On screen, their chemistry was electric. As Evelyn Mulwray and private investigator J.J. Gittes, Dunaway and Nicholson delivered performances charged with tension, seduction, and layered complexity. Every glance, every pause between their dialogue, carried emotional weight. The audience was drawn into their psychological dance, unsure whether they were allies or adversaries. Their scenes together felt intimate yet dangerous, making the unraveling mystery in “Chinatown” feel personal and painfully human. But much of that electricity came from a reality far removed from acting it stemmed from an underlying discomfort that neither performer tried to hide.

Dunaway approached her craft with precision and emotional intensity. She believed in fully inhabiting her characters, often blurring the lines between performance and personal experience. Evelyn, a woman haunted by trauma and surrounded by lies, became an emotionally taxing role. Dunaway carried that weight off screen as well, remaining in character for long stretches. Nicholson, by contrast, took a looser, more instinctive approach. He relied on wit, spontaneity, and an ability to shift in and out of character effortlessly. Their opposing styles became an unspoken battleground, creating a quiet but palpable friction.

Roman Polanski, always meticulous, was well aware of their differences and did little to smooth the tension. He believed that conflict between actors could serve the story, and in this case, he was right. Polanski pushed both Dunaway and Nicholson to their limits, especially in emotionally volatile scenes. One of the most intense moments in the film when Gittes slaps Evelyn repeatedly, demanding answers was the result of multiple takes over a grueling day. Dunaway’s discomfort was clear, and Nicholson’s frustration with the scene’s repetition simmered under the surface. But Polanski refused to ease up until he saw the rawness he wanted. The final result remains one of the most gut-wrenching scenes in cinema history.

That tension, real and unspoken, bled into every corner of the film. Nicholson later said he respected Dunaway’s talent deeply but never found a personal connection with her. He described their working relationship as focused and professional but devoid of warmth. “We didn’t have the kind of friendship that makes things easy,” he admitted in an interview. “But that’s what the film needed. It wasn’t supposed to be easy.”

Dunaway, in her own reflections, made it clear she had felt alone during much of the production. She spoke of being misunderstood by both Nicholson and Polanski, saying that her intensity was often dismissed as difficult behavior. She once recalled, “I wasn’t trying to be difficult. I was trying to protect the truth of the character. Evelyn was complicated, fragile, hiding so much. I couldn’t turn that off between takes.” She acknowledged that Nicholson’s unpredictable energy kept her constantly alert, which, in turn, sharpened her performance. “You can’t be lazy with Jack. You never know what he’s going to do next.”

Their lack of camaraderie continued beyond filming. During the promotional tour for “Chinatown”, they were rarely interviewed together. Studio handlers often scheduled their press appearances separately. When they did appear in public as co-stars, their body language was polite but distant. Fans speculated about the frosty dynamic, but neither actor addressed it directly at the time.

Over the years, both Dunaway and Nicholson spoke about the film with pride but continued to keep their comments about each other brief and carefully worded. There was no talk of reconciliation or friendship, only mutual acknowledgment of what they had accomplished. They both knew what they had given to “Chinatown”, and they both knew what it had cost them. There was no affection, only respect and recognition of the intense energy that had made their performances unforgettable.

Their scenes live on not because they were comfortable together but because they were not. The lack of trust between them mirrored the complex relationship between Evelyn and Gittes. The emotional discomfort added a sense of realism that no script could manufacture.