Christina Ricci has revealed why she would stay naked while on the set of one of her most famous movies.
In a candid conversation with Euphoria star Sydney Sweeney for Variety's Actors on Actors series, the two stars opened up about the best ways to approach on-set nudity while filming.
The 44-year-old Addams Family star then discussed how she used to walk around the set naked to help normalize the human body and ease the discomfort of filming nude scenes.
"Once I had to do a movie where I was naked pretty much the entire time," Ricci revealed. Looking back through her filmography, it is a safe assumption that she's referring to her part in the 2006 movie Black Snake Moan - where she plays a sex addict opposite Justin Timberlake and Samuel L. Jackson.
Needless to say, the role required Ricci to be nude for a significant portion of the movie.
Ricci revealed that he was made "uncomfortable" by others' discomfort. Credit: WWD / Getty
Ricci then revealed that she felt "more uncomfortable" by the fact that others on set were uncomfortable with her being in her birthday suit.
"So what I did, and you probably wouldn’t be allowed to do this now — I just stayed naked. I was like, ‘Don’t make me feel weird, like I’m the person who has to be ashamed,'" she revealed. Check out their conversation below:
The actress, who believes this strategy helped everyone - including herself - become desensitized to nudity, continued: "I would talk to crew members naked. I wanted everybody around me to stop reacting to it, because then I would forget that I was naked."
In response, Sweeney described Ricci's actions as "kind of like a power move".
Samuel L. Jackson and Christina Ricci at the premiere of Black Snake Moan. Credit: Sylvain Gaboury / Getty
Ricci then joked about throwing her "five-foot-one stature" around the set, adding: "'You’re going to have to look at my boobs. Sorry!'"
Ricci's conversation with Sweeney also touched upon the evolving landscape of the industry regarding women's comfort during intimate scenes. She noted that there has been a positive change, saying: "With the conversations that were had on our set about intimacy and people’s comfort, it was the first time I realized that things have really changed, and women are now allowed to say, 'I’m not comfortable.'"
Reflecting on her earlier experiences, Ricci recalled a time when she faced threats of legal action for expressing discomfort with a scene, a scenario she believes wouldn't occur in today's more progressive environment. However, she admitted to Sweeney that she hasn't done a sex scene in recent years, adding: "I’m at that age where they don’t ask you to do them so much anymore. I mean, I don’t really enjoy them."