Neal McDonough has been sacked from ABC’s new series Scoundrels, because he didn’t want to do hot and heavy sex scenes. He never does. It’s a moral thing for him. What I found most interesting about this article was the comments (not that I don’t find McDonough interesting, I do). So many people incapable of understanding how an actor can play a murderer or a soldier killing someone but refuses to do sex scenes due to his moral stance. It’s really easy to understand, if one thinks about it just a wee bit.

Sure, pretending to kill someone while making a movie or TV show does require calling up the ability and emotions to kill someone. That does have to be in your head or your performance will not be believable (and thus flat and not good), but you don’t actually kill anyone. In fact, the way movies and TV shows are made, you’ll barely even be going through the motions of killing someone, thanks to all the camera angles, multiple takes, and editing choices. Almost all thought and very little action.

Doing a sex scene is an entirely different beast. All the emotions and thoughts of being intimate with someone have to be there, and you are very much going through the actions of being intimate as well. There is no way to fake french kiss someone, or fake grab someone’s breast, or fake rubbing your naked body on them and grinding groins. It can very much feel like betraying your spouse, because it’s very real. Ever notice how many actors/actresses get divorced after making a steamy movie and then take up a relationship with their co-star (which then rarely lasts long)? Well, think about it a minute. I’m sure the answer will come to you, unlike the people leaving comments on that news story who just can’t figure out why someone wouldn’t want to simulate sex with someone other than their spouse.

Anyway, it’s a choice every actor/actress has to make for themselves, and kudos to Neal for standing by his decision.

Yes, I speak from experience, and no, I do not regret once losing a plum part because I refused to do sex scenes. It’s a shame I never had the chance to play the part of a murderer, because I’m pretty sure my inner hidden rage would have made my performance astounding. LOL!