What the Aussie actor from THAT full-frontal moment did next

Rising Aussie star Adam Demos says he has no bigger supporter than his mum, but admits she had trouble watching him in the steamy first season of Sex/Life. Here’s what he’s been up to since.

Stellar: The racy Netflix drama Sex/Life – about a dissatisfied housewife who fantasises about her damaged but exciting ex, who was played by you – provided an escape to millions of viewers during the pandemic. How did you feel about the response?

Adam Demos: I was actually in Atlanta in lockdown when it came out, so I wasn’t really seeing people to hear their responses, but the producers would send me the [viewing] numbers and I could see it was getting good numbers. But outside of friends and family saying they’d seen the show, I didn’t really see the impact of it until later, because we weren’t out in the world. It was a bingeable show – and it helped us that people had time to kill.

S: How did your friends and family handle watching all of the provocative scenes?

AD: [Laughs] With their eyes closed, I think! My mum is my biggest supporter, there’s never been anyone prouder. She will still watch it, but she has her hands over her eyes for a majority of the show. She loved it but there are moments when she didn’t want to watch her son in that capacity.

S: One of the things audiences really responded to about the show was that it was a case of life imitating art, given you and co-star Sarah Shahi fell in love on the set...

AD: It took a while to come out. But, yeah, it added to the intrigue of the show and gave people more enthusiasm to watch.

S: When did you realise your chemistry translated off-screen?

AD: Once I got to know her as a person – what she stands for and her outlook on life. I got to know her heart and values. That’s what it was for me.

Adam Demos: ‘You just have to go with it and have a laugh.’ Picure: Nino Muñoz/Netflix

S: Is it special that Sex/Life is something of a time capsule for you to look back on and see your real-life romance blossoming?

AD: It is, for a lot of reasons. It was such an interesting time in the world [season one was filmed in 2020], when everything was so uncertain. The whole world stopped and we were fortunate enough to be some of the few people who were able to work through such a crazy time. It was a beautiful time in my life.

S: It’s fair to say the fans hope your real romance with Sarah mirrors what we have seen onscreen. Is that the case?

AD: I don’t want to go into the details. But it’s a happy life, I will put it that way.

S: Was it different filming the new season of Sex/Life because you and Sarah are now a couple?

AD: No, it doesn’t change, because we met as actors, right? The job comes first. And we’re both professional.

S: Is there pressure to live up to what we saw in season one?

AD: The pressure comes from preparation and nailing the scenes. The rest, you just hope for the best. I do want it to do really well. I think we’ve got an incredible audience who’s excited for it. So I hope we don’t let them down – but I’m pretty sure they’ll be very, very happy. It’s a wild ride and it may even top season one.

S: More than 20 million viewers replayed the episode three shower scene; some even filmed their reactions on TikTok. How does it feel, knowing so many people have seen so much?

AD: I didn’t feel too much about it. The whole show is pretty out there. You knew what you were getting yourself into when you read the scripts, so you just have to go with it and have a laugh.

S: What did you have to do to stay in shape for those scenes that leave so little to the imagination?

AD: You go to the gym. You eat a little better than you normally would. I don’t have too many beers, or burgers or pizza. You just make smarter choices and work out. It’s not a secret formula. I want to be in the best shape and give my best performance for the people who trusted me in this role.

S: Sir Ian McKellen recently questioned the need for intimacy coordinators, saying

they could destroy the “purity” of theatre. His comments were disputed by Emma Thompson, who believes that it’s essential for safeguarding actors on-set. Where do you stand?

AD: Our set was such a safe space because we had an incredible intimacy coordinator, who you could go to if you had any concerns or if you didn’t feel comfortable. There’s a lot of rehearsal, almost like a choreography, so everyone knows what they’re doing on the day. And, especially for our show because there are so many of those scenes, the producers wanted to create a very, very safe environment for us to feel comfortable. I don’t know how intimacy coordinators weren’t around before.

Adam Demos features in this Sunday’s Stellar. Picture: Hugh Stewart for Stellar.

S: Were you inundated with offers to play similarly sexy roles after Sex/Life?

AD: Not particularly. But I ended up going back [to Australia to film] a Netflix rom-com called A Perfect Pairing. That was very PG, for all the family. It was nice to do something my mum didn’t have to close her eyes for and that I could [watch] with my cousins.

S: You are obviously very close to your family. Was that part of the reason you and Sarah came back to Australia last year, so she could meet them?

AD: It was. The world had been closed so it took a while for her to get down there to meet my friends and to meet my mum. It was an incredible time. The only problem was that it was such a short trip she never got to see a kangaroo or koala. So, the next time we come, I’ll be in trouble if I don’t provide it.

S: Apart from the wildlife, what else do you want Sarah to experience here?

AD: I’m fortunate being from Wollongong because it’s such a beautiful part of the world. It’s just a different way of life and a lot more relaxed. She even said, “Why is everyone so incredibly nice?” I took her to Sublime Point [which has views across NSW’s Illawarra region] last time. I just want to show her more of our country.

S: Long before Sex/Life, back in 2012 you played the Solo Man in one of the iconic commercials. What was that like?

AD: I was a colonial Solo Man who discovered lemon trees. Like everyone, I remembered the kayaking Solo Man from the ads [in the 1990s]. It was the biggest thing I’d done in terms of scale and production. My mum still has the poster on her fridge.

Season two of Sex/Life is streaming from Thursday on Netflix.