“Ew. It’s so gross.”
Scarlett Johansson has recalled a pretty awkward incident filming a sex scene with Joaquin Phoenix.
The Marvel star and the Joker protagonist have shared the screen before in an unusual way, leading to a decidedly embarrassing moment on set.
Some of you may know what movie we’re talking about here. But for those who don’t, we urge you to go watch Spike Jonze’s acclaimed sci-fi romance Her, released in 2013. And not just for the sex scenes.
Jonze’s star-studded movie is set in a near-future LA and features Phoenix as lonely Theodore, a divorced man who falls for his AI assistant Samantha, voiced by Johansson.
The Walking Dead star Samantha Morton was originally cast as Samantha, but Jonze had Johansson re-record all of the dialogue. (Warner Bros Pictures)
Johansson may not be physically in the film, but this didn’t stop Her from including a steamy phone sex session between her character and Phoenix’s – though, as it’s often the case in movies, the making of the scene is anything but sexy.
Speaking to hosts Dax Shepard and Monica Padman on the Armchair Expert podcast back in 2022, the award-winning actor opened up about a pretty offbeat sex scene where shooting the segment proved more awkward than you can even imagine, according to Johansson.
She explained that Phoenix had already filmed his part of the scene, but because the movie only featured Johansson’s voice, he needed to join her in a recording studio for hers.
She said: “Joaquin comes in, we try to get through one take, and he was, like, losing it.
“He was like, angry … He had already done [the scene], he had done it in person, and now he was with me, in this weird theater, I’m in this box and [Joaquin] is staring at me, the lights are low, and like, Spike is there. It was so bizarre.
“Joaquin was so upset about it, he left the studio. He needed a break.”
Joaquin Phoenix and his partner Rooney Mara met on the set of Her. (Warner Bros Pictures)
But it seems Johansson completely knew where he co-star was coming from and said when she thinks about it now it gives her ‘panic’.
The actor went on: “You don’t want to hear your voice, ever.
“You definitely don’t want to hear what you sound like having an orgasm. You definitely don’t want to hear what you sound like having a fake orgasm – ew. It’s so gross.”
So if you decide to watch Her, you have that scene to look forward to, knowing how awkward it was for both actors.
But if that isn’t enough to sway you, the film is also pretty well-regarded, having a score of 8/10 on IMDb and a Tomatometer score of 95 percent.
Featured Image Credit: Photo by Samir Hussein/Getty Images / Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images
