Olivia Munn’s cancer diagnosis made her feel “insecure” about shooting sex scenes with John Hamm.
“I was really nervous about doing any sex scenes because I have a lot of scars,” the actress confessed in a new interview with the Los Angeles Times published Friday.
“Scars that can be seen in clothing and scars that you wouldn’t know unless I was completely nude.”
Munn, 44, learned she had breast cancer in April 2023. She underwent a double mastectomy 30 days later and had four surgeries total over the course of the next 10 months.
The TV star had signed on at the time to do “Your Friends & Neighbors,” opposite Hamm, 54, in which she plays his character Andrew Cooper’s longterm mistress Samantha Levitt.
Because of the dynamic between the characters, Munn recognized the importance of the sex scenes.
“She wants something so much more from him than he’s willing to give and their only connection is through sex,” she added to the LA Times.
“I really wanted that to be portrayed. I wanted the sex scenes to feel like sex scenes — I wanted them to feel visceral and intense and not hold back at all.”
Munn shared that she and Hamm worked with an intimacy coordinator, and she also did a lot of soul searching, which helped get her through the performances.
“I did feel insecure, but each time I did it, I felt better,” the “Newsroom” alum said, adding that despite her illness she was “so grateful” for her body because it “got [her] through this.”
Aside from Hamm, Jonathan Tropper, who created the new Apple TV+ series, also provided Munn with a lot of support on set after learning about her health struggles.
“When someone tells you that, you just tell them that you hope they’re doing OK and their health is what’s most important,” he told the LA Times.
“We committed to doing what we had to do on the show to make sure she was resting when she needed to rest and that we could do what we could with her schedule to make sure she got the time she needed for her health.”
Tropper added, “It wasn’t a terribly difficult conversation at all, because she’s so amazingly candid about that — and about pretty much everything.”
Munn is now cancer-free, but said the good news has come with a bittersweet caveat, noting, “I will be looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life.”
“Your Friends & Neighbors” is now streaming on Apple TV+, with new episodes premiering Fridays.
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