Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort reunite for 'Fault in Our Stars'

NEW YORK, May 5 (UPI) -- Shailene Woodley says she was grateful she and Ansel Elgort had the opportunity to play brother and sister in Divergent before they portrayed young lovers battling cancer in the upcoming film adaptation of John Green's beloved novel, The Fault in Our Stars.

"That's not weird because I've always sort of wondered what it would be like kissing my brother," the 22-year-old actress joked at a press conference UPI attended in New York City Sunday.

"That's sort of the beauty of being an actor. You get to explore different relationships and not only the colors of yourself, but how you exist with different people and there's something really beautiful about working with someone and working with them again and again and again. Because the more you get to know somebody on a personal level, the more free you feel artistically. So, I think that if Ansel and I hadn't known each other from Divergent, our relationship in this movie would not be what it is because we didn't have to go through the rehearsal phase of getting to know one another, feeling comfortable with one another."

Woodley explained their working relationship further.

"We were very honest with each other throughout the movies and throughout this process. There would be times when we'd disagree, and if we didn't know each other, we might not say that we disagree because there's that politeness versus we were very open with one another when something wasn't going the way we envisioned or whatnot. It completely lent to these characters."

"I guess that I feel like everything was meant to be and thank God we were brother and sister, and now we get to spend the next four years together, which is pretty freaking rad," she said, referring to the sequels to Divergent on which they will be collaborating in the near future.

Directed by Josh Boone and co-starring Laura Dern, Willem Dafoe and Sam Trammell, The Fault in Our Stars is to open in U.S. theaters June 6.