The Indiana Jones movie franchise is one of the most well-known works of Steven Spielberg. Not only was it a popular and long-enduring title, but it also became a box-office success. More than the fame of the films, it was Spielberg’s personal life that changed forever.
He would meet the love of his life on the set of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in 1983. After a whirlwind of romance, they would eventually end up together.
How Kate Capshaw Landed The Role In Indiana Jones
Speaking with Empire Magazine, veteran filmmaker Steven Spielberg shared how the making of Indiana Jones movies brought him the best gift of his life – his wife, Kate Capshaw.
And then again the greatest thing that ever happened to me in my life came out of the Temple of Doom experience. The girl I cast to lay Willie Scott saved the day in more ways than one- Kate Capshaw became my wife. We’ll be married 17 event-filled years in October 2008.
Sharon Stone was one of the actresses who auditioned for the role of Willie Scott, the love interest of Indiana Jones, but the part eventually went to Capshaw. The latter told Empire:
At that time, I didn’t ‘do’ sequels. And I didn’t ‘do’ action adventure. For my screen test – with Steven, not Harrison – it was a scene between Willie and Indy where she’s really hungry. It’s difficult to find audition scenes when there’s so much action. You can’t just go in and yell.
Spielberg told Harrison Ford that he had 19 girls on tape, and he would only be showing Capshaw’s audition recording. The lead actor immediately said, “That’s the one!”
Over the course of the filming, the director and the actress became friends, and they remained in touch after the film premiered in 1984. Spielberg later divorced his first wife in 1989, and then he and Capshaw started officially dating. They had their first child together in 1990, and the rest is history.
Steven Spielberg On His Marriage With Kate Capshaw
Even after three decades of marriage, Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw are still happily in love with each other. He considers his wife the greatest thing that happened to him (via Rumour Juice):
That is until you meet the love of your life, and this is what happened when I met and married Kate. And that became the greatest character-defining moment in my life.
Spielberg mentioned in his earlier interview with Empire that he could have done a lot better with the sequel film, but it was a learning experience. He also revealed that he “came out of the darkness of Temple of Doom” and he “entered the light of the woman I was eventually going to marry and raise a family with.”
The couple had seven children, including the adopted ones and from their previous marriages. Their meeting on the set of Indiana Jones was a product of the twists and turns of fate, but in the end, they got their happy ending.
Indiana Jones movies are available to watch on Disney+.
