Eternals stars Richard Madden and Gemma Chan on filming MCU’s first sex scene

Eternals co-stars Richard Madden and Gemma Chan recently opened up about filming Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first-ever sex scene.

In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the actors said they were focussed on making sure the scene felt authentic.

Game of Thrones star Madden told the publication: “I just saw [the sex scene] more in the storytelling of these two characters and having that intimate moment between them. I didn’t really see it in the context of the MCU, the bigger picture, or Disney, for that matter.”

Part of the ensemble cast of Oscar-winning director Chloé Zhao’s debut MCU movie, Madden plays Ikaris while Chan is Sersi.

In the new film, Ikaris and Sersi have been together for 5,000 years, and the love scene is an important milestone in their journey.

Madden admitted that if he had “actually thought about the scale of that or the significance” of their sex scene, it would have been far more stressful to film it.

Meanwhile, Chan said she was grateful that she shared a close friendship with Madden, adding that it helped minimise any feelings of nervousness or awkwardness.

She explained: “It helped that Richard and I have a trust with each other and a history. I could feel that we had each other’s backs in that scene. To do scenes like that can be quite a vulnerable thing, so I felt lucky that I was with my friend.”

The actors have reportedly been friends for over a decade.

The pair also revealed what it’s like to play a couple that’s been on-again-off-again for 5,000 years.

The Crazy Rich Asians actor said it boiled down to relating Ikaris and Sersi’s love story with their real-life experiences to find moments of real honesty.

Explaining their process, Madden said: “We talked about the concept of people who’ve been in love for that long and have seen everything and done everything and why they keep coming back and finding joy within each other.”

Eternals was released on Friday (5 November) and opened to mixed reviews.

Alongside Chan and Madden, the film also stars Kumail Nanjiani, Lia McHugh, Brian Tyree Henry, Lauren Ridloff, Barry Keoghan, and Don Lee.

In her review of Eternals, The Independent’s film critic Clarisse Loughrey called Oscar-winner Zhao’s superhero movie “one of the franchise’s most emotionally grounded entries”.

You can read our full review here.

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