A few thoughts on nudityby Katrina Law, KatrinalawspartacusI have received several letters asking me about how I handled all the nudity on the show and I thought it was a really good topic to blog about. I wanted to try to explain all the things that an actor goes through when he or she is both considering handling such a scene and also when they are actually shooting it.
When I was given the audition for Spartacus, the very first question I was asked was if I was okay with doing nudity. My initial reaction was to say, “No!” But I asked the Producer what sort of nudity was being done on Spartacus and why was it being done. Was it simply to titillate and for shock or was there a deeper motivation behind those scenes?
The answer I was given was that the nudity was based on a strong desire for historical accuracy first and also as an effort to “push the envelope” along with the graphic violence and relationships in the story. This was certainly a good answer, but I still wasn’t sold. I’m really a shy person and am not in the habit of running around skimpily dressed and I’m especially unused to getting naked in front of a roomful of strangers. So the Producer sent me the trailer to view so I could see some of the finished product and make an informed decision.
As soon as the trailer started I knew that Spartacus was a show that I wanted to be a part of. I loved the cinematography, the direction, the acting and the overall feel of the show. I loved the lighting and the atmosphere and was struck by how everyone looked gorgeous whether they were high society or a slave. It was the kind of series that I would watch whether or not I was in it, and if I wasn’t in it, I knew it was the kind of show that I would be dying to audition for. But I was still nervous about the entire nudity issue. I had never done it before in my career and wasn’t sure if I was willing to do it now. So I went back to the producer we had a little chat. He assured me that everything was being shot so as to get the best angles with the best lighting, and was being handled in the most tasteful and artistic way in order to guarantee that the scenes were high quality and artistic rather than what you would see in late night “soft core porn.” Then he said the key words that finally sold me on the idea, “The men are as equally naked and exposed as the women.”
As an audience member, I have no issues with nudity on the screen. I think that both the male and female forms are breath taking and I’m as red blooded as the next girl. I applaud all the people that have come before me with the courage, confidence, and artistic integrity to be so vulnerable and bear it all and still be able to step out in public with their heads high. The problem that I have with nudity on screen, in general, is that it is almost always the women who bare all and are the ones who are exploited sexually. There are countless scenes on TV and film where the female character is completely naked in the scene while the man stands there fully clothed. More often than not, if anyone is getting naked, it is the woman. But on Spartacus: Blood and Sand, both are treated as equals so rather than feeling like the nudity is an exploitation of both sexes, it feels more like a story which is staying true to its time.
So with the blessing of my parents and a word of encouragement and support from my fiancé, I went ahead and accepted the role of Mira on Spartacus.
In the show, one of my favorite scenes is the one where Ilithyia decides that she wants to see Crixus naked in order to “accurately gauge his worth” and, with the help of Batiatus, Crixus is ordered to drop his subligaria. Ilithyia (fully dressed) then proceeds to circle around Crixus (devoid of all clothing and in a straight on wide shot, which is the MOST unflattering angle for ANY person to stand naked in) and eyes him up and down like he is a sticky piece of caramel chocolate. On a selfish note, it was great to see the roles reversed for once and to have the man be the one being marginalized. I thought that was surprisingly daring. Usually the man has the power while the woman stands bare and helpless before him, but not so on Spartacus. However, from an acting point of view, I am so incredibly proud of Manu (the actor who plays Crixus) for being as brave and as dedicated to his craft as he was. What a tremendously vulnerable situation to allow yourself to be in, and he looked great doing it! (must have been the lighting ;-) )
From firsthand experience, I know that standing naked before a camera with the knowledge that you are about to put it ALL out there for the world to judge is a scary endeavor. Outside of standup comedy, it is easily the scariest thing I have ever done, and I’ve jumped out of planes, white water rafted class five rivers and SCUBA dived below 157 feet. In other words, I don’t scare easily.
In my first episode I had a total of six scenes, and out of those six scenes, four of them were nude scenes. I distinctly remember finally getting a full script and, after reading it and realizing what I had gotten myself into, I just sat in my trailer for a few minutes and willed myself to breathe normally; not to panic. Then I jumped on my phone and unloaded all my fears and insecurities to my fiancé for the next hour. He’s good at talking me off of ledges.
Luckily for me (whether or not this was intentional, I’ll never know) my shooting schedule kind of eased me gently into the mix. My first shot on Spartacus was the one where the slave girls are all wearing various white masks. Yes, I was naked, but I was surrounded by other women who were just as naked and the two featured actors in the scene were Lucy Lawless and Brook Harmon. It was a closed set (which means only necessary crew and no guests allowed) so I felt relatively safe and somewhat invisible.
The entire crew and camera department were great. By this point in their shooting schedule it was already Month Six into production and by then they had seen and done it all. I think they were interested in the ‘new girl’ for about half a second before they got bored and moved on. They had also perfected the art of only looking when they needed to and looking at the floor, wall, or ceiling the rest of the time. Everyone was extremely respectful and the wardrobe department was very protective, trying to cover up all the girls as soon as possible whenever the cameras stopped rolling.
My second scene was the bath house scene with Lucretia and Naevia. By this point I had decided that “Merkin” (the name for the fake wig of hair used to both create a historically accurate nether region and to protect an actress from unwanted exposure while also ensuring that there is no actual physical contact) was an ugly and awkward word. So I named mine Priscilla. As crazy as it seems, tiny little Priscilla made me feel like I had on a bit of clothing and, thus, a little bit of protection from the world.
Without question the bath house scene was the hardest for me to do. I remember the director telling me that they were going to shot from straight on and I thought, “But what about the best angles? Straight on is a terrible angle and quite possibly the least flattering out of all the angles! What about triangles? Or how about an angle that happens to be located behind a plant or shoots through gauze? Shouldn’t this scene be shot entirely with the lights off??” Instead of whining though, I just channeled all of my fear, insecurities, and anxiety about the nudity into the emotions my character would naturally be feeling in the scene and left it in the hands of the director.
After going through all of that, when I finally got to my scenes with Andy (Spartacus), it was a breeze.
In the end, I viewed the entire situation as if I was jumping into a freezing cold river. I just had to quit crying, “man up” and do it. I had to put all of my faith and trust into Michael Hurst (director for Episode 9), the crew, my cast mates, the producers, the writers, the editors and most importantly of all, the camera men. And from what I saw when I watched Episode 9, I am glad I did. Though my mom did think it was strange to see me that naked considering that I was six years old the last time she had seen me like that.
Television Series: Spartacus: Blood and Sand (S01E011- Old Wounds)
Release Date: April 2010
Actress: Erin Cummings & Katrina Law
Video Clip Credit: DeepAtSea
Video Clip Info: [DivX5 at 3200 Kbps; 1280 x 720; 14mb for 25s+10s (x2 videos)]
http://rapidshare.com/files/371418238/Erin_Cummings__Katrina_Law___Uncredited_Actress_-_SBAS0111720p_by_DeepAtSea.zip
or
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=RQ3IMO8J
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http://www.mediafire.com/?mztdmiyjoyz
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