“Game of Thrones” Could Have Learned from Porn About Nudity On Set

It’s been over a year since the last episode of Game of Thrones aired, and while you may or may not have enjoyed its conclusion, one thing is clear: TV just isn’t the same without it. The series, based on the novels by George R. R. Martin, became one of the most-viewed television shows in history and collected 58 Emmy Awards during its eight-year run on HBO. And it did so well, at least in part, because of the copious sex and nudity in nearly every episode. As it turns out, the only thing people like watching as much as porn is softcore on their favorite mainstream show!

For his new companion book, Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon: Game of Thrones and the Official Untold Story of the Epic Series, James Hibberd of Entertainment Weekly interviewed dozens of cast and crew members about their experiences working on the show. Naturally, many of them wanted to talk about those infamous scenes where the performers got as naked—and almost as sexy—as they would have on a porn set. The results are a fascinating look at how differently—and sometimes similarly—the mainstream and adult film industries handle sexuality in a professional setting.

The short answer is: Not very well, apparently. 

Jason Momoa, who played Khal Drogo, told Hibberd that, during one of his several nude scenes, showrunner David Benioff “razzed him” about taking off his intimacy pouch—a piece of fabric that covers an actor’s genitals during sex scenes—on set in front of a bunch of people. Momoa was quoted saying, “David had been like, ‘Momoa, just take it off!’ You know, giving me shit. ‘Sacrifice! Do it for your art!’” 

That’s pretty unacceptable behavior. Pressuring a performer to get more naked than they want to—or do anything they don’t want to, really—is a big no-no on any set. But it’s unfortunate to hear of such coercion happening in a situation in which the performers aren’t used to being naked in the first place. Whereas folks on porn sets are pretty comfortable with nudity in front of groups, and porn actors are practiced in the art of  negotiating their boundaries with directors and costars, Momoa was clearly uncomfortable with the situation and didn’t know what to do.

“I’m just like, ‘F*** you, bro. My wife would be pissed. That’s for one lady only, man,’” he told Hibberd. He got so irritated, he said, “I ripped the thing off and kept it in my hand and gave him a big hug and a handshake and was like, ‘Hey, now you have a little bit of me on you, buddy.’”  

It’s a funny story, but only because Momoa’s recourse was to make Benioff as uncomfortable as he’d been made to feel. In porn, few people on a set would be uncomfortable with touching something that had just been on an actor’s crotch, because…well…if you’re squeamish about that kind of thing, you’re unlikely to be on the set in the first place. 

Other actors recalled how sets that were supposed to be “closed” to all but essential cast and crew were, instead, left open to anyone who wanted access. Apparently, multiple scene directors that Hibberd spoke to recalled having trouble with crew members who snuck onto sets to get a peep at the action.  “I remember having to chase away people who were hiding in the back watching Sahara [Knite] and Esmé go at it,” one told Hibberd.

Esmé Bianco, who played Ros, recalled that on a supposedly “closed” set, where she was going to be performing in a sex scene, “It was a very busy day on set, which was the opposite of what they told me. I’ve never seen a busier set!” But Bianco handled the situation almost as well as any experienced porn performer might. She continued, “I’m buck naked. I’m like, ‘Hang on a second…Since when does it take three people to hold that [the lighting rig]? They need to leave.’” 

Bianco wasn’t the only performer to handle nudity on set like a pro. During the notorious “Walk of Atonement” scene during which Cersei Lannister is paraded naked through the streets and subjected to physical and verbal abuse from hundreds of onlookers, Rebecca Van Cleave acted as a body double for lead actress Lena Headey. Van Cleave had to bare it all  in front of the cast and crew, as well as 500 extras. But she took it all in stride, although, according to Hibberd, it was her first time being nude on camera. “It was one of the scariest, most wonderful, most gratifying experiences I could have imagined. I never in a million years would have thought I would be in Dubrovnik surrounded by hundreds of extras and crew members throwing food at me, but it was amazing,” she said.

Sounds a lot like many porn performers, who find empowerment and liberation in getting naked in front of people. 

Still, from the reporting on Hibberd’s book so far, it sounds as if Game of Thrones wasn’t always a professional, supportive place to be naked on camera. It’s interesting that a massively popular mainstream show that owed so much of its appeal to sex on-screen—that became a cultural phenomenon and spurred numerous porn parodies—was so bad at filming sex! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Mainstream sure could learn a lot from porn.

Photo by John Rocha from Pexels