Thank You, My Lady

Playing the future Queen of England really does pay off. British actress Camilla Luddington, (in)famous for portraying Kate Middleton in the tepid Lifetime telefilm William & Kate, has just debuted in a meaty role on Showtime’s racy series Californication. The 28-year-old English rose takes on the role of a fired nanny who is then hired by Charlie (Evan Handler) and Marcy (Pamela Adlon) in an eight-episode arc. She seems innocent at first but turns out to be a manipulative little schemer.

Unfortunately for Luddington, the nature of the show means marrying into the actual royal family is most certainly going to be off the agenda now. "I wouldn't be able to handle that — or get naked on Californication," she told Esquire, "that would probably not be allowed." We're talking pretty rude then? "I have to get topless and you definitely see my butt in a lot of stuff," admits Luddington. "I mean, it's a sexy show — there's obviously sex scenes and there's nudity. I don't think Kate Middleton would get away with that. They have this thing: a privacy patch. It's slightly horrifying. It's basically like a panty liner that's skin-colored and it sticks to you — which is definitely, by the way, not fun to take off. But it protects the areas that need to be protected; they frame the cameras so you can't see it. But you're walking around and that's the only thing you have on. You're almost like, should I even bother wearing this?"


It would certainly seem to take you out of the moment. "You have to feel sexy — even if you feel vulnerable in front of the camera," she continues. "Because the reality is when you're in an intimate moment with someone and you're having sex or you're kissing or making out, for me personally, I'm not thinking, Oh my gosh, am I skinny enough? You have to get lost in the moment. I definitely have curves. I don't intend on losing them. It's not like I have the most perfect body in the world. I'm a normal girl. I have my hang-ups, but I sort of had to throw caution to the wind and be like, OK, I'm just going to show you what I've got."

Luddington admits she's had "a couple of naughty beach moments when it's dark and you're definitely not supposed to be there, which makes it a little more fun; you feel the breeze..." but it was the first time she had been naked on screen. "It was the first time I'd ever done nudity," says the Ascot, Berkshire-born actress. "It's written into the contract that I signed that I'm okay to do it. I thought, 'Maybe I'll be the one character, like a nun, who doesn't sleep with anyone all season.' Of course, that doesn't happen. I was so naive. But it turned out I was surprisingly comfortable with it. At the end of the day, you just kind of have to let go of all your inhibitions and all your hang-ups and be free with it and have fun with it," she says. Besides, "Everyone on the set has seen it a thousand times."

Speaking to the National Ledger, Luddington also credits Duchovny, who told her, "Anything you're uncomfortable with, call me or the director and we'll work around it.' A camera angle, a shot, anything whatever." The actress is equally adept at British and American accents but says she chose to go into Californication meetings carrying on in the English way, "to stand out a little bit. The lines sounded almost more ridiculous that way, talking about sexually explicit things with a proper British accent." Of course, the Californication team was well-aware of her Kate Middleton performance, too. She's often been called "Your Highness" around the set. "There's even a part at one point where I do a little curtsey and say, 'Thank you, my lord.' I think they wrote it in as a playful little wink."

Californication stars Duchovny as has-been novelist Hank Moody, who is struggling to revitalize his professional career while maintaining a good relationship with his ex-wife and teenage daughter. Showtime renewed the veteran dark comedy for a fifth season in January. As well as Luddington, Meagan Good will be stopping by for eight episodes this time around, and hip-hop musician RZA will also be returning.