Keke Palmer revealed that she had no trouble getting into character for her love scenes with The Pickup costar Pete Davidson.
“I honestly think he and I have chemistry,” Palmer, 31, revealed to Entertainment Weekly in an interview published on Wednesday, August 6. “Look, I don’t know anybody that Pete don’t have chemistry with. I mean, he’s pretty well-liked in the female world.”
Prime Video’s heist comedy features Palmer as a sly thief named Zoe, who seduces an armored truck driver (Davidson) as part of her plot to rob a casino. In her latest interview, Palmer suggested that she and the former Saturday Night Live star had a genuine “vibe” in real life that easily transferred over to the screen.
“We are two people that don’t really take ourselves seriously,” she pointed out. “My character’s probably a little bit more serious than I present — even though I can be quite serious, she’s more serious than I present.”
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Palmer went on, “I think that made it fun for us to play with, to lean into that kind of awkward romance, which I think we need more of. You know what I mean? Not serious romance. Let’s get back into the humorous romance.”
Even The Pickup’s sexier moments where Palmer and Davidson stripped down weren’t stressful for the actress due to her real-life friendship with her costar.
“First of all, he’s so sweet, so it was comfortable even though we were all naked and stuff like that,” she joked.
Palmer added, “I think, again, we were both really putting our best foot forward. I think it’s a big opportunity for us both. We started out acting and performing as kids. I mean, he started doing standup at 12. I started acting at 9. So I think being at this point in our lives, we’re in our 30s, and we’re working with [costar] Eddie Murphy. For us, it feels like these are the moments that we dreamed of, and so we were just really happy to be there.”
The Pickup’s August 6 release via Prime Video came mere weeks after Davidson and his girlfriend, Elsie Hewitt, confirmed on July 16 that they are expecting their first child together. Davidson later credited his legendary costar Murphy, 64, with giving him “the best” advice on fatherhood.
“He goes, ‘I have no advice,’” Davidson, 31, revealed to Extra on July 27. “He goes, ‘Because you can’t really tell anybody how to raise their own kid. But it’s going to change your life and you’re going to love it, and I’ll know you’ll be good at it.’”
During an appearance on Late Night With Seth Meyers on Wednesday, August 7, Davidson spoke more broadly about feeling overwhelmed with excitement to become a first-time father.
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“I”m stoked. I can’t wait. Let’s go,” the comedian told host Seth Meyers, adding, “I’m so excited. I’ve never been more excited for anything.”
Ride Along director Tim Story’s The Pickup — which also features Eva Longoria, Andrew Dice Clay and NFL legend Marshawn Lynch in its stellar cast — is streaming now via Prime Video.
