Brad Pitt defends Margot Robbie over unscripted kiss while filming new movie

Brad Pitt has defended Margot Robbie over an unscripted kiss in their new movie.

The A-listers star in the eagerly anticipated film Babylon, and they share a smooch that one reviewer has already labelled 'iconic'.

However, the scene wasn't actually in the script initially; rather, it was a suggestion from Robbie, who saw her opportunity to plant one on the heartthrob.

Speaking to E! News, the 32-year-old said: "That wasn't in the script, but I thought, 'When else am I gonna get the chance to kiss Brad Pitt? I'm just gonna go for it.'"

Julia Mineeva/EGBN TV News/Alamy Live News / Alamy Stock Photo

Pitt plays silent film star Jack Conrad, while Robbie plays aspiring actor Nellie LaRoy in the period comedy-drama, which follows the rise and fall of several ambitious dreamers who seek to find their fortunes on the roaring 1920s Hollywood scene.

Explaining how she convinced director Damien Chazelle to incorporate the kiss into the movie, Robbie explained: "I said, 'Damien, I think Nellie would just go up and kiss Jack.'

"And Damien was like, 'Well, she could—wait, hold on. You just wanna kiss Brad Pitt.'

"And I was like, 'Oh, so sue me. This opportunity might never come up again.' And he was like, 'It does work for the character,' and I was like, 'I think so.'"

They shot the scene, which Robbie said 'was just great', but she ended up getting more than she bargained for, as Chazelle realised the moment would most definitely be making the cut.

"He was like, 'No, do it again. That really works,'" Margot joked. "I was like, 'Oh, great.'"

Of course, the risk with any sort of lightheartedness in interviews is the quotes can be pulled out of context and interpreted completely differently.

This is exactly what happened on Twitter, where people recirculated the quotes and questioned how they'd be interpreted if it was the other way around, with one claiming that Pitt would be cancelled and another even labelling the behaviour 'harassment'.

Unsurprisingly, Pitt didn't see it that way, and said it was all a normal part of the movie-making process.

Steve Vas / Alamy Stock Photo

Asked by Entertainment Tonight whether his Once Upon a Time in Hollywood co-star had snuck in a kiss, the 59-year-old said: "No, not necessarily.

"There's always room for character interpretation."

"Believe me, that's the tamest thing she does in this," he added. "She's on fire on this. It's the best I've ever seen her."

The all-star cast also includes Spider-Man star Tobey Maguire, Olivia Wilde, Diego Calva, Samara Weaving and Max Minghella.

The movie is released in the US on 23 December, and will be out in the UK on 6 January.