Meryl Streep revealed she had a massive crush on this co-star

Meryl Streep is one of the most celebrated actresses in Hollywood.

Her career spans seven decades and includes work in some of the most iconic movies in cinema.

And Meryl Streep revealed she had a massive crush on this co-star.

Streep recalls her world on Out of Africa

Academy Award-winning actress Meryl Streep starred in the 1985 hit film Out of Africa with legendary actor Robert Redford.

The movie was based on the 1937 autobiography of Karen Blixen – played by Streep – and tells the story of her doomed love affair with Denys Finch Hatton – played by Redford.

During a conversation at Cannes’ Théâtre Debussy, Streep told the story of a sex scene in the movie where she and Redford’s character sat by a river while he recited lines from Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.”

“It’s a sex scene in a way, because it’s so intimate,” Streep told the crowd.

She said what set this scene apart was the intimacy and physical care between the two characters.

“We’ve seen so many scenes of people f***ing, but we don’t see that loving touch, that care,” Streep added.

Streep also described the harrowing setting – filmed in location in Africa – due to wildlife on the set.

“We had lions, but they were imported from California and they were supposedly fine, tame. They were not,” Streep stated.

She also recalled how even more dangerous than the lions were the hippos.

“And the second thing we were told is the animal that kills the most people in Africa is the hippopotamus, if you get between the hippopotamus and the water,” Streep continued.

Streep recounted that the scene was set in the river with the hippos nearby which left her absolutely terrified.

“So we were shooting in the river and the hippopotamus were right above it. I don’t know if they show that in the movie, I can’t remember, but I was aware of it! It wasn’t good,” Streep admitted.

Streep’s feelings towards Redford

Streep described how her longtime makeup artist gave Redford a quick lesson on how to wash her hair which he took to like a duck to water which she joked left her in love.

“Redford took the lesson, and he just really got into it, and he was great,” Streep recalled. “By take five I was so in love!’

Streep said she so enjoyed the scene with Redford she didn’t care how much danger the hippos put her in.

“I didn’t want it to end that day, even in spite of the hippos,” Streep exclaimed.

Out of Africa earned 11 Oscar nominations including one for Streep for Best Actress.

Director Sydney Pollack took home the Academy Award for Best Director.

It also won Best Picture.

But working with Redford clearly struck a chord with Streep who told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel back in 1985, around the film’s release, that she developed a crush on him when they worked together.

“We really got to know each other after he arrived in Africa,” Streep told the paper. “I developed this huge crush on him, which made it easier to do the love story. He’s really wonderful to work with.”

“He has an unusual quality for a man — he has a very receptive way about him and is an incredibly good listener. That’s an attribute people usually associate with women. So for women, he’s very easy to talk to,” Streep concluded.