'It was the most nerve-racking': Aubrey Plaza reveals she was asked to perform sex act on camera for a movie scene
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Aubrey Plaza recently revealed that during the filming of the 2013 movie 'The To Do List,' she was asked by the film's writer and director, Maggie Carey, to actually masturbate in a scene. The information resurfaced after the actress gained fame for her role in 'The White Lotus.' Typically, modesty barriers or prosthetics are used during intimate scenes in films. However, Plaza was surprised to discover that Carey had written the scene to require real masturbation. Plaza discussed this uncomfortable experience in a July 2013 interview with Conan O'Brien.
Plaza explained, "I read it on the page, and it said, 'Brandy masturbates.' And in my head, I envisioned a nice scene where you just see my hand slowly go out of frame." However, when she arrived on set, she found the camera mounted on the ceiling and a crew of 'old men smoking.' When Plaza asked Carey what to do, she said, "'Masturbate — as it says in the script.'" Plaza reluctantly followed the direction, performing the act off-screen, with the shot being a full-body shot that did not show any of her private parts.
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Plaza spills the beans on her 'To Do List' masturbation
Plaza admitted to feeling anxious about filming the masturbation scene in "The To Do List." She had originally assumed that the scene would be shot in a way that wouldn't require her to actually perform the act but was surprised to find out otherwise. She stated, "Looking back on it, I feel like the masturbating scene was a little bit the most nerve-racking. Just because in my head I thought, 'Oh, we'll probably shoot this in a way where I don't really have to really do it.' But then when we did it and I was like, 'Oh no, we're going to shoot it where I do it.'"
Plaza also shared her nerves about filming a scene where her top fell off and she ran around with children. She joked, "You know I'm a method actor, so I really was topless, and I think I scarred some of those kids for life. So that was more nerve-racking for them, but they deserved it." In "The To Do List," Plaza played the character of Brandy Klark who creates a list of sexual experiences she wants to have before starting college in the fall.
Plaza's recent and future projects
Plaza has recently reached new heights of fame, thanks to her prominent role in the second season of the highly-popular HBO series 'The White Lotus.' In the show, she portrayed the character of Harper Spiller, a no-nonsense employment lawyer who embarks on an Italian vacation with her husband Ethan, played by Will Sharpe, and some old college friends, played by Theo James and Meghann Fahy. Plaza's performance has been widely praised by both audiences and critics. Plaza, originally from Wilmington, Delaware, has several exciting projects in the pipeline, including a starring role in the upcoming Marvel series, 'Agatha: Coven of Chaos.' The show is set to premiere on Disney+ later this year.