Hollywood actor Rob Lowe feels that intimate scenes in films are seeing a downward trend as they have become a rarity in Hollywood.
Reflecting on how attitudes towards on-screen intimacy have shifted in recent years, the 59-year-old actor, known for his roles in The West Wing and Parks and Recreation, told Sex and the City star Kristin Davis, 59, on his Literally! podcast about the changing landscape of film and television.
He said, “Nobody has sex scenes in films anymore”. Rob did acknowledge studio A24’s recent release Babygirl featured raunchy sex scenes, which he described as “great”. But he reflected on how the industry had changed since he starred in the 1988 thriller Masquerade, recalling how the studio had distanced itself from the project because it was “too sexy”.
He said, “They’re like, ‘It’s so brave. She’s so brave’. (This actress is) brave because she has a sex scene? Like, that’s brave now. In our day, it was required”.
Directed by Halina Reijn, 48, Babygirl stars Nicole Kidman, 56, as a CEO whose life is upended when she embarks on a passionate affair with an intern, played by 27-year-old Harris Dickinson.
The film, which won Nicole best actress award at the Venice Film Festival, features several intimate scenes as her character explores a submissive kink.
Rob also recalled about an informal industry guideline from earlier years, saying, “There was the page 73 rule. Back in the day, the sex scene was always on page 73. You got a script and were like, ‘Am I going to be naked in this?’ “And you didn’t have to read the whole script. You just went to page 73 because that middle second act… what do you do? It’s the toughest sledding in storytelling so they Blue Lagoon it. But now, it’s so brave”.
Discussing broader shifts in Hollywood, Rob said, “I always feel, like, out of chaos comes opportunity. My attitude is always you make the most of it (and) disruption is actually a great time to build new things”.
If you can be one of the nimble ones and you could be one of the forward-thinking ones not entrenched and not trying to recreate yesterday but try to imagine tomorrow, it’s your time”, he added.