Top 10 Actors Who Aren't Afraid of Nude Scenes

Even the most risque nude scenes from the past often have one particular double standard going for them: gender-biased nudity. Specifically, a sex scene might require a great deal more nudity from a female actor than a male. However, actors like Chris Pine are working to change that dynamic, one nude scene at a time. Pine and co-star Florence Pugh were both tasked with a love scene in the 2018 Netflix film “Outlaw King.” Pine, to his credit, bared it all alongside his co-star, yet was surprised at the backlash. He spoke to The Mirror and defended his decision, asking, "Is Florence expected to do that because she is a woman and I'm not expected to do that because I'm a man?" You go, Chris!

The idea behind Ken Jeong’s hilarious nude scenes in “The Hangover” franchise actually came from the man himself, believe it or not. Jeong revealed as much to AOL during an interview conducted back in 2017. Multiple takes were done of Jeong leaping out of the trunk of a car, but it was the actor’s pitch to director Todd Phillips that sealed the deal. Jeong sort of made going in the buff “tradition” after that, going nude again with “The Hangover Part II” in 2011, proving that he absolutely wasn’t afraid to tempt naked fate a second time.

The promotion of body positivity in cinema isn’t something that happened overnight. It also isn’t only part of the big screen, either. Lena Dunham helped promote the beauty of all bodies during her nude scenes for the HBO series “Girls.” Meanwhile, the actor, writer, and director purposefully defied the accepted norms of who “should” and “shouldn’t” do on-screen nudity and wasn’t afraid to document her feelings in the press. Her interviews with outlets such as Marie Claire, The Guardian, and Refinery29 all point to an actor who was fighting for freedom of sexual expression within her work. It wasn’t always an easy road, but Dunham’s fearlessness allowed many other artists to tread similar creative paths with less fear.

On-screen nudity doesn’t necessarily need to be titillating. Case in point? The full-frontal nude scene from Jason Segel in the 2008 film “Forgetting Sarah Marshall.” This intentionally shocking and very funny scene was actually the actor’s idea, proving that he was unafraid of any audience repercussions. Part of the reasoning behind Segel’s nude scene was to represent his character hitting his lowest point. The resulting embarrassment at being dumped by the titular Sarah Marshall was described by Segel during a 2015 interview with Vulture as something that “wasn’t just for shock value.”

For some actors, on-screen nudity is just one part of the process they go through as performers. This definitely applies to Katherine Waterston, who’s said as much during interviews with outlets like The New York Daily News and The Huffington Post. Her interview with the former saw Waterston connecting the vulnerability of nudity with the acting process. Meanwhile, the actor discussed her full-frontal scene in the 2014 film “Inherent Vice” in The Huffington Post, describing the work as “liberating” and “freeing.” Sure, not every actor may feel this way, but we certainly admire Katherine Waterston’s position on a very challenging aspect of the craft.

We’re firmly of the mind that Alexander Skarsgård should absolutely reap the rewards of all his hard work in the gym by doing as many nude scenes as his heart desires. Skarsgård may come from an acting family, but he’s certainly blazed a trail on both the small and large screens. His brushes with nudity may have first entered the cultural zeitgeist back in the HBO series “True Blood,” but Skarsgård hasn’t stopped pushing the physical envelope with his performances. The actor’s work on Robert Eggers’ “The Northman” in particular showcased a heretofore unseen physicality from Skarsgård that was as shocking as it was sexually charged.

Charlize Theron has seen both sides of the on-screen nudity coin. On one hand, the actor’s early work often saw Theron performing in sexually provocative sequences for films like “Reindeer Games” and “2 Days in the Valley” that required explicit nudity. Meanwhile, more recent features like “Atomic Blonde” saw Theron’s nudity being utilized to tell a story, rather than for prurient titillation. It’s a respite, a moment of calm in the bath for recovery, during a film that’s packed with violent action. Furthermore, Theron has told outlets such as The Daily Telegraph and W Magazine about how she has no issues with nudity if the scene requires it to make sense.

There are some actors who just don’t feel the need to contextualize or explain away the frequency of their nude scenes. Instead, they relish the thought and lean into those scenes with an almost gleeful zeal. Ewan McGregor has certainly come across this way in some interviews over the years, such as the one he did with OUT Magazine while promoting “Velvet Goldmine” in 1998. McGregor utilized words like “power” and “rush” to describe going full-frontal on-screen, and it’s this matter-of-factness that makes the actor’s attitude so refreshing. Just maybe don’t bet on seeing Obi-Wan’s lightsaber for any “Star Wars” related media any time soon.

Italy’s Monica Bellucci is another actor that’s performed on-screen nudity with wildly varying tonal shades. The actor’s natural beauty has been celebrated in films like “Malèna” or “Bram Stoker’s Dracula,” and even in outlandish exploitation fare like 2007’s “Shoot ‘Em Up.” However, Bellucci has also featured in nude scenes where the plot ventured into truly dark territory, such as in 2002’s “Irréversible.” The actor has remained professional and unafraid throughout it all, even telling Entertainment Weekly in 2002 that nudity was “something magic” and “pure.” Bellucci went on, however, to state her opposition to nudity that she felt was “gratuitous,” describing her personal attitude as one she cultivated growing up in Europe.

The career arc of an actor often takes them into different places as they age. The Angelina Jolie that performed nude in 2015’s “By the Sea” was not the same person who appeared in films like “Cyborg 2,” “Hackers,” or “Original Sin.” All of those films featured nudity in a sexualized context, performed by a younger actor. Yet, “By the Sea” also featured a nude Jolie, this time after a real-life double mastectomy. The actor and director told The New York Times how the scene required a nude performance, and how Jolie’s personal challenges wouldn’t get in the way of her art. This all ties into Angelina Jolie’s bohemian and nonconforming dedication to her career.