It’s no secret that sex scenes are super awkward for actors to film. They’re half-naked, sweaty, and making out in bed while an entire cast and crew watch along (sounds romantic, right?). But as awkward and humiliating as that sounds, we can’t imagine it being as bad as watching your own love scenes with your parents sitting down right next to you.
It sounds pretty insane, but some celebrities, like Kristen Stewart and Shailene Woodley, didn’t find the experience to be weird at all. However, others like Amanda Seyfried were (understandably) mortified. When Amanda sat down to watch Big Love with her parents, she had completely forgotten that she did a graphic sex scene in the film.
“I was sitting there watching and all of a sudden it cut to a scene where two people are having sex, and it’s me! Having sex! I just thought, “No, no, no!”‘ she once explained.
Well, talk about embarrassing. If we were in her shoes we’d have probably gotten out of there in the blink of an eye. But surprisingly enough, none of these stars admitted to leaving the room when their love scenes came on with their parents around. That takes serious guts!
See which other celebrities joined their parents to watch their own sex scenes.
1. Rupert Grint watched his sex scene in Cherrybomb with his parents.
“It was agonizing. The scene is quite tastefully done, but it’s not the sort of moment you really want to share with your mum and dad… When the scene arrived we all sat there not really saying anything.” he dished.
2. Margot Robbie watched her nude scene from The Wolf of Wall Street with not just her parents, but her entire family.
“It was odd… I didn’t really think it through,” the Aussie actress said. “It was cool with most family members, but afterwards [my older brother] and I had the most awkward conversation ever. He tried to say congratulations, and we tried to hug it out, and it was just so weird that I said, ‘OK, we don’t have to talk for a couple of days now.'”
3. Amanda Seyfried watched her sex scene in Big Love with her parents (accidentally).
The incident left Amanda “horrified.” The Mean Girls actress said, “I was sitting there watching and all of a sudden it cut to a scene where two people are having sex, and it’s me! Having sex! I just thought, ‘No, no, no!’ It was so much more graphic than I remembered.”
4. Emilia Clarke saw one of her Game of Thrones nude scenes with her parents.
“I ended up sitting them down and being like, ‘Let’s watch it’ — and then instantly regretting it. My dad was like, ‘Again?’” the 30-year-old confessed.
5. Shailene Woodley and her parents watched her sex scene in White Bird in a Blizzard.
“I felt great doing it. I was not fully robed. And our bodies had no makeup. Who needs makeup? I’m only 22. My boobs are great. They don’t need any help. My parents saw the film. I thought it might be awkward, but they both loved it.” she said.
6. Allison Williams watched her sex scene in Girls with her parents.
Alison admitted, “I got some advice from my parents because they, too, are veterans of the show, so their thinking has changed as well. I’d get a call from my mom and she’d be like, ‘Maybe if you took a thong and cut it away from the sides but you stuck it on in the front and the back it could work.’ I was like, ‘Mom, I like your thinking.’ Just your regular dinner conversation!” LOL.
7. Julianne Hough watched her sex scene in Safe Haven with her dad.
Imagine being sandwiched in between your boyfriend and your parents while watching a sex scene you’d filmed with another guy… now that has gotta be mortifying. “I just got lower and lower in my seat, I’m like covering [Ryan Seacrest‘s] eyes. My dad’s sitting next to Ryan, I’m like, ‘This is so uncomfortable,'” she explained.
8. Dominik García-Lorido and her parents watched her sex scene in Magic City.
“In this scene you saw my butt and sideboob. I talked to my dad about it beforehand and got really emotional talking to him because it was the first time I had really done something like that and I really cared what my parents thought. We watched that scene together — me, him and my mom — and it was fine. They actually thought it was beautifully done,” she said. Well, that’s nice!
9. Nina Dobrev has watched her own love scenes with her parents.
“I’ve done movies where there are simulated sex scenes, so they understand, but it’s always kind of awkward … [My parents] say things like, ‘Oh, you look great. That’s interesting,'” the Vampire Diaries star said. She also said her mom has actually been on-set while she’s filmed sex scenes with her ex, Ian Somerhalder. Apparently, “arch your back” is one of the tips Nina’s mom has given her daughter after watching one of the… performances.
10. Kristen Stewart watched her own intimate scenes with her parents.
“I know it’s funny to talk about it from an outsider’s perspective, like ‘Oh, it must be weird to sit down and watch your ass with your mom’ or whatever, but it’s so weird being on the inside of it,” she said.
11. Michelle Keegan watched her sex scene in Our Girl with her parents in the vicinity.
“With parents watching it’s so cringe-worthy! We had a screening a couple of days ago in Manchester and my parents came, but luckily I wasn’t anywhere near them, but my brother was… and it’s one of the first opening scenes,” she said.
12. Aubrey Plaza watched her sex scene from The To-Do List with her parents.
Aubrey confessed, “My mom was shocked, but I think she’ll be OK. My dad was actually really psyched about it. He’s not like my dad in the movie — he’s actually really excited and not weirded out at all. Which I think is weird.” Yeah, same here.
13. Zac Efron watched his sex scene in The Lucky Ones with his mother.
“I was kind of squirming. Even though [my mom] was a couple of seats down from me, I tried to duck out during those scenes because it was too embarrassing,” he said. Fair enough, Zac. Fair enough.