Shailene Woodley Calls Ansel Elgort Family, Beyond Best Friend

Shailene Woodley opened up about her long friendship with Ansel Elgort, describing him as “family,” recounting how they instantly connected on Divergent, and explaining how their bond shaped Fault in Our Stars—while admitting that shooting the intimate scenes

Shailene Woodley doesn’t talk about her friendships often—but when she does, it’s clear she’s describing someone close enough to feel like home.

The actress, who is 34, shared rare comments about her close friend Ansel Elgort, now 32, telling Variety, “Ansel Elgort is to this day one of my best friends.” She added, “I feel like he transcends the label of best friend. He is like family to me. I love him so, so deeply.”

Woodley said she and Elgort met while working on the first Divergent movie. released in 2014. where they played siblings—Tris and Caleb. “When we were doing the first divergent movie, we really connected, and we became sort of instant siblings,” she recalled. She described the relationship as “always very sweet” and “very supportive. ” saying that after work he would come over to her house. and they would “cook and just talk for hours after work.”.

Their connection didn’t stop at Divergent. In The Fault in Our Stars, they played love interests—Hazel and Gus. Woodley said she knew Elgort was auditioning. and she assumed it could never happen because he was her “brother in Divergent.” “And then he was cast. ” she said. “You know, he’s kind of the only person on Earth who could’ve played Gus.”.

She also pointed to their real-life closeness as part of what made their on-screen relationship feel so tender. “I think actually what made our relationship in that movie as tender as it was and as truly like unconditionally loving as it was [because] Ansel and I do genuinely love one another. ” Woodley explained. She described how rare it is to see love explored “without intimacy. ” noting that while Hazel and Gus do share intimacy. “the core of it is just unconditional love.” In her words. it’s “two people walking each other home. ” both with a desire to be supportive and help the other “feel a little less lonely in a chaotic world.”.

Still, the closeness didn’t mean the filming was painless. Woodley admitted it was “awkward” when they had to film the intimate scenes together. “Of course it was awkward when we had to do intimacy scenes together. cause I remember [us] laughing in between takes a little bit together. ” she said. “I know everything about you, that is so weird that we have to take our shirts off.”.

That honesty comes as Woodley is also rumored to be dating a new co-star, though her comments here were focused on the friendship that has clearly stayed at the center of everything—from Divergent to Fault in Our Stars.

Shailene Woodley Ansel Elgort Divergent The Fault in Our Stars friendship family Hazel and Gus Tris and Caleb Variety Emmy-nominated actress