Vishnu Warrier
Most people often dismiss sex and nudity as irrelevant topics, although nudity is one of the most important aspects of cinema. Actors who went completely nude for movies gave themselves on to their characters, and it means a lot and certainly takes immense courage and determination to pour yourselves into the character you’re playing, not just emotionally but also physically. Certain actors are known for taking on bold roles more frequently than others, which demands a lot from them, and in most cases, nudity is unavoidable. So, let’s look at the list of male celebrities who did fully naked scenes for movies. If you have any particular interest in seeing these nude actors, we have plenty of recommendations for you.
16. Jude Law – The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
Directed by Anthony Minghella, the film is based on Patricia Highsmith’s 1955 eponymous novel. Law plays the role of wealthy Princeton graduate Dickie Greenleaf whose father has asked impressionist/forger Tom Ripley to persuade him to return home. How Ripley does this and in the process, takes advantage of Dickie’s privileges is what we find out in this film. Law has a nude scene in the film that has become iconic with time. Alongside Law, the cast includes Matt Damon (Tom Ripley), Cate Blanchett, and Gwyneth Paltrow. You can watch the film here.
15. Cillian Murphy – 28 Days Later (2002)
This is a post-apocalyptic horror film directed by Danny Boyle, wherein Murphy’s character, Jim, wakes up from a coma in a London hospital 28 days after a virus outbreak. Unbeknownst to him, the whole city has been evacuated, and society, as we know it, has collapsed. Jim joins a group of survivors looking for a safe haven while staying away from the infected, brain-dead, zombie-like beings. While there is no reason why any doctor would keep a patient naked, Jim wakes up that way, giving the viewers an eye candy shot that none of us will ever complain of.
14. Chris Pine – Outlaw King (2018)
Directed by David Mackenzie, this historical drama is set during the Scottish Wars of Independence and follows 14th-century Scottish king Robert the Bruce, aka Robert I, the King of Scots, from 1306 till his death in 1329. The film shows Bruce’s (Chris Pine) stand against Edward I (Stephen Dillane), the then King of England, and the Battle of Loudoun Hill (1307), where Bruce and his army fought and defeated Edward (Billy Howle), aka the Prince of Wales, son of Edward I. There is a scene where Pine’s character Bruce is bathing in a lake wherein he offers frontal nudity to the viewers. It’s not as close as one might think, but it’s still worth adding to our list because it’s Chris Pine. You can watch ‘Outlaw King’ here.
13. Peter Sarsgaard – Kinsey (2004)
Directed by Bill Condon, this film is based on the life of sexology pioneer Alfred Charles Kinsey, who wrote the first recorded book that addressed sexual behavior in humans. The name of the book is ‘Sexual Behavior in the Human Male, first published in 1948.’ He is also the man behind the Kinsey scale, which is still used to measure sexual orientation in humans. While Liam Neeson plays the role of Kinsey, it is Peter Sarsgaard’s Clyde Martin, who was Kinsey’s closest assistant, who goes all nude and seduces Neeson’s Kinsey as their relationship grows more intimate from the usual teacher-assistant camaraderie. You can watch the film here.
12. Ben Affleck – Gone Girl (2014)
Well, this may come off as a surprise because Ben Affleck has no prior experience going on screen, but remember the shower scene in ‘Gone Girl’? Yes, that’s where Affleck bared it out in front of the camera for the very first time in his career. David Fincher’s thriller was noted for its explicit violence and sex scenes, but Affleck’s shower scene completely catches us off guard as it’s not one you would anticipate, especially considering the actor’s lack of experience in this area. You can watch ‘Gone Girl’ here.
11. Christian Bale – American Psycho (2000)
This is certainly not among the most pleasing-to-watch nude scenes in movies. Christian Bale’s terrifying portrayal of a wealthy investment banker with dark psychopathic fantasies has now become one of the most iconic portrayals of villain cinema. For the role, the actor not only had to push himself to the darkest emotional edges but also had to strip off for a few scenes, most famously in that chainsaw sequence where he chases off and kills a prostitute after having sex with her. It’s an alarming scene that goes well in tone with the darkly comic nature of the movie, and Bale is remarkably brilliant, flaunting his impeccable acting skills as he gives himself off entirely to the character. You can watch the film here.
10. Viggo Mortensen – The Indian Runner (1991), Eastern Promises (2007)
Viggo Mortensen has stripped onscreen a couple of times. In the 1991 crime drama written and directed by Sean Penn, ‘The Indian Runner,’ he plays an emotionally complex man with dark traits who is trying to gel well with his brother, who has a highly different persona. Mortensen does have a scene in the film where he strips off completely, with his parts almost clearly visible. However, his most famous nude onscreen would come nearly 16 years later in David Cronenberg’s classic gangster flick, ‘Eastern Promises,’ which has a scene where his character is brutally beaten in a bathhouse after being mistakenly identified by a group of thugs. You can watch ‘Eastern Promises’ here.
9. Richard Gere – American Gigolo (1980)
Richard Gere’s famous nude shot in ‘American Gigolo’ must have been unusual for its time. After having sex, Gere calmly gets up and stands by a window, completely nude, with his parts almost visible. He plays a sex worker who is framed for murder, and his performance elevates the film from being a mediocre attempt at tackling such a bold subject. Considering this was among the earliest films to feature a nude shot of its main star, it’s amazing how calm and nonchalant Gere seems in the scene. You can watch the film here.
