Casting Director Renee Godbout on overcoming the awkward moments of a love scene

It’s no surprise that love scenes are a touchy subject in the entertainment world. After all, it’s humans re-creating intimate moments on-set. Even as a casting director I sometimes get uncomfortable casting for love scenes! But as an actor, the best thing to do is to be open and understanding of what you’re getting yourself into.

When I was living in Los Angeles, I worked on a show for the Style Network called Diary of an Affair. It was a show where real people were interviewed about their affairs and were intercut with actors re-enacting all the high and low points of their relationship.

I was in charge of casting all of the re-enactment actors, actors that could photo double for the real people. We then had the daunting task of shooting all of their scenes in the span of two days. That included everything from the moment they met, to their first date, to the wedding, and then to the eventual affair. So, not only was I looking for actors that looked like the people they were portraying, but they had to be non-union and comfortable recreating love scenes. And all that for about $100 a day!

Since it was a show for the Style Network, I didn’t really have to worry about nudity...but I did have to convince the actors to simulate love scenes. Although I knew what we were doing was G-rated, just the word "simulate" made me think of soft-core pornography!

My worst nightmare was an actor showing up on set and not being comfortable with the love scenes. To ensure that didn’t happen, I practically scared the actors away. I wouldn’t even let them agree until I had finished my elongated description of what they would be doing. I started with my favorite phrase: "Are you comfortable kissing another person?” The actors would always laugh at me, but I knew in the end that would be the thing hardest for them.

The kissing was the most intimate part of each scene, and there was plenty of kissing throughout each episode. Once we moved past the kissing, I had to explain how the love scenes would be shot. They would be very artistic with close ups of different body parts and hands touching each other. The girl would wear a sports bra, or tank top and shorts, while the guy had to be comfortable shirtless, in shorts. Thankfully, those conversations were more painful for me than the actual scene shoot.

The love scenes were shot on a closed set with only the director, cameraman, and myself. I was there to be the one female on set. Although there was no reason not to trust the crew, it's extremely important to have a female on set for legal reasons. It wasn’t a problem for me, especially since I had become very protective of all my actors.

I felt that their level of comfort was my responsbility, so I looked out for them from our first moment on the phone until they received their paycheck in the mail. And it all paid off! I even made a few good friends over the course of our first season. After this experience, I have never looked at love scenes the same way!

Renee Godbout - Freelance Casting Director. Renee Godbout recently worked on the first season of The CW's popular teen show Gossip Girl at Grant Wilfey Casting. Some past projects include 2 seasons of Law & Order: Criminal Intent, the pilot for Dirty Sexy Money, and the upcoming Jonathan Demme-directed Dancing with Shiva.

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