Famous actor Penn Badgley recently revealed that he requested zero sex scenes in the upcoming season of Netflix’s show “You”. Badgley indicated his request was made out of respect for his marriage with his wife. The actor said, “Fidelity in every relationship, and especially in a marriage, is important to me.”
“You” is one of Netflix’s most popular shows where Badgley plays Joe Goldberg who is a serial killer and bookstore manager. The story was adapted into the psychological thriller TV show from the book series by Caroline Kepnes. Breitbart reported on Badgley’s request for fewer intimate scenes:
Badgley, who married singer Domino Kirke in 2017, admitted during Friday’s episode of his podcast Podcrushed, that he had planned to cut back on the on-screen intimacy for his characters before he signed onto You in 2018.
On the podcast the actor revealed, “I asked Sera Gamble, the creator of the show, can I just do no more intimacy scenes? This is actually a decision before I took the show. One of the reasons that I’ve — I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned it publicly — but one of the main things is, like, do I want to put myself back on a career path where I’m just always the romantic lead?”
Badgley discussed the impact that marrying his wife had on his career, citing fidelity as a major priority. “It’s really important to me — like fidelity in every relationship, and especially in a marriage, is important to me,” he said. “It just got to a point where I don’t want to do that,” he stated.
The serial killer actor admitted that it would likely not be possible to avoid all intimate scenes, but he noted that his “desire would be zero, to go from 100 to zero” in Season 4. “I signed this contract. I signed up for this show. I know what I did,” he acknowledged. “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.”
To Badgley’s surprise, Gamble received his request well and “didn’t bat an eye” when he asked. “She was really glad that I was that honest. She had a really positive response,” he said. “They came back with a phenomenal reduction.”
However, Badgley has acknowledged this may have an impact on his career as many male leads require intimate scenes. The actor may have to balance acting success and fidelity to his wife. “Do I have a career if I don’t? Think of every male lead you love. Are they kissing someone? Are they doing more than that? And it’s not my desire to,” he said.
Today reports that Season 4 of “You” will be slightly different than previous seasons, focusing more on “wealth and privilege” rather than romance. The first five episodes, which have premiered on Netflix this week, depict a series of murders that occur within an elite friend group in London. Fortunately for Badgley, the shift from romantic relationships to wealthy elites should mean there will be fewer intimate scenes.
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