Emma Stone says the sex scenes in 'Poor Things' are necessary: 'I'm not a person that just wants to be naked all the time'
Emma Stone believes the sex in "Poor Things" is needed because it's part of her character's journey.
The actor said that she isn't someone who "wants to be naked all the time" in real life.
The Yorgos Lanthimos movie follows Bella Baxter, a young woman resurrected by a scientist.
Emma Stone is defending the sex and nudity in her new movie "Poor Things."
The latest film from director Yorgos Lanthimos follows Bella Baxter (played by Stone), a woman resurrected by a scientist after she dies by suicide. Upon her resurrection, Bella must learn all about the world again and rediscovers sex and pleasure, which leads to an affair with seedy lawyer Duncan Wedderburn (played by Mark Ruffalo).
Speaking on BBC Radio 4's"Front Row" program earlier this week, Stone said the raunchy scenes between Bella and Duncan are necessary to her character.
"So much of this was about being true to Bella's experience," Stone said in an interview that aired on Tuesday. "I see sex… Obviously, because it's more titillating or something to talk about, people do bring that aspect up a lot, and it is a huge part of her experience and her growth. As it is, I think, for most people in life."
"But I see it as just one aspect of many. Her discovery of food, philosophy, travel, and dance. Sex is another aspect," the actor added.
Stone also said that Bella's experience of sex is different because she doesn't understand the societal norms and pressures surrounding it.
"One of the things we talked about from very early on, and what I thought was extremely important, is that Bella is completely free and without shame about her body," Stone explained.
"She doesn't know to be embarrassed by these things, or to cover things up, or not dive into the full experience when it comes to anything," she continued.
As a result, Stone said, playing the character with as little inhibition as possible was important.
"So for the camera to sort of shy away from that, or to say like, OK, well, we'll just cut all of this out because our society functions in a particular way... it felt like a lack of being honest about who Bella is and what she feels," said the Oscar winner.
"I'm not a person that just wants to be naked all the time, but I am someone who wants to honor the character as fully as I possibly can," Stone continued. "For this, it felt like that's part of her journey, so who am I to say that should be shameful?"
Because of their intimate nature, sex scenes are complicated to shoot in film and TV.
Intimacy coordinator Ita O'Brien, who worked on "Normal People" and "It's a Sin," told Business Insider in 2022 that it's important to have an open dialogue with actors to ensure they don't feel pressured into agreeing to sex scenes.
"We want to have a process that allows that conversation to happen without that actor feeling that they have to promise something more that overrides their boundaries in order to get this role," O'Brien said.
Alicia Rodis, an intimacy coordinator at HBO, said that these conversations also include the director so everyone is on the same page.
"There is a conversation that happens with the director to find out what their vision is so that we can best support that and also understand explicitly what it is they are asking from the actors," said Rodis.
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