Michael Douglas is opening up about the “art” of filming sex scenes, revealing that the intimate moments require extensive communication and trust between actors.
During a recent appearance on “Happy, Sad, Confused” with Josh Horowitz, the 82-year-old actor reflected on filming sex scenes earlier in his career, before intimacy coordinators became commonplace on movie sets.
“There’s an art to sex scenes in films. It’s not easy to do things like shadowing people when you’re on top and this and that,” Douglas said.
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“But the big thing with sex scenes is trust,” he continued. “And as long as the lady is trusting me — obviously I trust her — it’s like a dance. You’re taking the lead.”
Douglas explained that actors carefully discuss each movement before filming begins.
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“You just talk it out slowly. ‘Kiss, kiss, bite. Looking at you. Is it all right to touch your breasts?’ ‘Yes.’ ’All right, I’m touching your breasts. Kiss. Kiss,'” he said. “You do it, and it’s just like choreographing a fight scene.”
“You start very slowly … and then action. It makes it look like it really happens,” Douglas added.
The “Wall Street” star also emphasized the importance of making female performers feel comfortable on set, particularly when they are surrounded by a predominantly male crew.
“It’s awkward enough for ladies, in terms of being mostly surrounded by a male crew and everything, especially in those days, to make sure that they were as comfortable as possible,” he said.
Douglas also compared acting to working as part of an ensemble, explaining that he has always prioritized the overall quality of a project over the size of his own role.
“I’ve always thought your role is one small part of the whole,” he said. “And so what you really need … is better actors around you. You want the best you can get because it’s the whole thing that matters.”
“I’d rather be good in a little movie than lousy in a big part,” Douglas added.
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In his memoir, “One Helluva Ride,” Douglas pulled back the curtain on the most explosive moments of his life, both in front of the camera and behind the scenes.
Douglas detailed his volatile relationship with his late father, Kirk Douglas, his son Cameron’s addiction and imprisonment, and the Stage 4 cancer diagnosis that forced him to confront his own mortality.
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At one point, while filming “Adam at 6 A.M.” early in his career, Douglas wrote that he and his married co-star, Lee Purcell, became romantically involved.
“As filming progressed, my relationship with Lee changed and we became lovers,” he wrote. “Our intimate relationship was complicated by the fact that she was married, and we had to keep it a secret from the cast, crew, the people in the town we were filming in, and of course her husband. It was a passionate affair that lasted through filming.”
Purcell disputed Douglas’ account in a statement to Fox News Digital.
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“This story came as a complete surprise to me. I have fond memories of Michael and our time together. However, our recall appears to differ,” she said. “First, I remember the process of searching for his character of Adam after having already been hired by Steve McQueen for the role of Jerri Jo. Secondly, we had a strictly professional relationship during filming. The personal one came much later.”
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Years later, while making “Romancing the Stone,” Douglas also wrote that he had an affair with screenwriter Diane Thomas, who wrote the film. He said he and his first wife, Diandra, were both involved in extramarital relationships as their marriage deteriorated.