Sarah Shahi has opened up about what really happens behind the camera when filming intimate scenes, sharing details about the practical techniques used to make them look realistic on screen.

The actress, known for her role in Netflix’s steamy drama Sex/Life, revealed several behind-the-scenes methods during a recent podcast appearance, including one prop that surprised even the host.

The 46-year-old spoke candidly about the realities of filming sexual scenes, explaining that although viewers may see passion and chemistry, the process itself is often highly choreographed and technical.

Her comments offered insight into how actors manage nerves, maintain boundaries, and navigate the physical demands of filming.

Shahi made the revelations during an episode of the Off The Vine podcast with host Kaitlyn Bristowe, who asked how performers handle the awkwardness of shooting intimate moments while surrounded by a production crew.

The conversation quickly turned to practical tricks used on set to make scenes work without compromising comfort.

Behind-the-scenes secrets from filming sex scenes

During the podcast, Bristowe asked: “You’ve obviously had a lot of sex scenes and certain things in a lot of your roles. How do you do that? Do you just have to completely disassociate and take yourself [away] from the cameras and people around? I don’t know, how do you do it?”

Shahi responded honestly about the emotional and physical preparation involved. “Sometimes there’s alcohol involved just to block out the nerves as much as you can.

“If I don’t find them attractive I just try to put another face on them. For example, the scenes where he [a co-star] had me bent over the counter and he was from behind.”

Sarah Shahi. Credit: Off The Vine

She then revealed one of the practical solutions used during filming. “The way we did stuff like that was we had like a deflated yoga ball, like a small little yoga disc ball thing. And you put it kind of lower here [Sarah gestures to the item covering the vagina from behind] and it lies between the two of you.

“So when he’s doing the action he’s actually bumping up against the yoga ball and I’m feeling the impact of the yoga ball and not him.”

Bristowe reacted with surprise, saying: “Hey, that’s genius!”

“It’s genius, right?,” Shahi echoed. “And it actually allows for more freedom because you’re not feeling things you don’t want to feel.”

Sex/Life season 2. Credit: Netflix

The success of Sex/Life and its legacy

Sex/Life premiered on Netflix in June 2021 and quickly gained attention for its explicit storytelling and bold themes. Shahi starred as Billie Connelly, a suburban mother reflecting on her past relationships while balancing her present life. The series ran for two seasons before ending in 2023.

The actress shared many intimate scenes throughout the show, including storylines involving her character’s former partner Brad Simon, played by Adam Demos. The pair began dating after meeting on set and remained together for several years before separating in 2025.

Shahi’s recent comments highlight how carefully structured intimate scenes can be, giving viewers a clearer understanding of the planning, communication, and technical tools used to create realistic moments on screen while protecting the actors involved.

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It's been over a decade since the last episode of The Sopranos aired, and you panicked because you thought the cable cut out. The groundbreaking HBO crime drama series followed the life of New Jersey mobster - I mean, waste management consultant - Tony Soprano. As he rooted out snitches, sought treatment from his therapist and struggled to balance "the business" with family, viewers were riveted. Looking back, Tony Soprano paved the way for other television anti-heroes like Breaking Bad's Walter White and basically everyone on Game of Thrones.

Actor James Gandolfini brought Tony Soprano to life in an iconic performance that won multiple Emmy's, Golden Globes and Screen Actor's Guild Awards. Sadly, James died at the age of 51, after suffering a heart attack in 2013. That appeared to put the idea of another 'Sopranos' series or movie to rest. However, now series creator David Chase is making a 'Sopranos' prequel, and has cast the perfect person to play young Tony: James' son, 19-year-old Michael Gandolfini.

Obviously, Michael resembles a young Tony Soprano, but he didn't just get the part because of nepotism. Insiders told Deadline that the filmmakers conducted extensive auditions, and Michael was the standout choice due to his charisma and mastery of Tony's mannerisms. The late actor's son recently had a breakout role on the HBO drama series The Deuce, playing Joey Dwyer in five episodes.

The Sopranos prequel is called The Many Saints of Newark and is set during the Newark riots in the 1960's when African-American and Italian gangsters were at war. The story will focus on Dickie Moltisanti, played Alessandro Nivola, who mentors young Tony in the ways of 'this little thing of ours.'

The character never appeared on screen in The Sopranos, even through a flashback, but was frequently mentioned by Tony. We know that Dickie is Carmella Soprano's cousin, and was shot down when his son, Christopher, was a baby. This led Tony to become paternal toward Chrissy - for a while, anyway!

