Peter Dinklage accidentally 'drank' costar Haley Bennett's snot during the emotional final scenes of 'Cyrano': 'It's not romantic at all'
- Haley Bennett and Peter Dinklage star as Roxanne and Cyrano in the film "Cyrano," out February 25.
- The pair previously played the same roles in Erica Schmidt's stage musical in 2018.
Haley Bennett said that Peter Dinklage inadvertently "drank" her snot during some of their performances of the stage musical version of "Cyrano," which was the inspiration for Joe Wright's new film adaptation that first premiered at Telluride Film Festival in September 2021.
Dinklage and Bennett star in Wright's film as Cyrano de Bergerac and Roxanne, respectively. The pair previously played the same roles opposite each other in Erica Schmidt's stage musical adaptation of the original Edmond Rostand play during the musical's 2018 run at the Goodspeed Opera House, Playbill reported.
"He drinks my snot a lot," Bennett told Insider during a recent press day for the film. "He drank a lot on stage. For some reason, when we would be onstage together during that tragic ending, it never failed that my snot would just drip into his mouth. And after the curtains closed, I'd be like, 'I'm so sorry.'"
Both the film and the stage musical are based on the story of Rostand's original, often-adapted play. In love with Roxanne but full of self-doubt, Cyrano de Bergerac ghostwrites love letters to her on behalf of his subordinate Christian, whom Roxanne has fallen in love with. At the end of the story, Roxanne realizes that Cyrano was the one who had been writing the letters, moments before he dies.
It's an emotional moment that involves lots of tears. And also, apparently, sometimes snot.
"He drank my snot. It's not romantic at all," Bennett told Insider. "Like, the process of making the film is not romantic at all, if you could see what was going on behind the curtains."
Reprising the roles that they had already played on stage, Bennett said, was a boon, and they "picked back up where we left off" while working on the film.
"I love him," Bennett said of Dinklage, who was nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance in the film. "I respect him as an actor. He's so talented and he gives so much."
"It was really useful knowing someone so well, and knowing each other's rhythms, and so I really enjoyed that process," she added. "I guess it would be how some people do television shows for years and years."
"Cyrano" will be in theaters February 25.