Game of Thrones is famous for its abundance of...action. Ok, also breasts. It’s a show with a significant amount of nudity. But what is it like to film a nude scene on the show? Somebody who has done it - more than once, even - has spoken on the topic, and according to her, it can be quite nerve racking, which may sound odd, considering she works in porn.
Samantha Bentley (or McEwan, depending on the credits) is a professional porn actress, and she’s also had bit parts on the last two seasons of Game of Thrones. In an interview with Esquire, she spoke about what it was like making appearances on the series. The first thing that struck her was the significant increase in production value compared to her day job.
The Game of Thrones set was just insane. It makes me have a stupid grin when I think about it. In that scene, there were 50 girls as extras and between every take, they had people go around and make sure every single hair was in place even if they were out of focus in the background. And a closed set was 100 people. I remember getting to set and seeing my name on a trailer and being like, 'Whoa. I have a trailer.'
Here’s an interesting question: How many trailers are on the Game of Thrones set? As much as Bentley’s part was a small one, it involved her disrobing, so it makes sense she would have a private place to do that. But with the multitude of people for whom that is an issue, there must be an incredible number of trailers.
She enjoyed her time on set in Season 4 so much that she asked if there was any way she could return in Season 5. Originally, Bentley was told that because her face was so prominent on screen, they would not be able to use her again unless the scene was in the same bathhouse. Apparently they relented, however, because she was brought back to play “The Mother of Dragons.” Not Daenerys Targaryen, but rather the prostitute that bears a striking resemblance to her. For Bentley, the best part was being able to share a scene with Peter Dinklage.
I was really excited to shoot a scene with Tyrion. Shooting it was kind of nerve-racking because there were so many people in that scene. Obviously I've done porn, but on porn sets everyone's naked. On the Game of Thrones set, I'm walking around with my ass out and everyone's eyes are on me. The pressure! But this season I did feel like a little part of it because I'd been there before and people knew me from last season.
It says a lot about the difference that circumstances can make that the difficult part was not filming a scene where her clothes were off, but rather filming one where so many other people had theirs on. It appears to be an incredibly supportive set at least. That people remember these bit players when they return says a lot, and probably helps a great deal for those who are literally exposing themselves. No word if they’ll be able to disguise Bentley enough to bring her back again on Season 6. She is hoping to do more mainstream acting, so perhaps we’ll be seeing more of her in the future. Or perhaps, less of her more often.
