Secrets of the most infamous nude scenes in cinema
Porn stunt doubles, career-ending nude scenes and eye-popping prosthetics – here are secrets from some of the most infamous sex scenes ever.
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It is one of the most iconic movie scenes of all time – Britt Ekland dancing naked to seduce a policeman in The Wicker Man.
Yet the moment from the classic 1973 film has now been given a trigger warning as university bosses fear it may be too much for today’s sensitive students.
The movie is on the syllabus of a master’s degree in folklore at the UK’s University of Hertfordshire, and students on the course have been told they can skip it if they are worried about the “depiction of nudity”.
But Swedish actress Britt Ekland, 82, has branded the decision “absurd”.
She told The Mail on Sunday: “Excuse my language but it’s bollocks.
“In 52 years, I have had many comments [from men] that was their first experience of seeing someone of the opposite sex without clothes.
“I have never ever had a comment saying “you disturbed me for the rest of my life”.
But Britt’s seductive scene isn’t the only nude movie moment to cause controversy – as these screen secrets reveal.
Basic Instinct – Sharon Stone
The infamous panty-less leg-crossing scene in Basic Instinct is one of the most paused moments ever on VHS and DVD.
But it became even more contentious because star Sharon Stone, 62, alleged in her memoir that she did not realise director Paul Verhoeven, 86, had captured her “parts” in the now-iconic interrogation scene.
Stone claimed that Verhoeven asked her to remove her underwear since her white dress was reflecting the light and ruining the shot.
Yet Stone didn’t realise her genitals would be in frame, calling the final scene a “vagina-shot.”
Stone reportedly slapped Verhoeven after seeing the first cut of the film but after taking legal advice she eventually decided not to sue.
“I chose to allow this scene in the film. Why? Because it was correct for the film and for the character and because, after all, I did it,” Stone wrote.
While the director claimed that Stone’s recollection of events was “impossible,” the scene is still what the psychological thriller is best known for.
Titanic – Kate Winslet
In a scene widely credited as one of the most tender in the blockbuster movie Titanic, Kate Winslet’s Rose asks Leonardo DiCaprio’s Jack to ‘paint me like one of your French girls.’
The French girls were nude of course – so Rose strips naked apart from the iconic Heart of the Ocean necklace.
It was the scene that introduced a new generation of young audiences to on-screen nudity – and also sparked a wave of ugly ‘fat-shaming’.
Despite her perfect, healthy curves, Winslet, who was 22 at the time, later said she had been trolled for her weight after the naked scene.
“It’s absolutely appalling,” she said. “What kind of a person must they be to do something like that to a young actress who’s just trying to figure it out?”
With a career spanning decades, an Oscar, five BAFTAs and a Grammy to her name, it is fair to say she has had the last laugh.
Boogie Nights – Mark Wahlberg
Mark Wahlberg, 53, had a secret weapon to give him a helping hand in his role as porn star Dirk Diggler – a huge fake penis.
Dirk had been scouted for a career in the adult film industry thanks to being so well-endowed, so a seriously impressive prosthetic appendage was created for Wahlberg.
Even when he was fully clothed and not wearing the fake penis, he wore a custom bulge made out of a stocking filled with birdseed. Everyone involved in the movie was left mightily impressed by his commitment to the cause.
“What Mark Wahlberg did in that movie was all sorts of things that he had to absolutely commit to,” said director of photography Robert Elswit.
“He had to put a prosthetic c**k on his own c**k, you know what I mean? That’s asking an awful lot of an actor, honestly.”
Saltburn – Barry Keoghan
It is the nude scene that broke the internet and spawned a million copycat videos as Barry Keoghan’s character dances naked around the Saltburn mansion to Sophie Ellis Bextor’s Murder on the Dancefloor.
And unlike Mark, what the viewers saw was all him.
When asked by Louis Theroux, 54, about speculation he had had prosthetic enhancement for the scene, Keoghan, 32, replied: “Of course it was me. Nah, who said that? Wow. It was all me.”
And he admitted that he happily walks around naked at home, saying: “Everyone does, man. We all sing in the shower. We all act silly when we’re alone and we feel this freedom.
“It’s one thing that I did relate to. Not dancing around a manor of that sort with that fecking drip hanging about — but I sing out loud, I dance silly and move my body silly.”
American Gigolo – Richard Gere
Heartthrob Richard Gere, 75, starred as popular male prostitute Julian Kaye who happily came to the sexual rescue of a series of bored and lonely housewives.
The film is widely recognised as the first major movie where a big name actor appeared entirely in the buff.
But it wasn’t meant to be that way and it was Gere himself who decided that was what the movie needed.
“If I recall, [the nudity] wasn’t in the script,” Gere told Entertainment Weekly. “It was just in the natural process of making the movie.”
Showgirls – Elizabeth Berkley
Former Saved by the Bell star Elizabeth Berkley certainly made a huge transition from the teen sitcom when she starred as a down-and-out Vegas dancer in Showgirls.
