Jennifer Aniston and Jon Hamm didn’t want any extra help with their sex scene on The Morning Show.
“Having [director] Mimi [Leder] there, you’re protected,” Aniston, 54, told Variety in a Monday, December 11, cover story. “I never felt uncomfortable. Jon was such a gentleman, always — I mean every move, every cut, ‘You OK?’ It was also very choreographed. That’s the beauty of Mimi and our gorgeous editor, the music and lighting.”
In an October episode of the Apple TV+ series, UBA anchor Alex Levy (Aniston) interviewed tech titan Paul Marks (Hamm), who was trying to buy UBA. Tension built up between Alex and Paul for several episodes before Alex interviewed the billionaire about allegations that he took advantage of a Stanford University student. Paul managed to portray himself as a changed man, and after the interview, Alex and Paul slept together.
“So, you don’t prepare,” Aniston continued. “They asked us if we wanted an intimacy coordinator. I’m from the olden days, so I was like, ‘What does that mean?’ They said, ‘Where someone asks you if you’re OK,’ and I’m like, ‘Please, this is awkward enough!’ We’re seasoned — we can figure this one out. And we had Mimi there.”
After the episode aired, Leder told Variety that the cast and crew worked to ensure the sex scene was tasteful and story-driven.
“It was a closed set, and two very grown-up actors who really understood the nature of the storytelling and were very much a part of it,” the director said. “We wanted it to be sensitive. We wanted it to be sexy. We wanted it to be adult. We wanted it to be emotional. They really let go. They’re great actors. And there you have it.”
The gentleness of the sex scene only lasted so long. Eventually, Paul’s true colors showed. By the end of the season he was revealed to be spying on Alex and her colleagues, and he eventually blackmailed Bradley Jackson (Reese Witherspoon).
“But was he [a snake]? Or was that just his nature?” Aniston asked about Hamm’s character. “I don’t think he felt that it was intentional. He just is who he is. But that was fun. I’ve known the Hammanator for a long, long time.”
When Witherspoon, 47, asked how they met, Aniston revealed it was through a mutual friend — Paul Rudd — about “12 years ago.”
Witherspoon realized she also met Hamm through the Ant-Man actor. “Paul Rudd is his agent. I’m not kidding!” she joked. “I did a movie with Paul Rudd in 1996, and that’s when I met Jon Hamm.”
All episodes of The Morning Show season 3 are now available on Apple TV+.
