Actress reveals most 'humiliating' scene to film in movie with extremely graphic real life sex scenes that viewers were warned to watch alone

Filming a movie with real, unsimulated sex scenes is no easy task for any actor, regardless of experience.

However, the challenges faced by the cast of Lars Von Trier’s 2013 drama Nymphomaniac were on another level, especially for Charlotte Gainsbourg, who took on the film's central role.

The movie is split into two volumes and centers on Joe, a self-diagnosed nymphomaniac who recounts her life after being discovered beaten in an alley by an older man.

Across eight chapters, she shares details from birth to age 50, exploring her sexual experiences, relationships, personal struggles, and addiction, while the man listening offers intellectual and often unusual interpretations of her story.

Gainsbourg Opens Up About the Most Challenging Scene

Gainsbourg, who portrays Joe, opened up in a 2014 Vanity Fair interview about the physical and emotional challenges she faced while working on the film.

She revealed that filming the explicit scenes, particularly the "fellatio" scene, was by far the hardest part.

The 54-year-old explained that the difficulty came from how "intimate" the scenes felt, adding: "There was something quite humiliating about the whole thing."

Gainsbourg also revealed that, contrary to some assumptions, the explicit moments were not performed with other actors. Instead, adult body doubles were used for certain scenes, with digital effects completing the illusion of intimacy.

The 'O' Face Photoshoot: A Discomforting Experience

Some of the other cast members reflected on their experiences, with Stellan Skarsgård, who has collaborated with Von Trier before, mentioning that actresses often appreciate working with the director because of how he writes complex female characters.

However, Gainsbourg explained that her difficulty was amplified when stepping outside the controlled environment of the set, particularly during promotional work for the movie.

One such instance was a photoshoot for the film’s posters, which featured the tagline "show us your 'O' face."

Gainsbourg said she felt comfortable with Von Trier but found it awkward when working with other people on set. "The photographer was very sweet," she said, "But he wasn't Lars, and to go that far, just pretending an orgasm, without Lars, was suddenly awkward."

Viewer Warnings And Critic Reactions

Nymphomaniac has since gained a strong cult following, but it remains one of the most provocative films of its time.

Many viewers have taken to social media to warn others about watching it in public settings.

"If you're planning to watch Nymphomaniac pt.1 & 2, watch it alone," one viewer suggested, while another warned: "I feel like I should probably watch Nymphomaniac alone... Don’t ask questions."

Critical response to Trier’s project leaned positive overall, though reactions varied significantly between the two installments. Volume I holds a 77% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, while Volume II has a lower 59% score.

One critic described the film as "wildly absurdist, provocative, and infuriating," while another argued that it was more "tiresome than titillating," adding that it is "a peculiar, downbeat and decidedly male view of a woman's appetites, not an honest assessment of her multifarious desires."

Both volumes of Nymphomaniac are available to stream on Netflix and Kanopy in the USA.

Featured image credit: Gary Gershoff / Getty