The Many Saints of Newark also stars Vera Farmiga, Jon Bernthal, Billy Magnussen and Corey Stoll. It will be directed by Alan Taylor, who helmed nine episodes of The Sopranos during its six-season Tony's father, Johnny Boy, will be a featured character, and there will probably be other callbacks to the series. (However, if it ends by suddenly cutting to black, we riot.)

In a statement to Deadline, Michael Gandolfini said, "It’s a profound honor to continue my dad’s legacy while stepping into the shoes of a young Tony Soprano. I’m thrilled that I’m going to have the opportunity to work with David Chase and the incredible company of talent he has assembled for The Many Saints of Newark."

It will be interesting to see if the prequel film lives up to the show. I hope David Chase makes some public appearances, so reporters can harass him over whether Tony Soprano is dead or not, and ask what the hell ever happened with that Russian in the woods.

Sophie Turner has revealed that she first learned about oral sex by reading the Game of Thrones scripts as a young teenager.

The actor was just 15 when she debuted as Sansa Stark in HBO’s hit fantasy series, but said she had already been exposed to adult themes even earlier while preparing for the role.

In a resurfaced 2017 interview with the Sunday Times, the then-21-year-old recalled the moment she first encountered explicit content while reading scripts for the show.

"The first time I found out about oral sex was reading the Game of Thrones script. I was 13. I said, 'Wow! People do that? That's fascinating,'" she joked. "I guess that was my sex education. Being on Game of Thrones."

Sophie Turner revealed that she learned about oral sex from a Game of Thrones script. Credit: Dave Benett / Getty

Backlash Over Child Actor Protections

The comments recently resurfaced on social media and have sparked a debate among viewers about how much young actors should be exposed to mature material.

"The underage cast members should’ve gotten edited scripts where intimate scenes were redacted or removed," one post read, while another questioned: "Actors aren't even supposed to get full scripts so why did they give her a script with sex scenes she wasn't even in?"

Others raised more general concerns about the treatment of young performers in the industry.

"We need more protection for child actors. It’s unacceptable that stories like this keep coming out, and it’s important to emphasize that the parents and the studios are equally responsible. your entertainment is not worth the exploitation of children on a mass scale," a third user said.

"People complain a lot about movies and shows casting actors in their 30s to play teenagers but I kind of think that can be a good thing with certain subject matter so we don't end up with situations like this," a fourth added.

Sophie Turner was 13 years old when she was cast as Sansa Stark in Game of Thrones in August 2009. Credit: Jeff Kravitz / Getty

Controversial Scenes and Public Reaction

In the same 2017 interview, Turner reflected on one of the show’s most controversial storylines, when her character was raped by Ramsey Bolton during a 2015 episode.

The brutal scene triggered outrage on social media at the time, something the actress admitted she had not anticipated.

"Sexual assault wasn’t something that had affected me or anybody I knew, so I was pretty blasé about the whole thing," she said. "Naively so. And then I shot the scene, and in the aftermath, there was this huge uproar that we would depict something like that on television. My first response was like, maybe we shouldn’t have put that on screen at all."

However, the Dark Phoenix star explained that the uproar made her reassess her perspective, and she came to a different conclusion.

"The more we talk about sexual assault, the better, and screw the people who are saying we shouldn’t be putting this on TV and screw the people who are saying they’re going to boycott the show because of it.

"This sort of thing used to happen, and it continues to happen now, and if we treat it as such a taboo and precious subject, then how are people going to have the strength to come out and feel comfortable saying that this has happened to them?" she added.

Years later, the mom-of-two has continued to stand by those comments. Speaking to Flaunt Magazine last year, she explained why she believes the storyline helped drive important conversations.

“I did feel - and still do - that Game of Thrones shone a light on things that many people were like, 'Oh god, you can't show that kind of thing' - and I understand it can be triggering, I totally understand that point of view," she said. “But I did feel we were actually doing a lot of justice to women and the fight women have had to fight for hundreds of thousands of years.”

She also reflected on how women have long endured "the patriarchy, being treated as objects and being constantly sexually assaulted," adding: "I don't think there's one woman I know who hasn't had a form of that."

Turner went on to say it can be frustrating when these experiences are dismissed. "That's because we don't [talk about] it enough - we shy away from it," she said.

