# Do Actors/Models in "Nude" Scenes Wear Anything? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 10, 2012, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-actors-models-in-nude-scenes-wear-anything/631101 "2012-08-10T16:56:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fotheringay-Phipps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d9b06d/32.png) [@Fotheringay-Phipps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fotheringay-Phipps)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2012, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-actors-models-in-nude-scenes-wear-anything/631101/1 "2012-08-10T16:56:19Z")
The quotes on “nude” are because I’m not talking about scenes/photos in which the actors/actresses/models bare all to the camera. (Though my vague recollection is that there are some who wear body suits.) This is about scenes in which the idea is to convey to the audience that the the character is nude, but certain vital parts are concealed from the camera by strategically placed furniture or camera angles or the like. My question is whether these private parts are actually clothed or unclothed. IOW, is this actor/actress/model in fact nude to the eyes of any number of people who happen to be on hand and not looking from the exact angle as the camera, or not. ---
**Author:** ![Rubixcube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Rubixcube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubixcube)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2012, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-actors-models-in-nude-scenes-wear-anything/631101/2 "2012-08-10T17:12:06Z")
I would imagine it would depend on the actor. I’m sure some aren’t keen on running around naked, especially with the possibility of photo leaks. On the other hand it doesn’t seem too farfetched to imagine some actors running around in the buff, especially considering the lengths some go to to get “in character”. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2012, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-actors-models-in-nude-scenes-wear-anything/631101/3 "2012-08-10T17:14:13Z")
Here’s an article on “True Blood” that gets into the subject of “modesty patches”: > **[TrueBlood-Online.com » Maintenance Mode](http://www.trueblood-online.com/anna-paquin-and-stephen-moyer-talk-racy-scenes-and-modesty-patches/)** > > Information resource for the HBO hit series True Blood and its cast and crew. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2012, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-actors-models-in-nude-scenes-wear-anything/631101/4 "2012-08-10T17:19:30Z")
Nathan Filion had some nude scenes in one episode of _Firefly_. As I understand it, he wasn’t wearing any clothes per se, but had a photo of director Joss Whedon taped over his crotch for the sake of modesty. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2012, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-actors-models-in-nude-scenes-wear-anything/631101/5 "2012-08-10T18:08:52Z")
In Jill St. John’s nude scene in _Diamonds Are Forever_ (in bed with Sean Connery) there is a fleeting glimpse of her breast with a pastie over the nipple. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2012, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-actors-models-in-nude-scenes-wear-anything/631101/6 "2012-08-10T18:21:56Z")
Most accounts I’ve read indicate that women who don’t have to be nude wear small patches, while men usually wear a kind of sock. They could probably go naked if they want to, but you never know who in the crew has a cell phone camera on them. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2012, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-actors-models-in-nude-scenes-wear-anything/631101/7 "2012-08-10T18:44:13Z")
Women sometimes wear black tape over their nipples if they aren’t meant to be seen to make it easier to frame the shot. And sometimes I think they also do it to make any unauthorized pictures useless. You can catch glimpses of these things in some movies. Flesh colored tube tops and thongs are often worn and well disguised so you think they would actually be nude. And of course, you’re often looking at a stand in who is totally nude, because that’s what they’re being paid for. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2012, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-actors-models-in-nude-scenes-wear-anything/631101/8 "2012-08-10T19:13:41Z")
Lara Pulver appeared in the nude in “Scandal in Belgravia”–the first show in Series 2 of _Sherlock_. The scene was shot artfully so that the audience didn’t actually see any nasty bits. She talked to the [Guardian](http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/jan/10/sherlock-nude-dominatrix) (& there’s a slightly risque photo)… > [@](#): > > “They give you a self-adhesive bra that sticks to you and … imagine a sanitary towel made of tan Lycra, but with wire through it so it cups the underneath of you. And Louboutin shoes,” said Pulver. > > "Paul McGuigan [the director] very sweetly said to me, ‘OK, the choice is we spend hours shooting it to avoid seeing straps or we take all that off and shoot it quickly.’ > > “I thought I couldn’t put myself through being there all day, practically naked anyway, so I might as well get completely naked and get it done in a few hours.” So she wore the Louboutins… ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2012, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-actors-models-in-nude-scenes-wear-anything/631101/9 "2012-08-10T19:30:35Z")
Bridget, I was wondering about Sherlock with his sheet. When the sheet pulls away, you can clearly see his ass for half a second, but since they never show his full front, I presume he’s wearing something to cover his penis. Or is he??? ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2012, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-actors-models-in-nude-scenes-wear-anything/631101/10 "2012-08-10T19:32:28Z")
> [@chronos](#): > > nathan filion had some nude scenes in one episode of _firefly_. As i understand it, he wasn’t wearing any clothes per se, but had a photo of director joss whedon taped over his crotch for the sake of modesty. owwwwwwwwww!!! ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2012, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-actors-models-in-nude-scenes-wear-anything/631101/11 "2012-08-10T19:43:57Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > Lara Pulver appeared in the nude in “Scandal in Belgravia”–the first show in Series 2 of _Sherlock_. The scene was shot artfully so that the audience didn’t actually see any nasty bits. She talked to the [Guardian](http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/jan/10/sherlock-nude-dominatrix) (& there’s a slightly risque photo)… > > So she wore the Louboutins… Lordy, she was…\*entrancing \*in the role. The famous one of these was Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie’s “did they are didn’t they really have sex” scene from Don’t Look Now…