Actor Penn Badgley recently made waves as it came to light he specifically requested no intimate scenes in the new seasons of Netflix series You.
He explained what happened in an episode of his podcast Podcrushed.
He started his request:
"Can I just do no more intimacy scenes?"
But Badgley knows he signed a contract and the nature of the work, so he clarified:
"How much less can you make it?"
Sera Gamble, the show's creator, was receptive to the request.
Badgley shared:
"They came back with a phenomenal reduction."
The question many had is why.
Badgely said it's about fidelity in his marriage.
"Fidelity in every relationship, especially a marriage, is important to me."
His request to back off any on-screen intimacy and moreover his stated reasons for making the request started quite the online kerfuffle.
First are those in favor of both his action and the reason.
However, there was also a fairly immediate blowback to his phrasing.
Not really to his actions—many people acknowledged his right to want to draw some boundaries in his work—but for his reason why and what it implies about other married actors.
Someone noted it gelled oddly with his prior roles.
Some pointed out tying it to infidelity rubbed them the wrong way.
Still others discussed the boundaries in question.
One person summed up the disconnect many felt.
Request: understandable.
Stated reason: not so understandable.
Finally, someone pointed out the larger context in the history of film.
It will be interesting to see what comes out of this decision in terms of other actors adding intimacy boundaries to their contracts.
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