The stories behind famous film and TV love scenes

'Masters of Sex' - This hit TV show follows academic leaders in the field of sexual relations. So it should be all hot and heavy, right? Wrong. Lead actor Michael Sheen was suffering from a horrible case of food poisoning during filming. His costar Lizzy Caplan revealed that in between sex scenes he was vomiting all over the set.

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'Last Tango In Paris' - Marlon Brando was infamous around Hollywood for having trouble memorizing his lines. When filming 'Last Tango In Paris' he suggested using costar Maria Schneider's butt as a teleprompter.

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'Superbad' - If you thought Christopher Mintz-Plasse's sex scene in 'Superbad' was awkward, that's because it really was! During the time of filming, the actor was 17 years old and legally had to have his mother present. “She got there, and I had fake sexual intercourse in front of her,” Mintz-Plasse said. “Afterwards we didn’t talk about it; we still don’t speak about that moment.”

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'Eyes Wide Shut' -

This iconic film starring then-celebrity couple Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise was originally meant to be much different. Director Stanley Kubrick intended the male role to go to Woody Allen or Steve Martin. However, the sex-filled film was clearly meant for stars with real-life passion!

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'Passengers' - This sci-fi thriller featured Jennifer Lawrence's first-ever sex scene. The star revealed that she was so nervous that she got drunk right before filming. It also didn't help that her costar Chris Pratt was a married man!

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'Shameless' -

Everyone who has seen the hit TV show 'Shameless' knows just how often Emmy Rossum has to film love scenes. The star said, “We like it to be realistic but not real, but I wear something I call 'pad'… it’s kind of a little triangular panty liner that you stick to you,” she said in a very frank interview.

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'Life During Wartime' -

On the set of 'Life During Wartime' famed actress Allison Janney and her costar Michael Lerner got into a slippery situation. “We had to have sex up against a wall and they started spraying us with glistening stuff to make us look sweaty, but no one seemed to realize that we were standing on a marble floor,” she said in an interview. “They said action and he … pulled me up against the wall and his feet slipped out from under him and he went crashing down on the floor. It was terrible, but it was one of those moments I’ll never forget.”

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'Love & Other Drugs' -

Anne Hathaway's film 'Love & Other Drugs' features several intense love scenes. The star explained that one time, she got a little ahead of herself on set. Discussing one scene she said, “I have to remove my trench coat and be naked underneath, and I thought we were filming, but it turned out we were just rehearsing and I got unnecessarily naked in front of a lot of people!”

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'The Change-Up' - If anyone follows Ryan Reynolds, they know the actor has a great sense of humor. On the set of 'The Change-Up,' however, it was his costar Olivia Wilde who played the best pranks.

In an interview Reynolds explained, “So in the scene she’s sitting there, and I take her top off, I take her bra off, and she has those pasties on, but she’s drawn these adorable little smiley faces on them. And I forget every line in the scene. Not just from this movie, from every movie I’ve done,” Reynolds said. “At some point in the scene, she takes my hands and puts them on her breasts. I take my hands away, and I look down at my hands, and there are two frickin’ smiley faces on them and I have no idea what to do. And I reflexively, like an idiot, just put my hands right back on her breasts!”

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'Game of Thrones' - When filming the intense love scene between Mother of Dragons Emilia Clarke and Khal Drogo Jason Momoa, the actors decided to ease the tension with a hilarious "modesty sock." Rather than a simple covering, Momoa donned a bright pink fluffy garment.

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'Girls' - No one can say Allison Williams isn't a thoughtful actress! When shooting a love scene with her costar, she covered herself in vanilla ice cream in order to taste and smell like dessert!

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'The Tudors' - Henry Cavill is no stranger to awkward sex scenes. The actor revealed in an interview that he found himself in a hard situation on set. “A girl had to be on top of me, she had spectacular breasts, and I hadn’t rearranged my stuff into a harmless position. She’s basically rubbing herself all over me and, um, it got a bit hard,” Cavill said. “I had to apologize profusely afterwards.”

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'The Seven Year Itch' -

When you think of Marilyn Monroe, you probably remember her in a flowing white gown from the film 'The Seven Year Itch.' Turns out, that iconic scene has a dark backstory. Monroe was forced to film the 15-take shoot in front of over 5,000 New Yorkers who were howling at her.

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'Maps to the Stars' -

If you think Robert Pattinson is hot, this story will definitely affirm it! When filming 'Maps to the Stars' with Julianne Moore, Pattinson revealed things got uncomfortably heated!

