Actors Who Refused To Show Their Full Body
It's always a thrill for viewers when their favorite celebrities bare all on screen, but many actors refuse to show their full body and get naked. And while popular TV shows, such as "Game of Thrones" and "The Affair," made nudity seem almost necessary, it's not always required.
In order to make sure everyone is on the same page from the get-go, many actors have clauses put into their contracts that dictate how much — if anything — they are willing to reveal. "You really stipulate what they are and are not allowed to show," Chris Pratt said on James Corden's "Late Late Show" (for the record, he showed his derriere in "Passengers").
Why actors refuse to get naked varies — but it must be pointed out that women face exponentially more pressure to take it all off. One 2016 study showed that female actors show skin in Hollywood films nearly three times more than male ones, The Guardian reported. Of course, some leading ladies — including Scarlett Johansson and Jennifer Lawrence, RogerEbert.com reported — are proud to show off their skin. As they should be! Nudity means different things to everyone. And for the actors that follow, choosing not to show off their full bodies is what's right for them — even when they're starring in extremely sexy roles.
Motherhood shaped Julia Roberts' view on nude scenes
One of her most iconic roles has been a sex worker, but don't expect "Pretty Woman" star Julia Roberts to get naked for money, especially now that she's mother to a daughter and two sons.
According to the Daily Mail, when asked about filming nude scenes while promoting her movie "Duplicity," she said, "You know it's not really what I do, so if you are going ask me to do it, you have to expect it to be toned down. You know, as a mum of three, I feel like that."
But it seems to be a long-standing policy. In 1999, well before her kids were born, Vanity Fair reported that Julia Roberts had never posed nude for any reason at all. And she also wasn't comfortable with the sexiness required for her star-making turn. When it came to filming lovemaking scenes for "Pretty Woman," she was so nervous she would break out in hives beforehand, as she told ABC News. In the end, body double Shelley Michelle stood in for some of the close-ups, The New York Times reported.
Keira Knightley has a particular rule about stripping down
Keira Knightley knows how to film a good sex scene — case in point: the racy bookshelf rendezvous in "Atonement" (which the actor told Vulture she considers her best). And she has posed topless — on the condition she wasn't airbrushed, The Times reported. But her days of getting naked are likely behind her. She told the "Chanel Connects" podcast that she'd only strip down for a very specific reason these days (via Mic). "If it was about motherhood, about how extraordinary that body is ... then yeah, I would totally be up for exploring," she shared. And even then she has a caveat: It would have to be a female director behind the camera.
So, yes, there's a slim chance Keira Knightley could still bare flesh in a film. And we do mean slim, since she's perfectly happy to use a body double — and even enjoys participating in the selection process, she told Financial Times (via Harper's Bazaar). "It kind of goes like, ”That's a little bit like you, but better.'"
Anna Kendrick puts limits on her sexy performances
When it comes to sexy scenes, Anna Kendrick is no prude. She has hinted at nudity in movies, perhaps most famously in the first "Pitch Perfect" movie. As her character Beca sings "Titanium" a cappella in the shower while naked, she is interrupted by an equally bare Brittany Snow. Both actors stripped down for the performance — but kept key areas strategically covered. Anna Kendrick jokingly said filming the scene was "the best day of [her] life," as reported by Us Weekly.
She also once co-starred with a sex doll in the Quibi series "Dummy," as noted by Rolling Stone. Heck, even her first TV series, "Love Life," featured a lot of hookups, The Sydney Morning Herald noted.
But she has always put her foot down when it comes to getting nude. She told the Herald, "I've never had a problem with simulated sex scenes — that feels like it's about the character, whereas I only get one body, so nudity is more about me."
Rebel Wilson says birthday suits are no laughing matter
Rebel Wilson hasn't been shy about showing off her body since she started a wellness journey in 2020, which she dubbed her "year of health" on Instagram. She's even posted a (PG) video of herself tanning nude on a London balcony to Instagram (via the Daily Mail). And well before Rebel Wilson revealed the true reason for her dramatic weight loss, the "Cats" star embraced her shape and was happy to be a body image role model, as the Associated Press reported.
But a person can be proud of their figure without needing to flaunt it on the big screen. And that's where the actor has consistently drawn the line and is one of many actors who refuse to show their full body. When it came to shooting the movie "Grimsby," she told Marie Claire, "They wanted full-frontal nudity. We write in the contract, specifically, 'No nudity.' They got in another girl — this larger burlesque dancer from South Africa — to be a nude double." Rebel Wilson did concede she might reconsider her stance for a dramatic role, however, so who knows. Clearly this is a woman not afraid of big changes.
