Ben Falcone on the Awkward Moment Wife Melissa McCarthy Accidentally Declared Her Love for Co-Star (Exclusive)

McCarthy and Falcone star alongside Bobby Cannavale in the new HBO Max flick, Superintelligence, releasing on Thanksgiving Day.

Awkward! Melissa McCarthy’s husband, Ben Falcone, is filling ET in on the hilarious moment his wife declared her love for their co-star.

McCarthy, 50, and Falcone, 47, star alongside Bobby Cannavale in the new HBO Max flick, Superintelligence, releasing on Thanksgiving Day. Falcone also directed the comedy, which marks his 14th film starring alongside McCarthy, and his fourth time directing her.

However, it’s Cannavale’s character, George, rather than Falcone’s character who McCarthy's alter-ego, Carol Peters, finds herself romanced by.

So, what does Falcone think about witnessing his wife get cozy with Cannavale, 50?

“It's totally fine. You know, Melissa's made out with lots of guys,” he told ET’s Kevin Frazier, before McCarthy hilariously chimed in, “That's before I started acting.”

“It's part of the job, so I don't think it's something any of us thought about it as much as people think we think about it,” Falcone continued. “Though, I will say there was one point in the movie in which she has to give this speech about all these different things. She's supposed to say, ‘I know I love George,’ and what she does say is, ‘I know I love Bobby.’ I was like, ‘Hold on man.’”

“I said that like three times,” McCarthy added. “Ben's like, ‘Woah, woah, woah.’"

As for who calls the shots between the pair, who have been married for 15 years, they agreed working together is a collaborative effort. Falcone, in fact, noted that he welcomes ideas from anyone he is directing.

“Melissa and I have to collaborate every day, but we have to collaborate every day on set with every single person, crew member, cast member,” Falcone explained. “It's a total collaboration, so to me, if Bobby wants to do it a certain way, why not? If somebody wants to bring something to what you're doing, unless it seems crazy in some way, [it can usually] lead to a better idea than you were at in the first place.”

McCarthy stars as a woman who has been selected for observation by the world’s first superintelligence, and finds herself impacting its decision on whether humanity is worth saving. The actress said the script gave her hope and that she believes the relevance of the plot has only grown since filming.
 
“We shot this two years ago and it's strangely more relevant today than it was then -- our dance with technology, [whether] it's friend or foe and [how] at the end of the day, you can have every gadget you want but what wins is love and having that connection with people and real human care and kindness,” she said. “It will always win and I think that's what this movie says.”

Speaking of kindness, McCarthy and Falcone helped launched the campaign, 20 Days of Kindness, which benefits a different charity every day leading up to the film’s release.

“We were talking about how loud negativity and hate can be and started thinking how it's not that it's more impactful [or] stronger -- it's just flashier,” explained McCarthy, who’s also shooting an upcoming Hulu mini-series with Cannavale and Nicole Kidman. “So, we were like, ‘If we think kindness wins and we know love wins, let's shine the light on love and people.’”

“We started a kindness hub at www.20daysofkindness.com,” McCarthy continued. “We've chosen 20 charities that we're giving $20,000 to and we're highlighting [them.] People can go check it out, donate a dollar, donate 50 cents. A little bit of love goes a long way.”

See more on McCarthy and Falcone below.

RELATED CONTENT:

Latest News