How Dakota Johnson Ended Up in Taylor Swift’s "Patient Zero" Video

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Dakota Johnson Cheekily Calls Musicians “Tricky Motherf--kers" After Role Model Romance

Taylor Swift and Dakota Johnson’s friendship is bigger than the whole sky.

That’s why it makes perfect sense that the Fifty Shades of Grey alum is starring alongside Colin Farrell in the music video of the Grammy winner’s upcoming single “Patient Zero,” which will premiere at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sept. 27.

“Taylor and I have been friends for a really long time, and we're very close,” Johnson explained to Fan Girl Nation on Sept. 24 during a joint interview with Verity costar Josh Hartnett, “and we decided to work together, and it's great.” 

And as the 36-year-old put it, “Normally, I would say don't work with your friends, but we work really well together.”

Indeed, after a decade of Johnson and Swift forming a strong bond, they have learned to toast to their real friends. And the “You Belong With Me” singer loves that her bestie doesn’t care about the he said, she said. 

“The name Dakota Johnson has become synonymous with refreshing honesty in a world of media-trained answers,” she wrote in a TIME entry marking the actress as one of The 100 Most Influential People of 2026 in April. “Maybe it’s her sing-song vocal delivery, serenely answering questions with such frank candor it makes you feel like maybe this girl just... can’t lie?!”

So, because Johnson doesn’t keep people in the lavender haze of her emotions, Swift is happy to “vouch for her realness” and confirm that “she’s also one of the most empathetic people I’ve ever known.” 

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“She can’t stop asking people questions about their lives, endlessly curious about everyone else’s human experience,” the singer continued. “She can’t stop challenging herself, taking newer and bolder risks like building her production company TeaTime Pictures. She can’t stop exploring the most intricate relationship complexities.”

And as Swift described Johnson, “Captivating in front of the screen and inquisitive behind it, her unfailing truthfulness helps to shape her ever evolving storytelling into art that feels as real and timeless as she is.”

Read on for more stars who you may not have known share a strong bond. 

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Jacob Elordi & Teyana Taylor

The actors became pals after they both secured a 2026 Oscars nomination. Since then, Teyana has affectionately referred to Jacob as her "awards-season bestie" and joked that they often find themselves going "mullet for mullet," bonding over their similar hairstyle.

“We're young, we're blessed, we're being celebrated—this is the time to be happy and to have fun with it," the Best Supporting Actress nominee told Time in an interview published Feb. 2026, "especially in a space that some people take so serious, and some people are cold, some people are robotic."

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Mindy Kaling & Reese Witherspoon

They have been friends for years and have worked together. The two starred together in A Wrinkle in Time, while Mindy also had a recurring role on The Morning Show. In addition, the latter is co-writing Legally Blonde 3. 

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Ayesha Curry & Lindsay Lohan

The Food Network star and Mean Girls alum first became friends during a trip to Dubai years ago and have since grown closer. In fact, Ayesha and Stephen Curry were even named the godparents of Lindsay and husband Bader Shammas' son Laui.

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Adam Sandler & Timothée Chalamet

The two actors, who costarred in the 2014 film Men, Women & Children, reunited for an outdoor game of basketball in New York City in July 2023.

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Russell Crowe & RZA

The actor has worked with the Wu-Tang Clan rapper on several movies, including The Man with the Iron Fists, American Gangster and The Next Three Days. But their bond goes much deeper than that. "As friends, we talk," Crowe tells Fuse. "It is no effort for me to give a friend advice. Film has many gods and you have to understand, as a director, you will be required to please and appease them all."

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Michelle Dockery & Pippa Middleton

Before running into each other again at Wimbledon, the unlikely duo first crossed paths at the Downton Abbey set. "She actually came on-set with her brother, James, a few years ago," Dockery told E! News."They are good fans of the show."

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David Beckham & Snoop Dogg

When the "footballer" moved to L.A. and became a "soccer player," he befriended the rapper. Becks appeared on Snoop's reality show, the two played soccer and Snoop plays his new music for David first.

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Dakota Fanning & Kristen Stewart

The two former child actors have worked on two films, Twilight and The Runaways, but Dakota says their friendship isn't based on work, "When we're together, we're not talking about movie stuff." 

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Paris Hilton & Britney Spears

The two hung out together in the aughts and maintained their friendship over the years.

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Nicki Minaj & Anna Wintour

The two have two very different approaches to fashion (has Anna ever been bedazzled?), but they bonded in the front row of an Oscar de la Renta show and Anna scored a name-drop in one of Nicki's raps. 

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50 Cent & Bette Midler

Now this is one strange duet! Fiddy met Bette working for the charity New York Restoration Project, where she gushed, "He's one of the newest members of our tribe. He's really made my life worth living."

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Taylor Swift & Lena Dunham

Taylor is a self-proclaimed good girl. Lena isn't afraid to stir the pot. But they have a lot of mutual respect for each other and the Girls creator described T.Swift's show as the "most life-affirming thing I've experienced."

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Jennifer Lopez & Leah Remini

The former King of Queens actress has been supertight with Jenny From the Block for a while now, bonding over fashion and tweeting cutesy things at each other with the hashtag "#luckybesties." 

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Gwyneth Paltrow & Jay-Z

The Goop goddess herself is actually friends with both Jay and his wife Beyoncé, though you might be more surprised to learn that Gwyn is an intense rap enthusiast and her kids even call Mr. Carter "Uncle Jay." 

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Brad Pitt & Jonah Hill

You might not expect the hunky thespian to be close with the dude from Superbad, but look at it this way: Brad is a total prankster (says Jonah) and Jonah is now a serious Oscar nominee (for their film Moneyball).

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Eminem & Elton John

The controversial rapper joined forces with Sir Elton at the 2001 Grammys and later Em turned to his new friend for support getting sober: "I told him, 'Look, I'm going through a problem and I need your advice.'"

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