# How do actors do naked sex scenes? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 18, 2008, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-actors-do-naked-sex-scenes/441854 "2008-03-18T22:40:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-actors-do-naked-sex-scenes/441854/41 "2008-03-20T16:41:56Z")
Actor to actress, before filming six scene: “One of two things is about to happen. For either, I apologize.” ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-actors-do-naked-sex-scenes/441854/42 "2008-03-20T16:50:01Z")
If you ignore the erotic nature of what is on screen, quite often you can tell that, despite all the thrusting, etc., the body positions are just not right. Girl on top, she’s usually humping the guy’s navel. Guy on top, he’s usually humping her upper thigh (unless he’s hung like a mule). ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-actors-do-naked-sex-scenes/441854/43 "2008-03-20T17:36:59Z")
[QUOTE=Sattua] Actor to actress, before filming six scene: “One of two things is about to happen. For either, I apologize.” [/QUOTE] Pssst! See post #4. ---
**Author:** ![filmyak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@filmyak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmyak)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-actors-do-naked-sex-scenes/441854/44 "2008-03-20T17:56:38Z")
I heard someone once (Howard Stern maybe? Can’t remember.) rail against how actors talk about really GETTING INTO a role and BECOMING the person and the set and crew all go away and you BECOME the character. Until they talk about sex scenes, then they all say it’s awkward and weird. Suuuuuuuuure it is. _grin_ ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-actors-do-naked-sex-scenes/441854/45 "2008-03-20T21:11:19Z")
[QUOTE=alphaboi867] There was some controversy over **Apt Pupil** because the extras in the shower scene (some of whom were underage) were originally told they’d be wearing some kind of flesh-colored jock, but the director decided to have them actually naked. [/QUOTE] That would have been a very definite violation of SAG rules, and of the contract with these actors. It could have gotten the director & production company some serious fines, if nothing else. In reality, what probably happened was that the director decided the scene would work better with actual nudity, and then ‘persuaded’ the actors to accept this. (Given that they were extras, the persuasion may not have been too hard – the director could easily fire them and replace them with others if they didn’t agree. He might have to pay them, but that’s all.) ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-actors-do-naked-sex-scenes/441854/46 "2008-03-20T22:06:47Z")
Has anybody seen the movie [Shortbus](http://imdb.com/title/tt0367027/) by John Cameron Mitchell (of _Hedwig & the Angry Inch_ fame)? In that relatively mainstream movie, most if not all of the sex scenes are real (fellatio, masturbation, possibly penetration [can’t remember]). I’ve wondered if the actors used Viagra or something like it for any anxiety they may have had. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2008, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-actors-do-naked-sex-scenes/441854/47 "2008-03-20T23:01:44Z")
[QUOTE=Baldwin] I think that would be Alice Krige. [/QUOTE] Thanks, I couldn’t remember the spelling. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2008, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-actors-do-naked-sex-scenes/441854/48 "2008-03-21T03:10:46Z")
[QUOTE=postcards] Pssst! See post #4. [/QUOTE] Pssst! See post #2. > [@Sampiro](#): > > Has anybody seen the movie Shortbus by John Cameron Mitchell (of Hedwig & the Angry Inch fame)?..I’ve wondered if the actors used Viagra or something like it for any anxiety they may have had. If yu haven’t watched the special features on the DVD, I highly recommend them. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2008, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-actors-do-naked-sex-scenes/441854/49 "2008-03-21T03:34:31Z")
[QUOTE=t-bonham@scc.net] That would have been a very definite violation of SAG rules,…(Given that they were extras, the persuasion may not have been too hard – the director could easily fire them and replace them with others if they didn’t agree. He might have to pay them, but that’s all.) [/QUOTE] Do SAG rules even cover non-speaking extras? ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2008, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-actors-do-naked-sex-scenes/441854/50 "2008-03-21T03:48:17Z")
Philip Seymour Hoffman and Marisa Tomei really go at it in **Before the Devil Knows Your Dead**. I don’t see what difference a lack of penetration would make when Hoffman is pounding away at Tomei’s backside for a good 30 seconds. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2008, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-actors-do-naked-sex-scenes/441854/51 "2008-03-21T03:53:46Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > That’s mentioned in Otto’s link – “The Brown Bunny” is the movie, with actress Chloë Sevigny performing unsimulated fellatio on her then-boyfriend, star and director Vincent Gallo. Terrible head, too. I almost felt sorry for the guy, which is tough considering he’s good at _everything_ and he gets paid to make movies about how great he is. > [@filmyak](#): > > The girl he was with was over 18, so no problem with her. Except that, assuming the movie was shot in California, she was either committing a criminal act or very close to it, on film for eternal posterity. I would be nervous about that, to say the least. > [@ChrisBooth12](#): > > It should be noted that underage nudity does not mean the same thing as child porn. Er, except that “underage nudity on film” is _the very definition_ of child pornography. AIUI, there are exceptions for artistic works meeting various subjective criteria, but would you really want to risk it for a blockbuster film? > [@Sampiro](#): > > possibly penetration [can’t remember] _Possibly penetration?_ Ha! Could the sky possibly be blue on a clear day? Could water possibly have a little hydrogen in it? Could a camera possibly shoot a movie? Also, you glossed over the self-fellatio, skipped the gigantic orgy and forgot all about the all-male threesome. (It turned _me_ on, and I’m not even gay!) Very, very hot movie, and yes, it’s all real. I read a few interviews with the director when it came out. (Heh. Came out) > [@Otto](#): > > If you haven’t watched the special features on the DVD, I highly recommend them. I’m glad you said that. I’ve been debating with myself over whether to renew my unlimited monthly membership at the video store; this thread had me leaning towards “yes” and this post just about sealed it. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2008, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-actors-do-naked-sex-scenes/441854/52 "2008-03-21T06:19:03Z")
