Film & TV3 min(s) read
A-list British actors you never realized performed unsimulated sex acts on screen
When you’re watching your favorite British actor lighting up the screen, you probably assume all the steamy scenes are carefully choreographed with body doubles and camera tricks. But in some cases, those sex scenes are 100 percent real - no faking, no stand-ins.
From controversial indie films to lesser-known biopics, a few UK celebs have gone all-in for authenticity. Whether it was their own choice or a director’s call, these stars actually had unsimulated sex on camera, and some of them have mixed feelings about it now.
Letterboxd once put together a list of films featuring real sex acts, and a few big names from the UK made the cut.
Kieran O’Brien and Margo Stilley went all out in 9 Songs
The 2004 film 9 Songs is often described as one of the most sexually explicit films in modern cinema. It follows a passionate relationship between a young couple from their first meeting at Brixton Academy through to their breakup. And when it comes to sex scenes, this one doesn’t hold back.
Kieran O’Brien engages in multiple unsimulated sex scenes with Margo Stilley, including oral sex and ejaculation. O’Brien said it "wasn’t difficult" for him to do and, despite the film’s controversy, he was "really proud" of it. Stilley still defends the film 20 years later.
"It's a shame that it's been torn apart into these little pieces and bastardised online, to be honest," she told LADbible.
Robert Pattinson did the real thing for Little Ashes
Before he became known for playing a sparkly vampire and later a brooding Batman, Robert Pattinson took on the role of Salvador Dali in the 2008 film Little Ashes. And in one unforgettable scene, he masturbated for real on camera.
Pattinson explained that he didn’t believe faking the act would be convincing enough. Speaking to Interview magazine in Germany, he said: "My orgasm face is recorded for eternity."
Mark Rylance had serious regrets about Intimacy
In the 2001 film Intimacy, Mark Rylance starred alongside Kerry Fox in a raw portrayal of a casual relationship between two strangers in London. The movie includes an unsimulated oral sex act, and Rylance later admitted it was one of the hardest roles he ever took.
"I was convinced it was a vital story about the difficulties people face finding intimacy in a big city like London," he told The Guardian. "Hanif Kureishi's writing couldn't have been more intimate and revealing, but I found the making of the film and the subsequent publicity and personal attacks very, very painful. I wish I hadn't made it."