Jessica Alba stays covered up for her family
The reason Jessica Alba won't act in her birthday suit is simple: family values. Raised Catholic, she was taught that showing off one's body in such a way was not appropriate, as she told Scarlet magazine (via the Daily Mail).
Yes, believe it or not the sexy siren and "Sin City" star has never bared all — although she has created the illusion of doing so. In the film "Machete," she appears nude and dripping wet in a shower, but it's all CGI. Alba filmed the scene while sporting a demure bra and boy shorts; the undergarments were later digitally removed, reported Entertainment Weekly, which added that some industry types found the move questionable.
But it's safe to say Jessica Alba doesn't care what anyone thinks. "I don't want my grandparents to see my boobs. That's it," she told Glamour. "It would be weird at Christmas. And ... if you look at the movies I have done, getting naked would never 'elevate' the picture."
Megan Fox says private parts should be private
Ever since her big break in the first "Transformers" movie, Megan Fox has been considered a sex symbol. But part of the pressure to live up to other people's expectations led her to retreat from Hollywood, she explained to InStyle, saying, "I hid because I was hurt."
So perhaps it's not surprising that she's extremely protective of how her body is presented and that getting naked for a movie is completely off the table, as she told MTV News (via BestLife). "Literally all I have left are my private parts and I don't want to also share them with the world." She added, "I'd like to keep them private. That's why they're called that!"
Which is not to say that she is against showing off her body for her work. She appeared topless in the film "Passion Play" — but kept her breasts covered with her arm throughout, as the Daily Mail reported. She's also donned risque outfits for editorial spreads, including one for Basic magazine, and has modeled for lingerie line Frederick's of Hollywood (via The Sun). It's simply a matter of her body, her rules.
Sarah Jessica Parker has long had a no-nudity clause
You might not expect the star of "Sex and the City" — a show that changed just how raunchy women on TV could be — to have a strict no-nudity clause in her contract. But by the time Sarah Jessica Parker landed the role of Carrie Bradshaw, she knew what her limits were after battling years of pressure to take her clothes off for her career, as she told People.
And naked or not, Carrie still had plenty of fun. After all, the character dated 28 men over the course of the series and kissed even more, according to Harper's Bazaar. Still, SJP's "SATC" rules covered more than nudity. She was also not comfortable with scenes featuring sex toys or "vulgar language," The Sun reported.
To be clear, Sarah Jessica Parker doesn't think less of women who do take off their clothes. "I think it's fantastic that people feel comfortable doing it," she said to The Hollywood Reporter. "It's not some kind of principled position or religious or ideological on my part."
Kristen Bell naked? 'Dream on!'
Kristen Bell is an open book when it comes to her life, her marriage, and even how she and husband Dax Shepard know her kids need baths. But she keeps things under wraps when it gets down to sharing the sight of her naked bod on film. As she told Allure magazine — for its annual "Nudes" issue, no less — she depends on body doubles when showing skin is called for.
While discussing the subject with Women's Health, she got more, dare we say, cheeky about it. Referencing websites that purport to catalogue actors' various nude scenes, she said, "I don't show my crack! All the Mr. Skins of the world are like, 'Ooh, Kristen gets naked!' I'm like, 'Dream on!'"
But there is a darker, more serious side to the internet issue. Bell is deeply upset by adult "deepfake" videos that use her image, digitally grafting her face onto another performer's full naked body. Upon hearing the news that such images existed, she told Vox she was shocked and felt "exploited." Who can blame her?
Isla Fisher isn't shy about using body doubles
While her husband, Sacha Baron Cohen, is known for outrageous stunts (via Deadline), Isla Fisher isn't up for such extremes — especially when it comes to nudity. As reported in the book "Sacha Baron Cohen: The Unauthorized Biography: From Cambridge to Kazakhstan" by Kathleen Tracy, the star of "Confessions of a Shopaholic" once said, "We're all born naked, and I totally kind of hate the puritanical approach to the whole nudity thing, but then when it comes to me ... no way am I doing anything like that."
Instead, as Entertainment Weekly reported, Fisher has used a body double in the past, including when filming "Wedding Crashers," in which she played the sex-crazed Gloria Cleary who tries to seduce a man in a bathroom. Having a stand-in was a compromise, since Fisher didn't want her character to appear naked in the comedy at all, despite the many racy scenes. Her argument, as she explained to EW, was that once her character bared her breasts, the audience would see her as "sexual," as opposed to "funny." She was unsuccessful at making the case, but it wasn't a total loss. The role earned her an MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance and launched her Hollywood career — no personal nudity required.