[QUOTE=Rocketeer] How interesting. Can you tell us the name of the movie? [/QUOTE] Sorry, I’d rather avoid anything that limits my anonimity on the board, since I’m in the credits. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2008, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-actors-do-naked-sex-scenes/441854/53 "2008-03-21T07:10:21Z")
[QUOTE=alphaboi867] Do SAG rules even cover non-speaking extras? [/QUOTE] Yup. It’s not that the actors are SAG, it is that the production is SAG. There are SAG rules about how much an extra has to do to become a principal. The director in one commercial shoot I was at was having a hard time because the parents of some of the extra kids were trying to get their kids to push forward to become principals. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2008, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-actors-do-naked-sex-scenes/441854/54 "2008-03-21T07:40:58Z")
[off topic]Actually, some of the extras in SAG productions (exempting low-budget and student films) must be members of SAG and enjoy certain protections and privileges. On some sets, non-union extras are treated about as well as SAG members (although they make about half as much money), but on others there’s a quite obvious caste system. The “pushing forward” business would only work in commercials, where recognizable = principal. In films and TV, you can actually be featured quite prominently on screen but if you don’t actually say something, it can be tough to get that bump. Notice how many sitcom waitresses take their customers orders and bring them their food without saying a word. **Hostile Dialect** , oral sex was [decriminalized](http://valleywag.com/356338/who-made-blowjobs-legal-in-california--willie-brown-did) in California in 1975.[/off topic] Carry on. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Seventh\_Deadly\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6bbea6/32.png) [@The\_Seventh\_Deadly\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Seventh_Deadly_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2008, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-actors-do-naked-sex-scenes/441854/55 "2008-03-21T09:05:31Z")
[QUOTE=Lakai] I don’t see what difference a lack of penetration would make when Hoffman is pounding away at Tomei’s backside for a good 30 seconds. [/QUOTE] You don’t? Hey! Didn’t I go to the senior prom with you? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Seventh\_Deadly\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6bbea6/32.png) [@The\_Seventh\_Deadly\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Seventh_Deadly_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2008, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-actors-do-naked-sex-scenes/441854/56 "2008-03-21T09:09:21Z")
[QUOTE=TWDuke] **Hostile Dialect** , oral sex was [decriminalized](http://valleywag.com/356338/who-made-blowjobs-legal-in-california--willie-brown-did) in California in 1975. [/QUOTE] Yeah, but I think sex with minors is still on the books somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![NajaNivea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@NajaNivea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NajaNivea)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2008, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-actors-do-naked-sex-scenes/441854/57 "2008-03-21T12:48:51Z")
[QUOTE=Sage Rat] Sorry, I’d rather avoid anything that limits my anonimity on the board, since I’m in the credits. [/QUOTE] You are, of course, welcome to revel in your anonymity in any way you like, but how in the holy hell would anyone have known you were in the credits? “On set” could mean any number of things and presumably there’s more than one person in the credits. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2008, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-actors-do-naked-sex-scenes/441854/58 "2008-03-21T21:15:34Z")
[QUOTE=Lakai] Philip Seymour Hoffman and Marisa Tomei really go at it in **Before the Devil Knows Your Dead**. I don’t see what difference a lack of penetration would make when Hoffman is pounding away at Tomei’s backside for a good 30 seconds. [/QUOTE] The Big Guy knows how to get his freak on. Of course, it’s Marisa Tomei; she could probably raise the dead. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2008, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-actors-do-naked-sex-scenes/441854/59 "2008-03-21T22:25:14Z")
[QUOTE=Hostile Dialect] Er, except that “underage nudity on film” is _the very definition_ of child pornography. [/QUOTE] No, it’s not. Period. There is no question whatsoever that underage nudity in film is not child pornography. And it has been seen in modern mainstream films. Thora Birch in American Beauty, for example. > [@](#): > > AIUI, there are exceptions for artistic works meeting various subjective criteria, but would you really want to risk it for a blockbuster film? It has nothing to do with exceptions for artistic works. Nudity, per se, is not actionable. Please do not cite me some photo clerks turning in people. These cases are almost always dismissed, even when some ambitious prosecutor tries to bend the law to get into the media. Let me say it again. Nudity is not pornography, even when it is of minors. That’s what the hysterical prudity forces want you to believe, but it remains untrue. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2008, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-actors-do-naked-sex-scenes/441854/60 "2008-03-21T23:13:01Z")
Were Brook Shields and the guy who played her brother , underage when this flick was shot? As I recall, there was plenty of nudity in it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-actors-do-naked-sex-scenes/441854.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-actors-do-naked-sex-scenes/441854.md?page=4)