Being an actor has its perks. But, as many actors have pointed out, performing nude scenes in front of a camera and crew is not really a highlight for any actor.
Two Game of Thrones characters consummated their relationship in the second episode of Season 7, Stormborn. The Queen of Dragons’ savvy advisor Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel) and the commander of her Unsullied army Grey Worm (Jacob Anderson) solidified their romantic tension. Grey worm is being dispatched to seize the Lannister stronghold of Casterly Rock, a mission which would easily mean his death.
But, in an interview with EW Nathalie explained what it was like to film the sex scene.
“When I read the script the first thing I thought was that it’s a big deal for these two characters and also it’s a nude scene and you can’t help but think about that,” she says. “You’re like, ‘Okay, I’m getting naked.’ And that was really strange for Jacob and I because we’ve danced around that scenario and we’ve become good mates and now we got to be naked around each other. But it was fine and, obviously, done really respectfully. Whether you’ve done it many times, or none at all, it’s a big deal. You feel like you’re giving something quite vulnerable and, yes, it’s hard.”
Emmanuel explained that her fellow actors helped her by giving her anecdotes about shooting their first nude scenes. “It’s never a comfortable thing to do but if you trust your director and actors and the people on set, it’s fine,” she says. “It was treated very well and very respectfully and I feel like we had a really great day showing these two characters being completely vulnerable with each other. And it sort of helps the scene to actually feel very vulnerable and exposed. It’s good to use that energy and it made it so much better.”
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