“I sweat like a crazy person,” he said in an interview. “I was trying to literally catch drops of sweat to stop them hitting her back! Afterwards she was like ‘Are you having a panic attack?’ It was so embarrassing.”

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'Spring Breakers' - On the set of 'Spring Breakers,' rapper Gucci Mane hilariously revealed in an interview that he actually fell asleep during one of the sex scenes!

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'Fifty Shades of Grey' - The 'Fifty Shades' film franchise is filled with elaborate sex scenes. So, how did the actors retain a slight sense of modesty? Jamie Dornan claimed he had to wear a "wee bag," which would be fine except printed on the side was the label "Inmate #3."

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'The Legend of Tarzan' - Margot Robbie is one tough actress. Just ask her costar Alexander Skarsgård! While filming a sex scene Robbie was instructed to playfully punch him, however, she hit him so hard he bruised.

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'Desperate Housewives' - To say it was a pleasure for Jesse Metcalfe to shoot a sex scene with Eva Longoria may be an understatement. The actor revealed in a radio interview that after shooting he "needed a minute" to... relax.

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'Bridesmaids' - The opening scene of 'Bridesmaids' features Jon Hamm and Kristen Wiig in one of the funniest sex scenes in film history. Hamm later revealed that during the entire shoot he was terrified of physically crushing his costar. "I am not a small human being. I weigh at least 200 pounds [90 kilos] and I'm 6-foot-2 [1.88 m]," he said. "And Wiig is a twig; she's a skinny little thing. I told her, 'Just punch me in the side if I'm hurting you.'"

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'A Dangerous Method' - Keira Knightley is all business when it comes to sex scenes. While filming 'A Dangerous Method' she told her costar Michael Fassbender, "I’ve got a security guard outside. You touch me and he’s gonna break your legs!"

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'True Blood' - Things definitely got awkward on set of the hit vampire series 'True Blood.' Lead actress Anna Paquin was directed through a sex scene by her real life husband Stephen Moyer.

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'Crank 2' - Filming a sex scene in front of camera crews is awkward enough, let alone doing it in public! Jason Statham said his worst moment was in 'Crank 2' when he filmed naked in a crowded shopping mall.

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Kate Winslet - Famed actress Kate Winslet has filmed several sex scenes throughout her career. However, somehow the experience never gets less weird. "I hate it! Listen make no mistake, I just get on it," Winslet shared. "Dear Mum, at work today I had so-and-so's left nut sack pressed against my cheek. It's sort of unethical if you think about it in those terms."

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'Basic Instinct' - Sharon Stone's role in 'Basic Instinct' undoubtedly changed the entertainment world forever. However, she didn't know it would! The star revealed that she was tricked into her famous underwear-less interrogation scene by a vengeful director.

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'Neighbors' - Sometimes even seasoned movie stars aren't camera ready. Dave Franco said that the morning before filming his sex scene for 'Neighbors,' he woke up with a giant pimple on his butt!

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'The Last Man on Earth' - Kristen Schaal revealed just how close she got with her costar, Will Forte. “If you fart on your scene partner it’s the most intimate you can get," she said.

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'House of Lies' - If anyone can find the humor in something awkward, it's Kristen Bell. The star filmed a sex scene with Adam Brody while she was seven months pregnant. Brody said they "sandwiched" her baby in-between their stomachs.

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'At Any Price' -

Zac Efron got the chance to film a sex scene with his childhood crush Heather Graham. Rather than keeping it cool, Efron revealed he was completely nervous and shaking!

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The stories behind famous film and TV love scenes

Salma Hayek details traumatic experience filming 'Desperado' love scene

13/10/21 | StarsInsider

MOVIES Sex scenes

Movies and TV have a way of making love and relationships seem glamorous at every angle. From passionate kisses in the rain to steamy love under the sheets, watching love scenes can surely make you wonder what really happened on set.

Salma Hayek’s breakout film ‘Desperado’ (1995), directed by Robert Rodriguez and co-starring Antonio Banderas, launched her career in many ways, but she has revealed it was also a traumatic experience for her.

In 2021, the actress appeared on podcast ‘Armchair Expert’ and emphasized that Rodriguez and Banderas “never put pressure on [her],” but nonetheless revealed that the love scene was a surprise to her, as it was not in the script. Hayek said the scene was brought to her attention after production began, but she agreed to do it on a closed set.

“When we were going to start shooting, I started to s o b,” Hayek said, explaining that she was afraid of Banderas, though he was "an absolute gentleman," because "he was very free. It scared me that for him it was like nothing."

Click through to see what else she had to say about the experience, and check out even more awkward, ugly, and hilarious tales from Hollywood love scenes.