Actress Zawe Ashton has urged young female stars to speak up if they’re uncomfortable filming sex scenes for TV or movies, comparing it to a form of ‘prostitution’
Fresh Meat star Zawe Ashton has said actresses can feel pressured into filming sex scenes or risk being labelled “prudish” in their bid to get ahead in the industry. The 41-year-old actress, who is engaged to Tom Hiddleston, compared some intimate on-screen scenes to a form of “prostitution” and urged younger actresses to say “no” if they feel uncomfortable.
In a candid discussion on a topic rarely spoken about publicly, Ashton also revealed she was once given alcohol for “Dutch courage” before filming an intimate scene. Reflecting on her experiences, she said: “I’ve been in not nice situations on sets with sexual scenes, where you go, ‘Do you know what, I feel like a strong person and I can get myself over the threshold of this behaviour.’ There’s an element of survival there.”
“But sometimes younger actresses are made to feel as though they have to do these things. You’re in contractual conversations where you’re made to feel that if you don’t do it, you’re prudish, you’re not open, you’re not going to become the actress or have the career you really want.
“If you’re not comfortable, just say no. In life and art, no scene is worth taking over your mental health.” Ashton, who is also known for her role in The Marvels film franchise, said actors are often forced to compromise their own comfort in order to make sex scenes appear realistic on screen, revealing she had worn stick-on prosthetics while filming.
She said: “If you’re asking me what it’s been like to make sex look real on screen, I will tell you it is a little bit like prostitution, not that I know what that’s like.
“You’d like to have a bonus for the scene. Often you’re covered in glycerin because it’s a sustainable way of creating sweat. Often you are at a pretty good level of nakedness. In my experience, I’ve had everything from a nude thong to a stick-on pair of jelly boobs, which is pretty exposing.”
The TV and film actress also recalled being so nervous before filming intimate scenes with Jake Gyllenhaal in the 2019 film Velvet Buzzsaw that she drank prosecco beforehand to calm her nerves.
Speaking on the Miss Me podcast with Miquita Oliver last month, she said: “I was so nervous before this scene and some very kindly people on the production gave me a couple of mini bottles of prosecco in my trailer.
“It was a night shoot and I was feeling quite tipsy. But the prosecco is not just about the Dutch courage, it’s to quiet the noise when you walk away from the scene -a bit like when you walk away from a hook-up and think, ‘What just happened there?’”
Ashton met Hiddleston while starring together in the West End production of Betrayal, which later transferred to Broadway. The pair became romantically linked soon afterwards.
In 2022, it was revealed the couple were engaged after Ashton was seen wearing a large diamond ring shortly after the birth of their first child in October that year. In January 2025, they welcomed their second child.
They recently appeared together on the red carpet at the Laurence Olivier Awards in London.
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