Nowadays it’s almost standard practice that a big budget Hollywood film include a gratuitous sex scene at some point during the runtime. These scenes— usually featuring glamorous women, seductive lighting, and athletic poses—are designed to make the viewer think the actors are having the time of their lives, but many have spoken about how utterly cringeworthy they can be to shoot. When filming Babygirl alongside Harris Dickinson, 28, Nicole Kidman, 57, revealed that she quickly grew tired of filming love scenes. She said, ‘There were times when we were shooting where I was like, “I don’t want to orgasm anymore. Don’t come near me. I hate doing this. I don’t care if I am never touched again in my life! I’m over it.”’ Talk about a rough day at work. Being scantily clad and humping away on top of Hollywood’s elite may be someone’s dream, but these actors certainly didn’t feel that way.
Everyone’s a critic
Michael Douglas, 80, felt immense pressure while filming his sex scenes with Matt Damon, 54, for 2013’s Behind the Candelabra. He explained, ‘I don’t know the last time you murdered somebody or blew anyone’s brains out, but everyone has had sex, and probably this morning, which means everyone has an opinion on how it should be done.’
Focus on the lighting
Although everyone knows that then 22-year-old Margot Robbie had to toss back a couple of tequila shot before stripping off in front of Leo DiCaprio, 50, in The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), when the time came to film Focus (2015) alongside Will Smith, 56, she was a seasoned pro. When asked about his passionate scenes with the Aussie actress, Will said, ‘That’s what’s so crazy with a love scene… it looks like it’s hot, but it’s actually a producer saying, “Use your hips more! Give me a light on the right side of Will’s buttocks!” It’s really, really awkward.’
An unconventional method
Keira Knightley, 39, took a leaf out of Margot Robbie’s book and resorted to alcohol for her intimate scenes with Michael Fassbender, 47, in A Dangerous Method in 2011. After filming wrapped, the actress admitted that she needed a bit of Dutch courage before filming some more sensitive scenes. She said, ‘I took a couple of shots of vodka — definitely — beforehand, and then a couple of glasses of champagne as a celebration of never having to do that again!’
Rehearsal time
Rosamund Pike, 45, revealed that filming sex scenes with Neil Patrick-Harris, 51, for 2014’s Gone Girl was not exactly a career highlight for her. ‘What is it like to have sex with Neil Patrick Harris? It’s a very odd experience. David [Fincher, director] asked us to rehearse this scene for two hours alone on an empty sound stage. You’re alone with a man who’s not your husband, who also has a husband, he’s in his underwear, you’re in your underwear, and you’re sort of dry humping on a bed.’
Friends to lovers
For Bridesmaids (2011) Kristen Wiig, 51, enjoyed her sex scenes with good pal Jon Hamm, 53, who donned a ‘flesh-coloured thong’ for the occasion. She said, ‘There are some good positions in there. Jon Hamm, pumping away. He was making his money that day. There was nothing hot about that scene.’ Jon Hamm had a similar attitude to the intimate scenes, saying, ‘It’s like running in the rain. There’s a certain point where you go, “F*ck it, I’m already wet. I’m not going to get any less wet so I might as well enjoy how this feels.”’
A favourite day on set
When filming 2018’s The Favourite, Olivia Colman, 50, decided to lighten up her love scenes with co-star Emma Stone, 36. ‘Emma Stone had to finger me, and in order to avoid finding anything that you shouldn’t have found because it was sort of under the sheets… I asked the makeup department if they had a sponge. And so, I put a sponge there, and said “It’s alright, it’s a barrier.” It was a big wet sponge. Her face was a picture.’
License to kill the mood
Daniel Craig, 56, admitted he has ‘been in movies with terrible love scenes. They’re out there to see.’ Although he didn’t specify which movies feature these cringe-worthy scenes, presumably he wasn’t talking about sex scenes shot with his real-life wife, Rachel Weisz, 54, who he met while filming the 2011 movie Dream House.
The full wilson
Judy Greer, 49, may have hyped herself up a little too much for her sex scene with Woody Harrelson, 63, in Wilson (2017). Before filming, she told herself, ‘I’m not going to be shy, I’m not going to be ashamed,’ but she may have done a little too well as during rehearsals the director Craig Johnson whispered to her, ‘I don’t think she’s that into it.’ Judy admitted she felt ‘mortified’ at her overenthusiasm.
Breaking the tension
Kristen Stewart, 34, described her sex scenes with then-boyfriend R Patz, 38, as ‘agony.’ The pair met filming Twilight in 2008 and were officially an item when they had to film their long-awaited love scene in Breaking Dawn Part One (2011). Kristen admitted, ‘We had to do the most epic sex scene of all time. It had to be transcendent and otherworldly, inhuman, better sex than you can possibly ever imagine, and we were like, “How do we live up to that?”’
Daisy Jones & The Sex
Even having a sex scene with your real-life hubbie can be weird for everyone on set, just ask Riley Keough. Ben Smith-Peterson, 33, appeared alongside his wife of ten years, Riley, 35, in Daisy Jones & The Six, where the couple filmed a one-night stand. She said, ‘[His] cameo came about because I had to have intercourse with a random person in the show, and the producers were like, “It would be so funny if it was your husband.” I think they were thinking it would be less awkward, and then we got there and they were like, “This is really uncomfortable.”’
Masters of sex scenes
Allison Janney, 65, has had a long career of varied roles, but she didn’t film a sex scene until the ripe age of 50 when she worked on Masters of Sex. Speaking about the scene she shared with actor Tate Donovan, 61, she admitted that it was by far the most challenging exercise of her career. She said, ‘It was the hardest thing I ever had to do, to pretend that I was having an orgasm onscreen.’ And that’s coming from an Oscar winner— excuse the pun.