By the time a film has been edited and prepared for its cinema debut, every scene has been perfectly acted and shot to display the characters’ emotions and relationships in a realistic way. Even the most controversial intimate scenes can be some of the most convincing forms of onscreen chemistry, leaving audiences with the impression that the steamy love scenes they witness on film are just as romantic and sexy as they seem.
In reality, the actors who set the mood for these scenes don’t always enjoy them as much as they appear to. They’re sometimes required to spend hours fully nude in front of camera crews as they act out humanity’s most private moments, so being intimate on screen can be just about as awkward as fans may surmise. Here’s what 14 actors have said about their most intimate scenes.
Michael Vartan Was Aroused By Drew Barrymore’s Kiss
Having a crush on your co-star definitely helps with on-set chemistry. However, Michael Vartan’s interest in Drew Barrymore while working on Never Been Kissed led to an embarrassing scenario while filming. In an interview with his co-star for a reunion special, Vartan admitted:
So, I get up to the mound, we embrace and we start kissing, and you [Barrymore] really kissed me. I mean, you really kissed me…
I was not ready for it in the least, and I’m a man, I was a very young man back then, and I had uh, feelings…
…I very quickly realized I was in a very bad spot because I was wearing very loose sort of like slacks and I thought, “This is going to be a disaster when they cut, I must preemptively end this.”
So what I did, in a panic, I just yelled cut, and bent over and said, “Oh guys, sorry, my back, I put my back out playing ball.”… Anyway, I went off into my corner and… I was thinking horrible thoughts. “Dead puppies, dead puppies.”… Finally I was able to compose myself, and luckily the subsequent scenes went on without a hitch.
Kate Winslet Had To Film Sex Scenes With Leonard DiCaprio In Front Of Her Husband, The Director
After starring together in multiple films, it would be easy to assume that Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio would find it easier than most to film an intimate scene together. However, Winslet revealed that the steamier portions filmed for Revolutionary Road were awkward for a specific reason:
I hadn’t realized how much my chemistry with him since Titanic would still stick. It’s great to discover we can just slip right into it, like muscle memory…
I just kept saying, “This is too… weird”… And Leo was like, “Oh, get over it.” And I’m going, “Yeah, a little reminder: You’re my best friend. He’s my husband [referring to director Sam Mendes]. This is a bit weird.”
For Once, The Joke Was On Ryan Reynolds As Olivia Wilde Surprised Him In A Topless Scene
Known for his jokes on and off the set, Ryan Reynolds found himself on the other side of a prank while filming The Change-Up with Olivia Wilde. In an interview with Jay Leno, the Deadpool actor recalled:
So, in the scene, she’s sitting there and I take her top off and the bra off, and she has those pasties on, but she’s drawn these adorable little smiley faces on them… And I forget every line in the scene – not just from this movie but from every other movie I’ve done…
At some point in the scene she takes my hands and puts them on her breasts… So, they’re there. Palms (are) a little sweaty. I don’t know what’s happening… And I’m trying not to look at her like a 14-year-old boy that just won the lady lottery…
I take my hands away and I look down at my hands and there’s two frickin’ smiley faces on them and I have no idea what to do. The scene is over now… And I reflexively, like an idiot, just put my hands right back on her breasts. And I think I’m doing it to cover them up, but I’m realizing now that it’s a very fine line between chivalry and, you know, workplace sexual assault.
Margot Robbie Had Tequila Shots Before Shooting A Particular ‘Wolf of Wall Street’ Scene
Although 2013’s The Wolf of Wall Street became the film that helped Margot Robbie break out into the Hollywood spotlight, she was incredibly nervous about filming the more intimate scenes with Leonardo DiCaprio:
I’d done scenes where it’s leading into sex or sex has just finished. But I hadn’t done a start-to-finish sex scene like I did in Wolf Of Wall Street. That was my first. Tons of people are watching you. It’s so awkward. It’s just like, this is what you need to do – get on with it. The sooner you do it, the sooner you can stop doing it…
I got a million paper cuts on my back from all that money. It’s not as glamorous as it sounds… maybe real money is a bit softer, but the fake money is like paper.
She also revealed that for the scene in which her character removes much of her clothing, a little liquid courage was necessary:
I’m not going to lie; I had a couple of shots of tequila before that scene because I was nervous – very, very nervous.
In another awkward moment, Robbie realized she had unintentionally gotten DiCaprio’s e-cigarette caught in a less-than-desirable place:
We’d just finished this scene and Leo always carries an e-cigarette with him, like all the time… So he hid it under a pillow while we were shooting… Afterwards he’s like, “Where is it? Where did I put it? I had it right here.”
I was looking around with him – both still sitting in this bed – and then I went, “Oh, um, it’s literally, like, in my butt crack. I’m sitting on it. I am so sorry.”… He probably threw it away. It was so embarrassing.
Judy Greer Was A Little Too Into Her Scene With Woody Harrelson
Judy Greer was so nervous about filming an intimate scene with Woody Harrelson for Wilson that she chose to give a detailed and highly planned performance in rehearsals so she and the producers would know exactly what to expect. Apparently she overcompensated, as she later shared:
[I kept telling myself] I’m not gonna be shy, I’m not gonna be ashamed… I’m gonna really do my full performance here for this rehearsal so everyone knows what I’m gonna do…
Then, director Craig Johnson mentioned he didn’t think her character was supposed to be “that into it.” Greer confessed:
And I was like, “Oh my gosh, never again.” I’m so embarrassed. I’m so mortified… I was trying to pretend like it never happened.
Woody Harrelson Worried What Co-Star Demi Moore’s Then-Husband Would Think
Woody Harrelson enjoyed filming the intimate scenes in Indecent Proposal with co-star Demi Moore. Still, he was concerned about how the film would affect his relationship with her then-husband, Bruce Willis:
I’m close friends with Demi and with Demi’s husband [Bruce Willis]. You have to draw the line at how far to go, and I’m not good at drawing lines. I like to be lineless, without boundaries. The scene was flesh and flesh coming together. I don’t know if Demi was turned on, but me… But you have to think of what the repercussions will be. I don’t want Bruce coming after me.
Natalie Portman Thought Being Friends With Mila Kunis Made Their Scene In ‘Black Swan’ Uncomfortable
Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis are friends both on and off the set, which made things uncomfortable as they filmed the intimate scene in Black Swan:
It was really crazy, because Mila and I were very good friends… And when Darren [Aronofsky, the director] asked me, “Who do you think could do this part? Who has sort of a similar height, coloring, physique?” I was like, “Oh, Mila, Mila, Mila!” He met her and obviously flipped over her, and she’s super talented and does an amazing job in the movie…
I didn’t really think through the fact that I was going to have to have sex with her in the movie… It was pretty awkward. I almost feel like it would be easier to do it with someone you didn’t know… But, having said that, it was great to have a friend there who, we could laugh and make jokes and get over it together.
