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Why we want to see movie stars naked

Amanda Seyfried bares all in Lovelace, but she's not without her reasons.

Amanda Seyfried bares all in bold biopic Lovelace (Credit: Rex)

Any girl would worry about her dad seeing her naked in a big popular movie. But in ‘Lovelace’, Amanda Seyfried stripped off anyway - because she’s a professional.

For the role as porn star Linda Lovelace, 27-year-old Seyfried wore brown contact lenses, wigs and, sometimes, very little else. So, from the neck up, Amanda didn’t look like blonde-haired, blue-eyed gal we know from mega-hits ‘Mamma Mia!’ and ‘Les Misérables’. From the neck down, she was totally natural.

On-screen nudity is still a risk for actresses, but not the career-killer it once was. As the venerable critic Roger Ebert once said about sex symbol Jayne Mansfield doing a nude scene: “Finally in ‘Promises! Promises!’ she does what no Hollywood star ever does except in desperation. She does a nudie. In 1963, that kind of box office appeal was all she had left." How times have changed.

[Harry Potter star Emma Watson poses nude for the environment]


Audience research shows people are fascinated with famous nakedness. (Think the amount of attention Jennifer Aniston is getting for her strip teases in ‘We’re The Millers’ – and she’s not even naked.) Dame Helen Mirren says that she comes from “the Gerard Depardieu school of getting your kit off and dropping your pants. Flesh sells. People don't want to see pictures of churches. They want to see naked bodies.”

That’s easy for her to say. It is true that we want to see nudity, but for surprising reasons:


Reason One: We love celebrity bodies
Dame Helen is 67 and still looks great. Sharon Stone’s leg-crossing moment in ‘Basic Instinct’ is the number one most paused moment in home cinema history. Nicole Kidman’s nude appearance (on stage, live) was deemed ‘theatrical Viagra’. Since the dawn of entertainment, humans have liked seeing others naked, not only because bodies are fascinating but also because we like to compare. With the popularity of diets, exercise and cosmetic surgery, we can aspire to movie star looks. This is why we all (secretly) love selfies.



Reason Two: Celebrities are naked superheroes


It’s part of an actress’s job to look great. They have professional hair, makeup, wardrobe and great lighting. In real life, however, they also have babies, gain weight and age like normal people. Nudity is a great leveler that brings our idols down to earth but it is also a bit unfair. An actress isn’t just a mannequin - she must also be able to act – and no one said looking great with clothes on automatically means you’ll look great naked. For example, a naked Audrey Hepburn may have looked unusual. George Clooney’s got a famous face but take off his clothes and our eyes drift elsewhere, perhaps away from his best asset. Nudity shows us celebrities just might be human after all.

[Star Trek Into Darkness: Writer sorry for underwear scene]



Reason Three: We like real nudity
We love special effects and movie magic but we want actresses to show their real bodies. Actresses, on the other hand, aren’t models. Naturally, they don’t want us to see their ‘imperfections’. But an actress who uses a body double – a body part specialist used as an actress substitute for nude scenes – is sort of a cheat. We want perfect stars, not their hired ‘stunt butts’. This is why personal trainer Tracey Anderson says she exercised away Gwyneth Paltrow’s “long butt”. Gwyneth, who famously used a fat suit in ‘Shallow Hal’ because she didn’t want to gain weight for the role, has to work out like a normal human. Maybe this isn’t as magical as perfection, but at least it’s Gwyneth’s real form.



Reason Four: Nudity is the test of a great actress


Going naked is no longer the sign of desperation: it is the sign of confidence. Glenda Jackson, Julie Christie, Jessica Lange and Angelina Jolie are all award-winning stars who have appeared naked on screen, often in the films they won prizes for. Do we remember they were naked? Yes, but mostly we remember their great performances.

We may see ‘Lovelace’ because we want to see Amanda Seyfried nude, but we’ll remember the film because she’s great in it. This is why, in the end, her dad will totally understand his daughter’s decision to take it all off in a film that everyone will want to see. Sure, Amanda’s naked, but she’s naked and amazing.

Check out our interview with Amanda, below.

'Lovelace' is out in UK cinemas 23 August 2013.