Why you'll never see Blake Lively bare all
Blake Lively used to have a pretty clear stance on acting au naturel, and it stemmed from her own viewing habits. "I know that if I am watching a scene and someone has their boobs out, then that's all I'm looking at — I can't help it," she said, according to the Daily Mail. "I just don't think that will ever be right for me."
People are allowed to change their minds, however — which she did after she was approached to star in the film "All I See is You," directed by Marc Forster. The storyline seemed promising, but there was a catch: The script required the leading lady to reveal her chest. But Lively was confident she could persuade the filmmaker that doing so wouldn't be necessary, as she told Vanity Fair. He remained unconvinced though, and the actor wanted the part so badly that she agreed to show her breasts. In the end, she was happy she did, saying she's extremely proud of the performance. Still, don't expect her to be showing anything further in the future.
Carrie-Anne Moss went naked before, but won't ever again
Carrie-Anne Moss is a household name thanks to the hit "Matrix" movies, but she paid her dues to get to that point. At the start of her career, she appeared in forgettable movies such as the erotic thriller "The Soft Kill," which required her to bare her breasts. So it's no wonder that she's reluctant to go down that path again now that she's made it.
When faced with a potential nude scene, the actor always wonders whether her mother would approve, according to Female First. The same holds true for even photographs, and that's partly due to her committed relationship status. She said, "I've been offered Playboy and when my agent tells me, I laugh hysterically," noting, "For me there's also the feeling that since I'm married, there's a kind sacredness to the body."
Perhaps she's also a little shy after a sex scene in "The Matrix Reloaded" was widely panned, as reported by the The Guardian. Seems the sequence wasn't even enjoyable to shoot, despite her screen partner being Keanu Reeves, who many consider to be a kind person (and also easy on the eyes). Fight scenes are more her thing, she told Esquire, since she considers them to be less of an invasion of privacy.
Jennifer Garner is too modest to take off her clothes on camera
Jennifer Garner projects an incredibly wholesome image on Instagram with her cooking videos and kid-friendly content. And, fittingly, she's not looking to change that when it comes to getting naked on camera. As she said in an interview with MTV News, it's never going to happen.
And why not? Well, as unlikely as it sounds, the woman who used to wow in sexy, skin-tight outfits while starring on "Alias" is now modest about her physique. "The world deserves better," she said. Yes, as she showed the world on Instagram, she's traded in skimpy bikinis for full-coverage wetsuits.
It's a long way from the care-free attitude she had in her much younger days. She once told Conan O'Brien while appearing on his show that, while she was never really into partying, she did enjoy streaking. "I was just in a 'naked frame of mind.' ... I might have been the leader of the streakers, and we just all streaked all summer." Lucky for her, Instagram didn't exist back then!
Sarah Michelle Gellar gives on-screen nudity a hard pass
Don't let the "buff" in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" fool you. Sarah Michelle Gellar, star of the iconic teen show, "doesn't do nudity, period," Page Six reported her representative as saying (via Gawker). According to the paper, she's even passed on large paychecks when parts required her to show more than she was willing.
She did, however, take on the role of an adult film star in the film "Southland Tales." But even that didn't prove to be very titillating. Seems scheduling a sex scene to shoot right after a traditional Thanksgiving meal is not a good idea. "I was so tired from all the tryptophan [an amino acid in turkey that makes you sleepy] that I just wanted to sleep," Cosmopolitan reported the actor saying.
Interestingly, Gellar has allowed others to make money from her naked body — when it was for a good cause. She posed for a discreet nude portrait in support of the Coalition of Skin Diseases, as did other celebrities. According to Marie Claire, her print was the most popular — but somehow we don't think that's going to spur her to strip down more often.
Ricky Gervais says no to nudity, too
It's not just female actors who refuse to show their full body. Comedian and star of "The Office" (the original British version, that is) Ricky Gervais is one man who is firmly opposed to the idea, as he definitively stated during an interview with MTV News.
And it's for a reason many women can relate to: self-confidence issues. The Sun reported that the British actor said doesn't believe anybody wants to see his body (via Independent.ie). "I went down to my boxer shorts in my last film. Yes there were some breasts — but they were big, hairy and mine," he said.
He did, however, once share his own naked recording. Sort of. Back when the video-sharing app Vine existed, he posted footage of himself naked in the bath, Metro reported. But he didn't actually reveal his body in it — he just shared another self-deprecating comment.