Richard Burton said Ian McShane reminded him of Elizabeth Taylor during sex scene

“I said: ‘Well, that’s nice.’”

Richard Burton once shot a steamy scene with Ian McShane — and the resemblance between the Deadwood star and Burton’s then-wife made it an easy sequence.

In a Q&A with The Guardian, the John Wick star recalled shooting a love scene with Burton for the 1971 gangster film Villain. “Richard was terrific,” McShane remembered. “I think he was very underrated when we did Villain and I played his bisexual driver fixer, Wolfie. There’s the infamous scene where we’re about to get it on and he looked at me and said: ‘I’m very glad you’re playing this part.’ I said: ‘Really, Richard?’ He said: ‘Yes, because you remind me of Elizabeth.’ I said: ‘Well, that’s nice.’”

The Elizabeth in question, of course, was Burton’s then-wife Elizabeth Taylor. Burton and Taylor first married in 1964 and were one of Hollywood’s most iconic couples at the time, starring in over a dozen projects together, including Cleopatra and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (which won Taylor her second Academy Award).

The couple ultimately divorced in 1974, and Burton was briefly engaged to Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia before remarrying Taylor in 1975. They then divorced again in 1976.

Related: Kyle MacLachlan recalls Elizabeth Taylor 'had to have a gift every day' on The Flintstones set

In the Guardian interview, McShane also said that Oliver Reed was one of his favorite costars from his early career. “We did Sitting Target together,” he said. “I knew him before that and we had a good time together. The trouble was he became inclined to be a bit of a bully when he drank, but he was charming most of the time.”

Want more movie news? Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free newsletter to get the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, film reviews, and more.

McShane said that contemporary actors are often too serious, but one of his highest-profile costars is a delight. “Most modern actors take themselves too seriously,” he said. “Keanu [Reeves] is one of the most wonderful human beings I’ve ever met. Keanu is by no stretch of the imagination a ball of fun, but he’s seriously sensitive and great to work with.”

Related: Ana de Armas' Ballerina meets Keanu Reeves' John Wick in fiery CinemaCon footage

McShane also offered his thoughts on how to revive his beloved ‘80s TV series Lovejoy. “People have forever been talking about Lovejoy,” he said. “I said: ‘Give me a million dollars and I’ll tell you how to do Lovejoy again. I’ll give you four words, you give me a million and I’ll make it a success.’  Do you know what the four words are? I’ll give you them for free. ‘Make it a woman.’ In the series, I had a daughter. So the idea would be to bring back his daughter and have some attractive, very good actor in her 40s play the part. That would be the way to do it.”

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.