How Do Actors Who Do Love Scenes Do Not Get Turned On?
I remember a conversation I had with Ana Paula Arósio (a famous brazilian actress), while we waited to record a scene during the miniseries “Um Só Coração”. We were talking about the high turnover of actors and actresses couples, and I asked her why she thought this was happening. And she replied, “It’s easy: we live in an environment where the beauty of our colleagues is always above average, and where we need to interact closely with them. It is natural that some attraction appears. ”.
I coudn’t agree more, in fact, I met my fiancee in a rehearsal room. But … temptations are not always “temptations”.
I remember, right at the beginning of my training as an actor, having to do the first love scene of my entire class. In other words, nobody had done another scene, we had no parameters and, worse: me and the actress I had to act with, we hated each other. It was a very weird experience … Because, really, I had to act. I had no pleasure in that scene, quite the opposite — and I imagine the actress felt the same way.
From then on, still in drama school, all my love scenes (I had scenes like that in all the plays I did until I graduated) were with the same actress. And she was a beautiful actress, the most beautiful girl in the class. Only … We had no chemistry in real life. We should have it on the scene, since all five directors we work with chose us as a couple, but offstage … Nothing. And, I say more: the chemistry was in the eyes of those who saw us, because inside the stage, nothing too! The funny thing was what happened in one of our last plays: on the days when her boyfriend came to see us, the girl completely changed, kissed me with much more desire than usual. Why in front of her boyfriend? What’s going on in your head, girls? Does anyone know how to explain it to me?
I still had many love scenes during “Ensaio Sobre a Cegueira” (Blindness), my next play, in fact, were more s*x than love scenes. In this case, the girl and I did have chemistry, even before the play. But… You can’t get turned on during a performance! Even the way our scenes were, which involved a lot of physical contact, the concern with lines, time of the scene, music, positioning, the reaction of the audience… It’s too much to do remember that you are close to someone attractive!
So I would say that when you are going to do a scene with someone attractive, it is the first time, you are getting to know the person, the smell, the touch, the taste… Of course your mind wanders. You have to be professional, stay focused, leave your brain in control of the situation. The same goes for when the person is NOT attractive to you, since the smell, the touch and the taste will make you repulsed. It’s a strange profession…
