The article discusses the increasing prevalence of male full frontal nudity in films and television shows. It notes that stars like Bradley Cooper and Benedict Cumberbatch appear nude in Oscar contenders, and Sebastian Stan will do so in an upcoming Hulu miniseries. Such nudity was once reserved for art films but is now going more mainstream. The article explores some of the forces driving this, such as addressing sexism, and notes there are still issues around objectifying actors and ensuring their comfort during such scenes.

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Bradley Cooper, Benedict Cumberbatch and the Golden Age of Nude Men - WSJ
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Bradley Cooper, Benedict
Cumberbatch and the Golden Age
of Nude Men
Hollywood’s male stars aren’t scared of full-frontal
nudity anymore
By Jan. 26, 2022 8:30 am ET
The latest costume for Hollywood’s leading men: Nothing.
Male full-frontal nudity, once the stuff of art-house films, is going
mainstream. Bradley Cooper and Benedict Cumberbatch are trouser-free
in Oscar contenders and Sebastian Stan bares it all in a coming Hulu
miniseries. The sight of naked male stars can shock in ways that female
nudity no longer does, making for the kind of edginess that Hollywood
loves.
Pantless footage—featuring actual private parts or a prosthetic—is being
used for comedic effect (like the fake anatomical item issued to Evan
Handler on the HBO Max series “And Just Like That...”), or to underscore a
character’s vulnerability ( Paul Mescal in Hulu’s “Normal People”).
Sometimes it serves the plot ( Steve Zahn —really a stunt double with a
prosthetic—panicking over a health scare in HBO’s “The White Lotus”) or
delivers artsy realism (Oscar Isaac in HBO’s “Scenes From a Marriage”).
Full-Frontal Man reflects several forces overtaking Hollywood right now.
He represents a cosmic rebalancing of the scales as the entertainment
industry attempts to address sexism. He’s an argument that streaming
platforms, largely free from ratings rules, can play to male and female
audiences with new abandon. And he’s a path to free publicity with the

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Bradley Cooper, Benedict Cumberbatch and the Golden Age of Nude Men - WSJ
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potential to light up social media, as happened when Mr. Cooper’s
comments about his nude bathtub scene in the film “Nightmare Alley”
went viral.
Bradley Cooper has a nude bathtub scene in ‘Nightmare Alley.’
Photo: 20th Century Studios
Engineering a nude scene in a movie or series involves conversations
between stars, directors, producers and intimacy coordinators around
issues like room temperature and the destruction of outtakes. Movie stars
appearing nude include Mr. Cumberbatch in the Netflix drama “The Power
of the Dog,” but lesser-known actors do it, too, like in recent episodes of
HBO’s “Euphoria” and “The Righteous Gemstones.” Nude shots can be so
fleeting some viewers don’t even catch them, though their mere presence
allows filmmakers and showrunners to claim points for subversiveness.
In “Pam & Tommy,” a Hulu miniseries out next week, Mr. Stan plays Tommy
Lee, the Mötley Crüe drummer married to actress Pamela Anderson.

3. 27/1/22, 9:52 AM
Bradley Cooper, Benedict Cumberbatch and the Golden Age of Nude Men - WSJ
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Tommy’s private parts appear in close-up—the production used a
prosthetic—and in a surreal twist the anatomy even has a speaking role.
Many naked men and women wear a prosthetic over their private parts
during filming, says Amanda Blumenthal, an intimacy coordinator who
works on sets to ensure the safety and comfort of cast and crew. With
their straps, the costume pieces are obviously fake to everyone who sees
them in person, she says, yet the world witnesses what seems like real
nudity thanks to ever more realistic postproduction effects.
During shooting, male nude scenes can be handled less delicately than
scenes with female nudity, Ms. Blumenthal says. “The tendency is to
assume that men are less self-conscious about their bodies, which I don’t
think is necessarily true,” she says. Fear of unflattering camera angles is a
top concern for all actors, she adds.
Sebastian Stan appears naked in the coming Hulu miniseries ‘Pam & Tommy.’
Photo: HULU

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It is an unwritten rule that people on set don’t stare, and that they turn
their backs as soon as cameras stop rolling to give actors privacy, Ms.
Blumenthal says. The discomfort can go in the other direction, she adds,
with some crew complaining about actors who stay disrobed between
takes.
Performers who do nude scenes are told that sensitive footage will be
destroyed or kept in a secure facility, says intimacy coordinator Chelsea
Pace. At least 48 hours before a nude scene is filmed, she says, a legal
agreement spells out what the actor is being asked to do, what he or she
will wear or not wear, the number of cameras and monitors and who will
have access to the footage.
Prosthetic makers say male nude scenes in movies and shows are
boosting business.
“Producers will just call me up out of
the blue and say, ‘Well, we kind of
need a penis,’” says Matthew Mungle,
a makeup artist and go-to for filmmakers seeking private-part prostheses.
He created a prosthetic for actor Simon Rex in last year’s “Red Rocket,” a
film about a washed-up porn star, though he said he has no idea whether
it was used. When asked at a film festival, Mr. Rex declined to say.
The latest wave of nude scenes has put male actors under the same kinds
of pressure to appear naked that women actors often face. And there are
the attendant body image issues.
“Everybody is sexually objectified, and that weirdly registers as equality
today,” says Juliet Williams, a professor of gender studies at the University
of California, Los Angeles.
Eva Husson, a filmmaker who uses full-frontal nudity to convey intimacy in
her coming film “Mothering Sunday,” calls the practice an important

5. 27/1/22, 9:52 AM
Bradley Cooper, Benedict Cumberbatch and the Golden Age of Nude Men - WSJ
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counterbalance to pornography. Her period film features a very naked
Josh O’Connor (Prince Charles in “The Crown”), opposite Odessa Young,
who spends even more of the movie unclothed. Men often earn accolades
for such scenes while it is seen as routine for women to bare all, Ms.
Husson says.
“It really irks me when I see male actors lauded for their bravery and it’s
considered completely normal for actresses,” she says.
Nude scenes can lead to opportunity, and some notoriety, for actors.
Ansel Pierce, who recently appeared naked in a bathroom on “Euphoria,”
quickly became known on social media as “Toilet Guy.” Jumping on the
moment, he posted a TikTok video denying the use of a prosthetic. Soon
after, he landed a small, clothed role in a romantic comedy.
Mr. Pierce, 22 years old, says his nude scene reflects the authenticity
craved by Generation Z and millennial audiences.
“I’m very confident in my body,” he says. “Every part of my body is a part
of me as an artist.”
Write to Ellen Gamerman at ellen.gamerman@wsj.com