Actor James McAvoy on locking lips with Angelina

Most men would throw themselves at the opportunity to share a kiss with Angelina Jolie under any circumstances. But for James McAvoy, her co-star in the new action thriller “Wanted," it turned out to be a bit ... awkward.

The 29-year-old Scotsman told Ann Curry on TODAY Monday he had to do a make-out scene with the larger-than-life Jolie on her first day on the set. “It was her first day, it was her first scene,” McAvoy recalled. “I had been on the set for two weeks — it was like, ‘Hey, how you doing, nice to meet you, I’m James, oh, we’re going to do a kissing scene now!’ ”

It’s not as if McAvoy is an amateur at on-screen kisses: He gained fame for his passionate love scenes with Keira Knightley in the Oscar-nominated “Atonement.” But he says that love scenes — with Jolie, or anyone else — might look like great fun for the actors, but are usually the hardest part of the job. “You’re meant to do the kissing last thing, but you end up doing it first thing, just after you’ve had your breakfast and you’re all funky in the mouth.”