stars.
Cast as Doug and Carrie Heffernan, many people have criticized the fact that Kevin James and Leah Remini portrayed a couple. After all, they are a perfect example of the old cliché that sitcoms cast schlubby men and gorgeous women to play a couple. Despite that valid criticism, there are a lot of reasons why millions of people loved watching James and Remini’s performances as the Heffernans.
When The King of Queens was at its best, it was clear that Kevin James and Leah Remini had loads of chemistry. After all, even though the two actors looked very different, both of them had huge personalities and they were able to play off each other to perfection. In fact, James and Remini were so great together that years after The King of Queens came to an end, they co-starred again when Leah joined the cast of Kevin Can Wait. Of course, it is still worth noting that even though James and Remini were great together, Kevin is the one who really made a fortune from the King of Queens.
Why Some Of Leah Remini And Kevin James Kissing Scenes Were Awkward
When Leah Remini released her memoir “Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology”, a lot of people bought the book hoping for hot gossip. While her book was explosive in a lot of ways, it also could be sweet as evidenced by the fact that Remini went out of her way to praise her The King of Queens co-star Kevin James.
“I had Kevin, who has ruined me for life. He was my first leading man; and despite doing other shows with other leading men, I’ve never found anyone who could compare favorably to him. When I was acting with him, I felt safe.” “I knew that no matter what the joke or the script was, Kevin would find a way to make it better. He was gracious, the kind of actor who would often say, ‘Give Leah the joke instead of me’ — unheard of in a town full of ego-driven males.”
Even though Leah Remini clearly adores Kevin James, that doesn’t mean the two actors always got along. Instead, Remini revealed in her memoir that she fought with James a lot behind the scenes. “Yes, we fought, like many married couples who were together every day for years. And yes, I treated Kevin just like I treated my husband, meaning I drove him crazy like any good wife would. There were days when we didn’t even speak until the cameras were rolling. But we always made up.”
Like most stars, Leah Remini has sat down with Oprah Winfrey in the past and their conversation was pretty revealing. For example, Remini told Winfrey that the fights she had with James sometimes made it very awkward when they had to film kissing scenes. “There were times Kevin and I would argue about something stupid, and we had to kiss but we’d make no eye contact. But that’s because we loved each other. If you don’t care about somebody, you don’t even bother to fight with them. When you tell somebody to go f’ themselves, and they don’t turn around and fight with you, then you know there’s a problem.”
