Photo:David M. Benett/Dave Benett/GettyJoanna Lumleywould prefer movies and television ditch sex scenes altogether.Lumley, 77, toldThe Guardianin a new interview that she always felt uncomfortable doing sex scenes for movies but it was somewhat required of actresses.“Oh, everybody stripped,” she said. “Everybody had to, from Diana Rigg to Julie Christie, we all had to take at least our tops off in something. It was standard and it was this, ‘You’re not a real actress unless you take your top off.’ Nobody liked it, like nobody likes intimate kissing or sex scenes.“The actress — whose has over 100 onscreen credits during a career that dates back to the ’60s — went on to refer to performing nude scenes and sex scenes as “all this ghastly stuff we have to pretend to do.““Everybody knows it’s pretending and it’s kind of soft porn, and now we’ve got coaches to teach us how to do it,” Lumley added, referencing the more recent rise ofintimacy coordinatorsin the industry. “Thank God I’m beyond it now.”Lumley noted that the prominence of intimacy coordinators for sex scenes is “probably a nice thing,” though she added she believes the practice at large “intolerable.“Everett Collection"I think they’re revolting, I don’t know why people write them and I don’t know why we watch them,” the British actress said of sex scenes. “We wouldn’t have films of people sitting on the loo. There are some things which are private.”When asked how Lumley felt about the pressure to do topless scenes in her past, she said: “You do it with hatred. Not hatred, but sort of sullenly,” and then responded in the affirmative when the outlet asked whether those practices felt “exploitative.“Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.“Oh, it always is,” she told The Guardian. “But there are lots of other things you have to do in life which are horrible, and you never wanted to do them, and you find yourself caught up with them."“Also remember, the world … We [had been] four girls sharing a flat but we weren’t allowed to sign the lease – a man had to,” Lumley recalled. “Men were always paid more, always top dog, and you could be sacked from a film if you didn’t take your top off. So then a lot of people go, ‘Shall I just take my top off and remain in the film?’ It was a different world.”Everett CollectionOverall, the actress — who is embarking on a new television travel series titledJoanna Lumley’s Spice Trail Adventure —recalled sexual harassment as a common part of life during her early career in London.“At the tube, in the pub, in the shops, there was always whistling, bottom pinching, overfamiliar hand on shoulder, it happened all the time,” theAbsolutely Fabulousstar said.“You get used to it, you know how to do that,” she said, as the outlet described her pantomiming slapping a man’s hand. “Or move away. You deal with it.”
Photo:David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty
David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty
Joanna Lumleywould prefer movies and television ditch sex scenes altogether.Lumley, 77, toldThe Guardianin a new interview that she always felt uncomfortable doing sex scenes for movies but it was somewhat required of actresses.“Oh, everybody stripped,” she said. “Everybody had to, from Diana Rigg to Julie Christie, we all had to take at least our tops off in something. It was standard and it was this, ‘You’re not a real actress unless you take your top off.’ Nobody liked it, like nobody likes intimate kissing or sex scenes.“The actress — whose has over 100 onscreen credits during a career that dates back to the ’60s — went on to refer to performing nude scenes and sex scenes as “all this ghastly stuff we have to pretend to do.““Everybody knows it’s pretending and it’s kind of soft porn, and now we’ve got coaches to teach us how to do it,” Lumley added, referencing the more recent rise ofintimacy coordinatorsin the industry. “Thank God I’m beyond it now.”Lumley noted that the prominence of intimacy coordinators for sex scenes is “probably a nice thing,” though she added she believes the practice at large “intolerable.“Everett Collection"I think they’re revolting, I don’t know why people write them and I don’t know why we watch them,” the British actress said of sex scenes. “We wouldn’t have films of people sitting on the loo. There are some things which are private.”When asked how Lumley felt about the pressure to do topless scenes in her past, she said: “You do it with hatred. Not hatred, but sort of sullenly,” and then responded in the affirmative when the outlet asked whether those practices felt “exploitative.“Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.“Oh, it always is,” she told The Guardian. “But there are lots of other things you have to do in life which are horrible, and you never wanted to do them, and you find yourself caught up with them."“Also remember, the world … We [had been] four girls sharing a flat but we weren’t allowed to sign the lease – a man had to,” Lumley recalled. “Men were always paid more, always top dog, and you could be sacked from a film if you didn’t take your top off. So then a lot of people go, ‘Shall I just take my top off and remain in the film?’ It was a different world.”Everett CollectionOverall, the actress — who is embarking on a new television travel series titledJoanna Lumley’s Spice Trail Adventure —recalled sexual harassment as a common part of life during her early career in London.“At the tube, in the pub, in the shops, there was always whistling, bottom pinching, overfamiliar hand on shoulder, it happened all the time,” theAbsolutely Fabulousstar said.“You get used to it, you know how to do that,” she said, as the outlet described her pantomiming slapping a man’s hand. “Or move away. You deal with it.”
Joanna Lumleywould prefer movies and television ditch sex scenes altogether.
Lumley, 77, toldThe Guardianin a new interview that she always felt uncomfortable doing sex scenes for movies but it was somewhat required of actresses.
“Oh, everybody stripped,” she said. “Everybody had to, from Diana Rigg to Julie Christie, we all had to take at least our tops off in something. It was standard and it was this, ‘You’re not a real actress unless you take your top off.’ Nobody liked it, like nobody likes intimate kissing or sex scenes.”
The actress — whose has over 100 onscreen credits during a career that dates back to the ’60s — went on to refer to performing nude scenes and sex scenes as “all this ghastly stuff we have to pretend to do.”
“Everybody knows it’s pretending and it’s kind of soft porn, and now we’ve got coaches to teach us how to do it,” Lumley added, referencing the more recent rise ofintimacy coordinatorsin the industry. “Thank God I’m beyond it now.”
Lumley noted that the prominence of intimacy coordinators for sex scenes is “probably a nice thing,” though she added she believes the practice at large “intolerable.”
Everett Collection
“I think they’re revolting, I don’t know why people write them and I don’t know why we watch them,” the British actress said of sex scenes. “We wouldn’t have films of people sitting on the loo. There are some things which are private.”
When asked how Lumley felt about the pressure to do topless scenes in her past, she said: “You do it with hatred. Not hatred, but sort of sullenly,” and then responded in the affirmative when the outlet asked whether those practices felt “exploitative.”
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
“Oh, it always is,” she told The Guardian. “But there are lots of other things you have to do in life which are horrible, and you never wanted to do them, and you find yourself caught up with them.”
“Also remember, the world … We [had been] four girls sharing a flat but we weren’t allowed to sign the lease – a man had to,” Lumley recalled. “Men were always paid more, always top dog, and you could be sacked from a film if you didn’t take your top off. So then a lot of people go, ‘Shall I just take my top off and remain in the film?’ It was a different world.”
Overall, the actress — who is embarking on a new television travel series titledJoanna Lumley’s Spice Trail Adventure —recalled sexual harassment as a common part of life during her early career in London.
“At the tube, in the pub, in the shops, there was always whistling, bottom pinching, overfamiliar hand on shoulder, it happened all the time,” theAbsolutely Fabulousstar said.
“You get used to it, you know how to do that,” she said, as the outlet described her pantomiming slapping a man’s hand. “Or move away. You deal with it.”
source: people.com
