It is my belief that nudity and simulated sex are not a part of the craft of theatre and film acting and should not be engaged in at any point in their career by actors and actresses who are sensitive enough and talented enough to be considered artists and craftspeople.
In the same way that drinking three shots of whiskey and then “acting” in a drunk scene is not acting, so is actually being nude or engaging in real “simulated” sex not acting.
In the same way that eye gouging is not allowed or a part of the skill and sport of playing professional basketball or football, so should nudity not be allowed in artistic acting projects that consider themselves to reflect the superior quality of the craft of theatre and film acting.
Why isn’t eye gouging allowed in professional sports? Well, obviously eye gouging has nothing to do with the skill or gifts required to perform in professional sports. The second and most obvious reason why eye gouging is not allowed in sports is because it causes permanent injury to the player. In fact, after just one or two good eye gouges the talented sportsperson will be lacking the required facility – eyesight- to perform in the sport ever again.
No one wants to admit that nudity in film and TV is dangerous to your health or your career but we all know it is. The only question to ask yourself when casting an actress in a role that requires nudity is-would I cast a friend in this part? The answer will almost always be no. Why? Because you know that this actress will be subjected to a process that is demeaning at best and psychologically crippling at worst. That the chances of appearing nude in a feature film or TV show like ‘ Entourage” could very easily be the worst career move of her life, causing future casting directors to look on this actress’ resume as belonging to a stripper/exotic dancer type or a permanent extra player.
I’m not going to run down a list of actresses whose careers have either gone into a tailspin after doing nudity in film or never resumed forward momentum in career status because I don’t want to do any further damage to artists who have essentially consented to being “molested” on camera. In fact with the advent of the internet these actresses are reminded every day that the few seconds of film in which they appeared nude are being downloaded as freeze frames ad infitum just like any porn star with no acting training, experience or gift at all.
If you read a few interviews at random with actresses of quality about their actual experience doing nude scenes you will see several common claims. That the experience of being nude on a film set with many strangers watching and filming was “upsetting, embarrassing” that they “cried in their trailers afterwards”, that they were “unable to feel confident as actors afterwards” or made it impossible to interact with the other players as professional equals, that they “regret doing the scenes” and “would not do it again.” And importantly, that it not only did not open the career doors that were promised by “taking the risk and baring all” but in fact destroyed the very faculties of extreme emotional and psychological sensitivity and openness that are part of parcel of the skill package required to perform in “top form” in the craft of theatre and film acting ever again. And this happens after just one experience - just as quickly and efficiently as one good eye gouge destroys the eyesight of a pro sports star.
Unfortunately for actresses in particular, providing the nudity that helps “sell” a feature film translates into a “Game Over” situation for that artist.
