In today’s movies, news that an actress is disrobing for her latest film is usually met with little more than a transient interest, unless the disrobing happens to involve one of the A-list 'no’ girls such as Julia Roberts or Sandra Bullock.
The same cannot be said of male actors, the majority of whom still keep their ‘private parts’ coyly covered up even though their female counterparts are expected to expose all beside them for the sake of realism.
It’s an interesting cinematic ‘taboo’ which, despite the evolution of modern cinema, hasn’t really changed a lot since nudity in the movies became commonplace during the late sixties and early seventies.
In fact, the infamous clothes free wrestling scene between Oliver Reed and Alan Bates in Ken Russell’s Women in Love (1969) still stands out as a brave and groundbreaking piece of filmmaking and acting. Forty years further down the line, the idea that two of the current breed of mainstream actors, such as Johnny Depp and Brad Pitt, were going to appear wrestling in the altogether in a movie would be considered controversial at the very least and guarantee front page headlines… as well as sure fire box office gold.
The closest anyone has come to emulating the classic scene from Women in Love in a mainstream movie in recent years is Viggo Mortenson’s prolonged and potentially hilarious ‘au natural’ fight scene in a Turkish baths in Eastern Promises.
Actors Who Have Bared All
Being seen as nature intended is still a gig that most actors avoid like the plague. One reason is that there can still be a ‘school playground’ reaction when an actor bares all, especially if certain parts don’t measure up to expectation.
It’s almost impossible for people not to check out size when an actor bites the bullet and decides to grin and bear it.
Richard Gere went for it in both American Gigolo and Breathless and was gently mocked by Australian comedian Dame Edna Everage who, on a British chat show, insisted on referring to him as ‘little Dicky Gere’ throughout the programme.
Similarly, Bruce Willis (Colour of the Night) and Leonardo Dicaprio (Total Eclipse) found that their smaller parts have proved more of a talking point than the movies in which they flashed them.
This type of reaction isn’t something that actresses have to worry about when they strip for the cameras. When Nicole Kidman takes her clothes off for a role the media doesn’t let out a mass snigger and gleefully report that she’s only got small breasts.
Media response of this fashion can direct attention away from the movie itself; not something which pleases serious filmmakers. Colin Farrell, one of the rare breed of male actors unfazed by the idea of taking his clothes off (Alexander), had a full frontal scene cut from the movie A Home at the End of the World. One explanation was that it distracted viewers, whilst another was that preview audiences found it uncomfortable, whatever that intriguingly meant.
A couple of actors who continually manage to pull it off without causing a furore are Ewan McGregor (Trainspotting, Velvet Goldmine, The Pillow Book) and Harvey Keitel (The Piano, Bad Lieutenant). These two display their manhood so often that it’s more of a surprise when they don’t, which is probably why they don’t attract a lot of fuss when they do.
Perhaps if more actors had the same attitude as Ewan and Harvey, the movies might be able to grow up as far as male nudity was concerned. On the other hand, cinema viewers might just not want to see more male privates on parade if Rachel Ward’s thoughts on the matter are representative of the general movie going public.
The Australian actress, famous for her role in The Thorn Birds, told The Sunday Telegraph.
" . . . We don't want to see willies because they're ugly."
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