Being an actor is a tricky profession. There's tons of competition, the odds are against you, and sometimes the job asks for embarrassing or potentially dangerous feats. Take nude and sex scenes for instance; while they might move a story forward they're usually pretty awful for those on set. Actress Keira Knightley has had a long and successful career, and recently opened up about why she's inclined not to do nude scenes anymore... as well as what might make her change her mind.
Keira Knightley has been on the big screen for decades, and obviously has a ton of experience being on film sets. There were some reports that Knightley put a no-nudity clause in her contracts after becoming a mother, and in the wake on the #MeToo movement. The 35 year-old actress was recently asked about this, and explained her feelings about nude scenes with:
I don't have an absolute ban [on filming nude scenes], but I kind of do with men. I don’t want it to be one those horrible scenes where you’re all greased up and grunting. I’m not interested in doing that. If it was about motherhood, about how extraordinary that body is, about how suddenly you're looking at this body that you've got to know and is your own and it's seen in a completely different way and it's changed in ways which are unfathomable to you before you become a mother, then yeah, I would totally be up for exploring that with a woman who would understand that. But I feel very uncomfortable now trying to portray the male gaze.
And there you have it. It looks like Keira Knightley could be convinced to do another nude scene, if it were truly necessary to the story and coming from the mind of a female director. She's clearly not pleased with the oversexualized and overglamorized version of love scenes that we've seen so many times. And she no longer wants to participate in the perpetuation of the male gaze.
Keira Knightley's comments come from her recent appearance on the Chanel Connects podcast. While discussing the industry as well as her latest role in the film Misbehavior, eventually the conversation turned to her reported no nudity clause in her contracts. Here Knightley was able to fully express her views, and engage the ongoing conversation about the way women are treated on film sets.
Sex scenes and nudity have been present in many iconic films, to varying degrees of success. But whether or not the nudity was tasteful, it's almost always an uncomfortable situation for the actors involved. What's more, women are often expected to show their bare breasts, while male nudity typically allows the men to hide their more private body parts.
While nude scenes likely aren't in Kiera Knightley's future, it seems pretty clear that she won't be doing one shot by a male director. While appearing on the podcast, she went on to explain how awkward it is being nude in a set full of men. The past few years have seen way more women directors helming major projects, including blockbusters like Wonder Woman 1984, Birds of Prey, and Black Widow.
Keira Knightley's latest movie Misbehavior is currently available for rent on Amazon Video. Be sure to check out our 2021 release list to plan your next movie experience.
