Greetings,

I am writing today to get some opinions on nudity in film. I personally am very comfortable with myself and don't have a huge problem with upper frontal and rear nudity as an actress. I would reserve this type of condition for a feature film/tv role that I felt would be a good step in my career and was required for the storytelling of the film/scene.

I wanted to get the opinion of others on if they felt it would be a bad move for a beginning actress. Would an actress get pigeon-holed or blackballed? Would family be eternally shamed?

As an actress I feel it isn't that big of a deal and is a condition such as other roles like prostitutes, etc. that are a part performing. Any one who has done a nude scene and has a personal story would also be nice.

Thank you!

Dominique Jackson
D@DominiqueJackson.net
http://www.DominiqueJackson.net

This is a hard one because this seems to be the mold for every latino actress who are pretty. Eva Mendes did it in Training Day, along with JLO and Salma Hayek. I say follow your heart. You are YOU and you know YOUR standards.

AND its ok to have STANDARDS as a Beginning actor, you shouldn't have to lower them to get to a point in Hollywood where you would change them. Dont do it knowing you dont want to but doing it because it would further your career because its a gamble. You could do a role in a big film and nothing could come out of it.

I always view things as this: If I die today, I want something that my son could watch and be proud to say "that's my Dad", also never to cause shame to my last name. I dont know if I would want him to see my ass for the whole world humping some girl, to see. That's just me.

I dont like nude, actually its a phobia of mine for people to see me naked.

I was actually offered to do a film recently to do a sex scene because the director felt I have a nice body and should be used in this situation and I told him no because he wanted me to be butt naked (though it wouldn't be shown cause Im under the covers. I KNOW ME. I have no D__K CONTROL, once its there in its face, he's going in, hey I'm honest. If I dont have a set of boxers or some kind of underwear, NAH, not happening.

If you feel in your heart that its ok then go for it, that's how I am. If my heart and gut says no, then its a no.

Never let your eyes rule over your heart and gut.

As long as it's not gratuitous and I don't feel degraded, my standard answer to the nudity question is, "If anyone wants to see these boobs, which are well over thirty years old and real....who am I to say no!?!"

That being said, so far I've never booked any nudity. Lots and lots of lingerie, swimsuit stuff, but haven't ever had to drop trou so far.

I asked about being naked in headshots and model pics on the headshot section and got all different replies. A photographer said almost all celebrities pose naked and Julie Roberts was naked in Pretty Woman BUT on the internet it says she has a body double. I guess u have to be famous to get one of those. Lots of pages about it on Julia Roberts Natalie Portman Jessica Alba Owen WIlson. I'll put links at the bottom.

http://www.usmagazine.com/julia_roberts_on_nude_scenes_its_not_my_thing

http://www.boxxet.com/Natalie_Portman/PORTMAN_THAT_S_NOT_ME_NAKED.13ezmt.d

http://www.newkerala.com/one.php?action=fullnews&id=20610

http://www.slate.com/id/2146398/

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0585050/

You may be barred from ever doing kids' programs, as recently happened to an actress or two.

quote:

Originally posted by DominiqueJackson:
Greetings,

I am writing today to get some opinions on nudity in film. I personally am very comfortable with myself and don't have a huge problem with upper frontal and rear nudity as an actress. I would reserve this type of condition for a feature film/tv role that I felt would be a good step in my career and was required for the storytelling of the film/scene.

I wanted to get the opinion of others on if they felt it would be a bad move for a beginning actress. Would an actress get pigeon-holed or blackballed? Would family be eternally shamed?

As an actress I feel it isn't that big of a deal and is a condition such as other roles like prostitutes, etc. that are a part performing. Any one who has done a nude scene and has a personal story would also be nice.

Thank you!

Dominique Jackson
D@DominiqueJackson.net
http://www.DominiqueJackson.net

Nudity in film is a highly personal matter, and should never be approached lightly. There are some legitimate concerns that always must be factored in when making these kinds of career decisions.

Generally, the days of film censorship have long gone by, along with the antiquated belief systems that brought them into existence. What would have destroyed a career "back in the day" is now looked upon as casually as a stroll in Central Park. Ironically, in the early 1930's before Hollywood began enforcing a self-imposed Morality Code, many early films allowed steamy sex scenes that would have rivaled anything Hollywood has to offer today. These were referred to as "Pre-Code" films and actually launched the careers of many stellar Hollywood movie stars including Jean Harlow, Bette Davis and Barbara Stanwyck.

Here are a couple of guidelines I would consider prior to accepting any role that required nudity:

1) Who's involved in the film.
What is the target audience for the product. Is it a porno movie or a legitimate production with a recognized company.
2) What is the extent of the nudity.
Partial or Full. What would be expected from you as a performer, specifically.
3) Is nudity an absolute requirement.
There's gratuitous sex, then there's tasteful love scenes that are integral to the plot and therefore a necessity. In most instances, love scenes that require nudity are scripted.
4) When you weigh the potential benefits to your personal and professional life with your friends, family and representatives,
will the benefits to your career come out in the "plus" column or have potentially harmful effects on future projects.

Body doubles are increasingly an option but can add considerable costs to a budget that most independent films can ill afford. They are therefore generally considered luxuries reserved for larger stars. Often love scenes, like any scene in a film, cannot use body doubles and require the full participation of the actor, but as in everything else in our business, would always be negotiated in your players contract prior to actual filming.

www.robertkim.com

I have an advantage: I am an identical twin who also acts so whenever the opportunity arises again, he'll be the double.

I agree it's a personal choice. What would be concerning to me is if getting naked is used as the final bargaining chip for me to get the job over another person who does not want to get naked. Let's face it, most sex scenes in movies are gratutious and do nothing to move the plot along. Sex scenes in most American movies are mechanical and very few actually relay any kind of emotional hotness or connection let alone ADD to the atmosphere of the film. Is it really necessary to the film to see a girl walking around topless "just because" or is it purely to keep visual interest going for a movie -- most films I've seen didn't need the honey shot to continue the storyline, honestly.

It may come down to the writer and director -- are they talented enough to work around this and be unattached enough to drop it if they found the right actor who happened to not do nude scenes? My answer is it's happened and most times did not affect the quality of the movie and its' storyline.