Matthew Rhys pitched a crossover between Widow's Bay and partner Keri Russell's show The Diplomat at Brunswick Corporation's Brooklyn Bridge Marina event.
Rhys jokingly told E! News that he wants to arrange a G7 summit episode on Widow's Bay bringing together Russell's Ambassador Kate Wyler and his character, Mayor Tom Loftis.
"I would be on The Diplomat in a heartbeat," Rhys told E! News in an exclusive interview. "I think she would be in Widow's Bay in a heartbeat. We just need to start getting the creatives... Actually, I would really do a crossover episode whereby there's some kind of G7 on Widow's Bay."
Rhys added, "Yeah, that would happen. That would definitely happen. Let's work towards the crossover, the merging of the two."
Rhys and Russell have not shared the screen since The Americans ended in 2018, though both would jump at the chance to appear on each other's Emmy-nominated series. Rhys noted that world leaders often visit New England and nearby islands off the coast. While how Kate Wyler and Tom Loftis cross paths remains to be seen, Rhys joked about the fate of Rufus Sewell's character, Hal Wyler: "He'd have to die."
As creator Katie Dippold and writers begin mapping out season two of Widow's Bay, 51-year-old Rhys hopes Tom Loftis will face a "Dracula-Frankenstein mashup" monster. He also wants more time filming on actual water rather than a soundstage.
Rhys recalled that filming the fan-favorite "Seasickness" episode, which featured Jaws homages on a soundstage, came after he envisioned spending time aboard a vessel. "And then the episode came where Tom has no experience of being on a boat," Rhys mused. "He's the one wearing the full life jacket and is very nervous on the boat. So that was always a little trickier for me because I had to act being bad on a boat. It wasn't trickier. It was more annoying, if anything."
The Beast in Me and Brothers & Sisters alum now wants to pitch a story where Tom Loftis is stranded alone at sea. "I think Tom Loftis just being alone in a boat would be his nightmare," Rhys explained, "and having to figure out how, either how to operate it or how to navigate or how to make his way home. In fact, I might pitch that idea. I think it's a great idea. That's a real horror story for him and could be a lot of fun for me to film." He joked about a positive outcome where viewers see "how he overcomes it" and "How what a joyous moment the end is, and when he realizes boating is actually great."
Filming the horror comedy in Massachusetts towns like Gloucester and Rockport fulfilled a personal dream for Rhys. "Being in places like Gloucester, Rockport," he said, "to me was like the dream. Real proper salty towns with such a maritime history that shooting up there was everything I'd ever wanted."
Offscreen, Rhys detailed taking over the Brooklyn Bridge Marina two years ago with about 10 partners due to financial trouble. "So we took it over with a very firm mandate of like, 'How do we, in the greatest city on earth, with its greatest asset being water, and that water being so inaccessible to people, how do we make it accessible to everyone, to those who wouldn't think of it, who think they can't afford it?'"
The marina partnered with Brunswick Corporation, parent of boat makers Boston Whaler and Sea Ray, to broaden access through programs like a youth sailing club. Rhys also highlighted Brooklyn Boat Works, which is in about 15 schools where students build boat kits over a year before sailing them at the marina, and partnerships with the Billion Oyster Project on clean water stewardship.
Co-Stars Who Found Romance On Set
Rhys and Russell first met ten years before starring together on The Americans. Rhys confessed on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen: "We actually met a very long long time ago. I very drunkenly asked her for her number when she was a young, single, slip of a thing, so I sort of knew then when I was 26." They quietly began dating in 2014 while playing married KGB spies, welcoming son Sam in May 2016. Russell also has son River Deary and daughter Willa Deary from her previous marriage.
Ryan Gosling previously dated co-stars Sandra Bullock and Rachel McAdams before meeting Eva Mendes on the set of The Place Beyond the Pines. Dating quietly since 2013, the couple share daughters Esmeralda and Amada. Speaking on Sydney's Nova 96.9 in October 2020, New York & Company designer Mendes said: "I was lucky enough to work my bum off for 20 years. I never wanted babies before until I fell in love with Ryan, and then it just kind of worked out to where I was 40 and having my first baby and then I think I was 42 with my second one, so it worked out in that way that I had a career and then I changed my focus to my family." Mendes told E! News she wants to work with Gosling again: "My most fun experience was being on set with him when he was directing. It was really so creatively satisfying being in it together and he's such an amazing director."
Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton met on The Voice set, dating since November 2015 after bonding over their respective divorces. Shelton recalled to Billboard: "Gwen saved my life. Who else on earth could understand going through a high-profile divorce from another musician?" They got engaged in October 2020 and married in July 2021 in an intimate ceremony. Officiant Carson Daly told Today the nuptials were "a perfect blend of country and glamour," describing them as "comfort food with class" like "delicious fried chicken with a glass of champagne."
Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos met in 1995 playing love interests on soap opera All My Children before eloping to Las Vegas on May 1, 1996. Consuelos told Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live he knew early on: "We would go out with groups of people from work and slowly each date would go that the groups started getting smaller and smaller until it was just us two." Ripa revealed on the Comments By Celebs podcast in 2018: "We broke up and we got back together the day before we went off and eloped." Nearly three decades and three children later, Riverdale star Consuelos and morning host Ripa now cohost Live.
Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly met on the 2020 set of Midnight in the Switchgrass, directed by Randall Emmett. Fox quietly separated from husband of nine years Brian Austin Green, father of her three children, in late 2019. On Emmett and Lala Kent's podcast in July 2020, Fox recalled asking who was in the empty chair: "And [Emmett] was like, 'Oh, we just got Machine Gun Kelly,' and immediately, I was like, 'Uh oh.' Because I knew, I could feel that some wild s--t was going to happen to me from that meeting..." Fox called Colson Baker her "twin flame," starred in his music video, got matching tattoos, and got engaged in January 2022. Though since split, they welcomed daughter Saga Blade Fox-Baker in March 2025. MGK told Today in June 2025: "Megan is a great mom. She's killing it. I'm so excited."
Television Sets That Sparked Real Life Love
Kit Harington fell in love with Rose Leslie while filming season two of HBO's Game of Thrones as Jon Snow and Ygritte in Iceland. Harington told Vogue Italia: "Because the country is beautiful, because the Northern Lights are magical, and because it was there that I fell in love. If you're already attracted to someone, and then they play your love interest in the show, it becomes very easy to fall in love." They married in June 2018 and have two children whose names are private.
Macaulay Culkin and Brenda Song met filming 2019 movie Changeland, surprising director Seth Green who told Esquire: "I didn't see that one coming." Song told Entertainment Tonight they bonded as former child actors: "You just look each other in the eye and you nod and we know." Engaged since 2022, they have two children, Dakota Song Culkin and Carson Song Culkin.
Sarah Shahi and Adam Demos met playing former lovers Billie and Brad on Netflix's Sex/Life, going public in December 2020. Shahi told E! News: "With him, it's just that easy. I just have to look at him and 99 percent of my work is done for me. I'm falling in love with the person in real life, but I'm falling for the person on camera." The couple split in April 2025.
Emily VanCamp and Josh Bowman met on ABC's Revenge and married Dec. 15, 2018 after more than a decade together. They welcomed daughter Iris in August 2021, writing on Instagram: "Welcome to the world our sweet little Iris. Our hearts are full." Daughter Rio Rose joined the family in March 2024.
Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick met on the set of 1988 PBS movie Lemon Sky and married later that year. They are parents to composer son Travis Bacon and actress daughter Sosie Bacon.
Jared Padalecki met Genevieve Cortese when she joined Supernatural season four as demon Ruby. They married in 2010 in Sun Valley, Idaho, after a two-month engagement, with TV brother Jensen Ackles as groomsman. They later co-starred on Walker as husband and deceased wife in flashbacks, and share sons Thomas and Austin, and daughter Odette.
Film Sets and Offscreen Romances
Josh Dallas and Ginnifer Goodwin met on ABC's Once Upon a Time playing Prince Charming and Snow White. Dallas told People in 2012: "It hit me like a blinding light. I thought, 'I'm in trouble now.'" Goodwin told Kelly Ripa she knew on their first date to Disneyland on Big Thunder Mountain when Dallas exclaimed, "This is the best day of my life." They engaged in October 2013, married in April 2014, and share sons Oliver and Hugo. Manifest star Dallas told Live with Kelly and Ryan he hopes to work with her again.
Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn first met on 1968's The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band, but fell in love filming 1984's Swing Shift. Hawn told BBC News they originally vowed never to date another actor. They also starred in Overboard in 1988 and played Santa and Mrs. Claus in Netflix's The Christmas Chronicles. Partners for over 40 years, they share son Wyatt Russell alongside children Oliver Hudson, Kate Hudson, and Boston Russell. Asked their secret, Russell told E! News: "Do it every 33 years, first of all!"
Wyatt Russell met Meredith Hagner filming 2016 movie Folk Hero & Funny Guy and later appeared in Ingrid Goes West. Engaged in 2018, they married in 2019 at Goldie Hawn's Aspen home in a Western-themed ceremony. They have sons Buddy Prine Russell, born November 2021, and Boone Joseph Russell, born February 2024.
Kate Mara and Jamie Bell met on the 2014 Fantastic Four reboot, sparking dating rumors at a May 2015 Met Gala after-party before marrying in July 2017. Bell told E! News: "It feels like we've been married for years." A Teacher star Mara announced her daughter's birth in May 2019 and son's birth in November 2022 on Instagram with photos of their feet. Bell also shares son Jack Bell with ex-wife Evan Rachel Wood.
Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara met on 2013 film Her and reconnected on 2018's Mary Magdalene, filmed in 2017 in Italy. They made their red carpet debut at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival and engaged in 2019. The Joker star Phoenix thanked Mara during his Best Actor Oscar speech, crying: "I love you." Director Victor Kossakovsky announced at the 2020 Zurich Film Festival that they welcomed son River, named after Phoenix's late brother who died in 1993 at age 23.
Ryan Bingham and Hassie Harrison met on the Yellowstone set, confirming their romance in April 2022 with a campfire kiss photo captioned "More than a spark." Harrison replied "I love you, cowboy," and the married couple continue to ride together.
Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer met filming True Blood season one in 2008. Moyer told E! News in 2009: "There's no one I'd rather work with." Engaged in 2009, they married in August 2010 and welcomed twins Poppy and Charlie in 2012.
Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen met on 1993 film Pontiac Moon after both vowed off relationships, bonding while paddling in sync in a canoe. Celebrating their 25th anniversary in October 2020, Book Club star Steenburgen told Closer she is "ridiculously in love," while The Good Place star Danson called himself "the luckiest."
Grace Van Patten and Jackson White met on Hulu's Tell Me Lies. White confirmed their romance with 2022 CFDA Awards photobooth photos, posting a kissing picture captioned: "if we kiss can we get a s2 @hulu," which successfully secured season two.
