Liam Neeson admitted he still feels uncomfortable filming sex scenes despite filming many over his decades-long career.
During an interview with Vanity Fair, the 70-year-old actor shared his thoughts on You star Penn Badgley’s recent revelation that he’d asked to film less intimate scenes for the fourth season of his hit Netflix psychological thriller series.
“Yes, I absolutely agree and support him,” the “Taken” star told the outlet. “I don’t like doing them.”
Liam Neeson admitted he doesn’t like filming sex scenes. (Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images)
He continued, “I did some sex scenes and would have preferred to leave it to the imagination, especially with the ladies, the actresses.”
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Neeson also admitted that he doesn’t like watching sex scenes in movies or TV series.
“I’ll be honest, when I see a sex scene, I just can’t look at it. I’m just embarrassed,” he said.
The Irish native added: “I know they’re choreographed and stuff but I don’t need to see that.”
Badgley recently made headlines when he revealed on his Popcrushed podcast that he discussed his desire to stop filming intimate scenes with You creator Sera Gamble ahead of the show’s fourth season.
The Gossip Girl alum said he specifically asked Gamble, “Can I just stop doing intimacy scenes?” He added that ideally, there would be “zero” of those moments on the show.
The actor cited the importance he places on “fidelity” in his marriage as a reason he was uncomfortable with on-screen intimacy. Badgley married 37-year-old actress Jemima Kirke in 2017 and they share 2-year-old son James.
Neeson showed support for You star Penn Badgley after speaking out against filming sex scenes. (Photo by Jenny Anderson/Getty Images)
In “You,” Badgley plays Joe Goldberg, a charming, dangerous man who becomes obsessed with his romantic goals and takes extreme measures to fit into her life. In the previous three seasons, the series had become known for its steamy scenes, many of which feature Badgley.
Badgley acknowledged on the podcast that sex is an important aspect of “You” and he didn’t expect it to be removed entirely.
“You can’t take that aspect out of the DNA of the concept, so ‘how much less can you do with it?’ was my question to her,” he explained.
The Maryland native shared that he was surprised by Gamble’s supportive response to his request.
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“She didn’t even bat an eyelid,” he recalled. “She was really glad I was being so honest and she was almost empowered. She had a really positive reaction, she appreciated my directness… and that I was sensible and practical… they came back with a phenomenal reduction.”
Earlier this week, Badgley opened up about his take on sex scenes in an interview with Variety. He told the outlet that he finds them “disturbing” to film.
“It’s not a place where I’ve blurred lines,” Badgley said. “There is almost nothing I could say with more devotion. That aspect of Hollywood has always bothered me a lot — and that aspect of the job, that jumping line — has always been something I really don’t want to play with at all.”
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Neeson recently reached a major milestone in his career with the release of his 100th film, Marlowe. (Thomas Niedermüller/Getty Images for ZFF))
He emphasized: “It is important to me not to have them in my real life.” When asked for clarification, he replied: “My loyalty in my relationship. That’s important to me. And actually that was one of the reasons why I initially wanted to turn down the role. I didn’t tell anyone that.”
During his interview with Vanity Fair, Neeson also reflected on marking a major milestone in his career with the release of his 100th film. The actor played private investigator Philip Marlowe in the neo-noir crime thriller Marlowe, which hits theaters February 15.
“Honestly, I feel old and incredibly lucky,” Neeson said.
“I was lucky,” he added. “I’ll never forget that. I also know that I have created my own happiness.”
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Fox News Digital’s Stephanie Giang-Paunon contributed to this report.