Penn Badgley says he’s limiting any lovemaking scenes involving him and his female co-stars for the fourth season of ‘You.’ The actor says it is out of respect for his marriage.
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In an episode of Stitcher Studios’ “Podcrushed” podcast, Penn Badgley explained that he asked the showrunner to reduce the number of sex scenes he would have to film for season four. “I asked Sera Gamble, [the] creator, ‘Can I just do no more intimacy scenes?’ This was actually a decision I had made before I took the show. I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned it publicly, but one of the main things is, do I want to put myself back on a career path where I’m always [the] romantic lead?” he explained.
He also didn’t want to be typecast as a romantic lead throughout his career: “This was actually a decision I had made before I took the show. I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned it publicly, but one of the main things is, ‘Do I want to put myself back on a career path where I’m always [the] romantic lead? Fidelity in every relationship, especially my marriage, is important to me. It just got to a point where I don’t want to do that.”
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The showrunner reportedly respected Badgley’s request and appreciated his honesty about what made him comfortable on set.
“But I signed this contract. I signed up for this show. I know what I did. You can’t take this aspect out of the DNA of the concept. So how much less can you make it, was my question to them. She didn’t even bat an eye. She was really glad that I was that honest. She was sort of almost, I want to say empowered, she had a really positive response. They came back with a phenomenal reduction.”
Fans reacted to Badgley’s request; some said they supported his decision, while others believed the intimate scenes were a part of the show.
After learning about the lack of intimacy scenes between Joe Goldberg and other characters for this season of “You,” fans were divided on his decision as some supported it. In contrast, others thought it was unnecessary to remove the scenes.