Featuring several scenes of full frontal nudity, Berkley says the role as sassy stripper Nomi Malone had a huge effect on her life.
“It changed me,” she said. “It was a life moment and I cannot help but say I would be a different person had I not gone through the depths of what it taught me.”
The movie failed to impress in cinemas and was nominated for a record 13 Golden Raspberry Awards instead.
But it gained a cult following on home video, where it earned an additional $US100 million in rentals – not least down to Berkley’s scenes.
Wolf of Wall Street – Margot Robbie
Aussie actress Margot Robbie, 34, was just 21 when she bared all in a full frontal nude scene.
But she revealed director Martin Scorsese gave her the option of whether to go naked or not.
She said Scorsese told her: “‘Maybe you can be wearing a robe if you’re not comfortable.’ And I was like, ‘That is not what she would do in that scene. She would not put a robe on.’ The whole point is that she’s going to come out completely naked. That’s the card she’s playing right now.”
But it was only later that she began wondering how she was going to tell her family about the scene.
“I think my bigger concerns weren’t even, ‘How did I come across as an actor?’ [But more] like, ‘Oh gosh, everyone is going to see this,’ and I hadn’t really appreciated that until that point,” Robbie said.
Normal People – Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar Jones
It was the most talked about TV series of 2020 – not least because of the full frontal nude scenes.
The romantic adaptation of Sally Rooney’s best-selling novel tells of the on-off relationship between Connell and Marianne.
Episode five sees the couple reconnect and also features the longest sex scene ever to be shown on Irish television.
The intimate scene caused chaos as fans of the Normal People rushed to X to share their awkward encounters while watching the ‘naughty’ clips.
One fan wrote: “Okay, let’s just say that I’ll never again be able to look my Dad in the eye again after we shared the moment of Connell’s manhood together”.
But Paul Mescal, 29, said that both he and Daisy Edgar Jones, 26, were fully aware of the nudity involved when they accepted the roles.
He explained: “When I read the book, the characters are clearly naked in my head so I knew that was going to be the case when I got the part”.
“Do I have to get naked? Yeah, absolutely fine. Do I want screenshots all over the internet? Probably not, but that’s ultimately something I can’t control.”
Fifty Shades of Grey – Dakota Johnson
Given the subject matter of the best selling erotic novels by EL James, star Dakota Johnson, 35, could have been in little doubt that she would have to get naked as lead character Anastasia Steele.
And for much of the film she was wearing very little as her character embarked on a BDSM relationship with businessman Christian Grey, played by Jamie Dornan, 42.
But she later revealed that there was one controversial scene that wasn’t actually her flesh – because she used a bum double.
“There was a close-up of a bum getting hit with a belt. That was not my bum because I didn’t want to get hit with a belt,” she said. Dakota’s secretive tattoo on her buttocks didn’t align with Anastasia’s character either.
Monster’s Ball – Halle Berry
The sex scene between Halle Berry, 58, and Billy Bob Thornton, 69, was so steamy that movie fans were left wondering if the pair had actually had sex during filming.
Berry won an Oscar for her role as grieving widow Leticia Musgrove and her torrid relationship with corrections officer Hank Grotowski.
Billy was married to Angelina Jolie, 49, at the time, and Halle later denied the rumours of their all-too-real sex scene, saying she would never sleep with another woman’s husband.
“We had a very explicit sex scene,” Berry said. “You can’t just be a good actor and you can’t just make that s**t look real.
“He had a wife, so, you know, all respect. I know Angie and she ain’t signing off on that s**t. I’m a girl’s girl. I’ll do a lot of things, but I’m not gonna sleep with your man.”
Machete – Jessica Alba
Jessica Alba, 43, appears to be totally naked in one scene of the 2010 movie Machete – but later admitted she had kept her clothes on.
The star filmed the steamy shower scene wearing white underwear – which was later removed using CGI.
Her publicist later said she had made a vow early on in her career never to go naked on screen, saying: “Jessica has been steadfast in her resolve not to appear nude in films from the beginning of her career.
“The decision to digitally remove the underwear from the shower scene in Machete was one she and Robert Rodriguez made together, which would serve his vision for the film, as well as honour her personal convictions regarding nudity.
“She is very proud of the film and stands by the creative decisions she and Robert made about this scene.”
Nymphomaniac – Stacy Martin and Shia LaBeouf
The 2013 movie caused controversy as it featured real sex scenes featuring porn doubles.
It followed the erotic life of a woman called Joe, and the younger version was played by Stacy Martin, 34, who performed some very steamy naked scenes with Shia LaBeouf, 38.
“What scared me wasn’t the nakedness but it was interacting naked. Shia was very professional but we didn’t actually do anything sexual,” she said.
”That was left to the porn doubles. It’s a totally different industry. The porn stars finish the job off for you. I never thought I’d meet my porn double,” she said.
This story originally appeared on The Sun and is republished here with permission.
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