‘The Love Hypothesis’: Lili Reinhart Spills on ‘Most Intense Sex Scene’ She’s Ever Filmed
Never fear, book-to-screen purists. The Love Hypothesis movie will not forgo the book’s steamy scenes. In fact, star Lili Reinhart says that the adaptation contains the “most intense sex scene [she’s] ever filmed.”
During the October 17 episode of the On Film…With Kevin McCarthy podcast, the Riverdale actress opened up about shooting the movie’s intimate scene and how she felt leading up to it. “It’s not Fifty Shades of Grey by any means, but it was just a lot for me, and I was down to do it and very comfortable,” Reinhart said.
She explained that, in addition to an intimacy coordinator being present on set, she had love and trust for her costar, Tom Bateman. “I felt in really good hands,” she added. “But because of the intensity of it and sort of like the nakedness, I just felt a little bit like… That was just so vulnerable. And it’s being vulnerable in a space with someone that you don’t have a relationship with, so ultimately it’s going to feel strange.”
The actress also described grappling with the sensation of being “used,” and she would tell herself afterward that that wasn’t the case. “I had to just sort of remind myself that I was in control of my body,” she continued. “Like, I chose to do that. It wasn’t an unsafe environment, which is all things that I knew, but I just had to communicate that to my body that felt sort of anxious the next day.”
Before shooting, Reinhart said that she and Bateman spoke about their past experiences with intimate scenes. “But we didn’t get too deep into it,” she added. “I think you’re sort of a little on your own, which is fine, because I think it would almost be weirder if you shot it and then said, let’s talk about this.”
She continued, “We shot it in the middle of the shoot, so it was a before and an after, and it was the same. There was no awkwardness or any sort of, ‘This person’s seen me naked.’ It didn’t feel like that at all.”
The update comes after Reinhart, via TikTok, informed a fan that the rom-com wouldn’t have a PG-13 rating. That alone all but confirmed that the book’s spiciest scene will make it into the movie. If you’re in need of a refresher, you can check out Swooon’s full breakdown of the book’s hottest chapter here.
Based on Ali Hazelwood’s novel of the same name, The Love Hypothesis follows PhD student Olive, who makes a fake-dating arrangement with Stanford professor Adam (Bateman). Once real feelings start to develop between them, things start to heat up. What other book moments are you hoping make it into the adaptation? Let us know in the comments below!
The Love Hypothesis, In Theaters, TBA