"I think if Game of Thrones came out today, we'd definitely put some trigger warnings on there," she continued. "But I'm really proud to have been a part of Game of Thrones where they didn't shy away from showing atrocities that happened to women back then. I feel proud to have been part of the conversation."

Featured image credit: Dave Benett / Getty

Netflix has canceled Sex/Life days after the show's protagonist Sarah Shahi took aim at its "gimmicky" second season and anticipated that she was "never going to work for" the streaming giant again as a result of her comments.

The erotic drama series, which debuted on the platform in 2021, centers around Billie Connelly (played by Shahi) who reconnects with her former flame Brad Simon (played by Adam Demos) despite being married to Cooper Connelly (played by Mike Vogel).

Season two, which arrived on Netflix last month, saw the three central characters return to resume their love triangle.

However, Shahi recently criticized the new season, saying that she didn't receive sufficient support from Netflix before going on to say that her negative remarks would like lead to the end of her working relationship with the streamer.

Speaking on the Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast, she said: "I’m not going to put it down, but I definitely did not have the support that I did the first season from the people involved in the show. It became a much different thing for me, and I’m not afraid to say that.

"I struggled with the material. I just felt the thing that it had the first season — I mean, I’m never gonna work for Netflix again now after saying all this, but I can’t lie. And it was definitely a challenge."

In comparison with the first season, Shahi said that there were "more moments that felt very gimmicky."

"Those kinds of things for me are always really hard to read… But I didn’t have to do them. The boys did," she said. "There were other things that I just felt I couldn’t get behind, and it was just challenging."

On Friday (April 7), a Deadline report revealed that a Netflix representative confirmed that the show had come to an end, saying that the second season "brought the series to a natural close."

Interestingly the showrunner of Sex/Life, Stacy Rukeyser, told The Hollywood Reporter following the premiere of season two that the finale wasn't written as the show's ending, and she was anticipating another season to wrap up the story.

"The episode was never intended to be a series finale, that’s for sure," she said.

"I know there are always more stories to tell with these characters in the Sex/Life universe, and I hope we get the chance to tell those stories. It was important that we get to a meaningful place with each character this season."

Featured image credit: Everett Collection Inc / Alamy

Drea De Matteo, best known for her role in the hit show The Sopranos, has recently revealed how she shut down her 12-year-old son when he had some bold things to say about her OnlyFans career.

Now, De Matteo first captured audiences' attention with her portrayal of Adriana La Cerva, the fiery girlfriend of Christopher Moltisanti, in the critically acclaimed HBO series The Sopranos.

Her performance earned her widespread praise and she even went on to secure a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2004.

Following her success on the show, the 52-year-old continued to showcase her talent across multiple other films such as Swordfish (2001), Assault on Precinct 13 (2005), and Dark Places (2015).

However, in 2020, after refusing to adhere to Covid-19 vaccine mandates and being dropped by her agent, she decided to join OnlyFans and make a living from it.

After starting her account in August 2023, the star addressed the subject with Decider at the time.

"I know some people have said some nasty things about me having joined OnlyFans," she told Fox News Digital. "But, you know, the way we see it in this house is mommy’s a warrior, not accepting defeat."

She continued: "I figured, 'OK, so everybody's in their underwear and being sexy on Instagram and I don't do that, but I can do that and get paid for it.' ...I don’t know why I didn’t think of this sooner."

Less than a year later, her career on the adult website was well and truly cemented, but just like before, not everyone is happy about it including her son.

Speaking on Wednesday’s episode of The Sage Steele Show, De Matteo joked that she had to put her 12-year-old, Waylon, "in his place" after he expressed his reservations about her career.

"'Do you like that jacket you just asked me to buy you?'" she recalled asking him. "'You like all the things that you want that make you happy? You like that new PC that you begged for for Christmas?

"Because you wouldn’t have that s*** if Mommy didn’t show her ass!'" she laughed.

When the host asked how Waylon responded to that explanation, De Matteo replied: "That shuts him up because he’s a little greedy little b******, too, sometimes. I mean, he’s 12, you know?"

Alongside Waylon, De Matteo also shares her 16-year-old daughter Alabama with her ex, Shooter Jennings.

Elsewhere during the interview, she also opened up about what she tells her son to say if he gets ridiculed online for her adult career.

"If they say anything, say 'those boobies fed me when I was a little baby and they’re still feeding me now,'" she joked.

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