8. Jason Segal – Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)
Shifting to a lighter note, ‘Forgetting Sarah Marshall’ is a cult classic romantic comedy directed by Nicholas Stoller. It follows Segal’s Peter Bretter, who decides to go on a vacation to Hawaii to get over his breakup with Kristen Bell’s Sarah Marshall. Unfortunately, upon checking in, he finds out that Sarah, who is now his ex, has arrived there as well with her new boyfriend. This leads to a string of hilarious events, some of which remain some of the best moments across all rom-coms. The scene we are talking about is right before Sarah breaks up with Peter towards the very beginning of the film. Peter comes out of the shower and shows Sarah his male organ, which he has just shaved, addressing it as a surprise and shaking it happily. While it is a hilarious moment, it doesn’t end well for him in the least. You can watch ‘Forgetting Sarah Marshall’ here to find out how things will eventually turn out for him.
7. Daryl McCormack – Good Luck to You, Leo Grande (2022)
Directed by Sophie Hyde, this sex comedy follows Emma Thompson’s Nancy Stokes, a retired teacher and widower, who hires a young charming sex worker named Leo Grande, played by Daryl McCormack, to give her an orgasm as she has never had one. How Leo brings her out of her insecurity while helping her with her sexual carvings is what we see in this film. Since it’s all about sex, nudity isn’t something unusual as not only Daryl McCormack but Thompson too goes fully nude. After all, the essential elements of the film are female sexuality and body issues. The actors even planned the sex scenes themselves. You can watch ‘Good Luck to You, Leo Grande’ here.
6. Mark Wahlberg – Boogie Nights (1997)
A film about the porn industry is meant to have a lot of nude scenes. Heather Graham went nude for that famous “audition” scene where her character was asked to have sex with Dirk by porn movie director Jack Horner so that he could cast him in his next movie. However, Wahlberg was equally comfortable doing all the intimate scenes. The last shot is particularly memorable, where his character returns to making movies and, in a Raging Bull-esque moment, gives a long pep talk to himself before revealing his prosthetic penis in front of the camera. You can watch the film here.
5. Tom Hardy – Bronson (2008)
Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, this biographical black comedy stars Tom Hardy as Charles Bronson, a British criminal considered the country’s most violent one, who was born Michael Gordon Peterson in 1952. His time as a bare-knuckle boxer in London East End is what made him take up the name Charles Bronson, after the famous American actor who is remembered for his rugged physique and nature in his action films. After moving in and out of prison multiple times due to numerous attacks on guards and prisoners, his arrest in 1988 was the last, and Bronson is currently serving life imprisonment at HM Prison Woodhill in Milton Keynes, England. There is a scene in which Bronson strips naked and applies Vaseline on himself to make it challenging for the guards to grab him. Tom went full nude for the scene, which also showed his bulky transformation for the character. You can watch ‘Bronson’ here.
4. Michael Fassbender – Shame (2011)
Nudity has rarely had such a disturbing onscreen, disturbing not just because of its visual explicitness but because of its devastating emotional power. Michael Fassbender plays a sex-obsessed New York corporate guy who is forced to confront his own demons when his sister comes to stay with him for a few days. Right after the opening sequence in a subway, there’s a scene where he walks off completely naked after having sex with a prostitute. Fassbender completely exposes himself here, and it’s an alarming scene because we are pulled into his world of bizarre obsessions and disturbing fantasies. You can watch ‘Shame’ here.
3. Shia LaBeouf – Pieces Of A Woman (2020) and Nymphomaniac (2013)
Both ‘Pieces Of a Woman’ (directed by Kornél Mundruczó), which shows a couple losing their newborn child during home birth and coping with the loss, and ‘Nymphomaniac’ (directed by Lars von Trier), which follows a woman named Joe who shares her sexual stories with a man who has just saved her life, show Shia LaBeouf flashing his private parts properly. In ‘Nymphomaniac,’ too, his nudity serves the same purpose, although he didn’t have sex with Stacy Martin. Body doubles and special effects were used. In ‘Pieces Of A Woman,’ he goes fully nude during rough sex with his partner (Vanessa Kirby). You can watch ‘Pieces Of A Woman’ here and ‘Nymphomaniac’ here.
2. Ewan McGregor – Velvet Goldmine (1998)
Set during the glam rock days of 1970s Britain, ‘Velvet Goldmine’ tells the story of bisexual pop star Brian Slade (fictional), played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers, and how he faked his death live on stage. We follow journalist Arthur Stuart (Christian Bale) as he tries to dig deeper into Slade’s life and career, searching for him. Ewan McGregor plays the role of an American rockstar named Curt Wild, with whom Slade meets after coming to America. There is a scene where Wild takes off his jeans while performing with his band to moon the audience as a sign of mockery towards their rejection of him and his band. While McGregor was only supposed to moon the crowd (as per director Todd Haynes), he turned around to reveal everything else. You can watch the film here.
1. Barry Keoghan – Saltburn (2023)
Directed by Emerald Fennell, ‘Saltburn’ follows Keoghan’s Oliver Quick, who is brought by his charming friend Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi) to the latter’s home, Saltburn, for summer. Quick is taken aback by the eccentric Cattons, and their posh/desirable/wynorrific lifestyle seems to hypnotize him. He ultimately finds himself adapting to his surreal surroundings, giving in to his new-found desires that, towards the end of the film, become something dark. There are three scenes in the film where Keoghan appears nude, all of which he even stated to have fun filming. Each scene addresses the character’s vulnerability differently and adds to the character as well as the scenes. You can watch ‘Saltburn’ here.
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