Jake Gyllenhaal Admits Filming Jennifer Aniston Love Scene Was 'Torture' Since He Was Crushing On Her
Dec. 27 2022, Published 8:00 p.m. ET
Though sharing a steamy scene with your celebrity crush may sound like a dream come true, it seems actually doing so was anything but for Jake Gyllenhaal.
Earlier this week, the Spider-Man: Far From Home actor got candid about what was really going through his head while filming sex scenes with his The Good Girl costar and real-life crush, Jennifer Aniston, comparing the early aughts ordeal to “torture” due to his attraction to the Friends alum.
“It was torture, yes it was, but it was also not torture,” he quipped when asked about filming the 2002 flick during a recent appearance on Howard Stern’s eponymous radio program, The Howard Stern Show. “I mean, come on. It was like a mix of both.”
Fortunately for the Brokeback Mountain lead, the “mechanical nature” of the scene alleviated some of the pressure when the cameras started rolling, the actor likening the process of creating the scene to “a dance, like, you choreograph it for a camera.”
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Some of this choreography, the star noted, came from Aniston herself. According to the hunk, the actress proposed adding a strategically placed pillow between her and her on-screen lover in the interest of keeping things comfortable for both parties.
“[That] was actually a Jennifer suggestion,” he recalled of their love scene prop. “She was very kind to suggest it before we began.”
Beyond Aniston’s pillow, the vast audience of cast and crew members, too, also eased any tension that would have arisen between the famous pair.
“Weirdly, love scenes are awkward because there are maybe 30, 50 people watching,” he explained of the film’s behind-the-scenes setup.
Penned by Mike White of White Lotus fame, it seems Gyllenhaal and Aniston’s acting chops — even amid awkward sex scenes — helped make The Good Girl a hit. First premiering at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2002, the comedy-drama was ultimately nominated for several awards, with Aniston even earning the Film Independent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay.
Daily Mail reported on Gyllenhaal’s podcast revelations.