Kristen Stewart isn’t interested in filming simulated sex scenes because she doesn’t actually consider them all that hot to watch.
“It’s not about [showing] simulated sex on film,” Stewart, 33, said in her Them cover story, which was published on Tuesday, March 19. “I’m so embarrassed by that. I’m so sick of watching it. I’m so sick of doing it.”
The intimate moments that Stewart filmed with costar Katy O’Brian for their new movie, Love Lies Bleeding, were much more her speed.
“The ways that you let the person you’re with either take over or be consumed,” she continued. “Those were choices, and they were very articulate, yet nonverbal decisions that we made together. And without that dynamic, nobody would have c—m.”
She continued: “Literally, you could almost take the body out of it. You could tell me the right thing, and that’s what’s going to get me there. Tell me I am something to you. Tell me I can be taller than you, even though I’m 5’5, and you’re f—king 5’10, and I’m there.”
Love Lies Bleeding, which was released earlier this month, follows reclusive gym manager Lou (Stewart) who finds love with ambitious bodybuilder Jackie (O’Brian), but their relationship takes a dangerous turn. The movie marks new territory for Stewart, who has recently prioritized projects she is passionate about, including a wide range of projects highlighting LGBTQIA+ couples.
While speaking to Them, Stewart praised the unique dynamic shown between Lou and Jackie in Love Lies Bleeding.
“The weird interpretations we had of our characters, and what might be happening in a given moment, they were never the same,” she continued. “It was perfect, because they’re obsessed with each other even while they’re [rarely] having the same conversation.”
Stewart also appreciated how Love Lies Bleeding subverts the definition of a “lesbian” movie, adding, “To imply that ‘our’ experience can be in a genre of its own is dangerous. I don’t want to perpetuate that. We have so much unearthing to do — so much unabashed self-exploration and self-touch. We need to touch base, dude. It’s the only way to tell stories: from the inside.”
The actress elaborated on the subject while weighing in on how a sexual narrative can drive a story.
“We’re all in our heads, it’s all fantasy,” she shared. “That doesn’t mean it’s a lie, but we need to believe the stories we hear about ourselves in order to then reckon with a body, put it out in the world, and allow it to be touched in the way you’ve decided feels good.”
Off screen, Stewart has found love with fiancée Dylan Meyer, whom she reconnected with in 2019 after meeting years prior.
“Yeah, I did get really lucky to re-meet someone that I was like — I was so ill-equipped and now I am, like, going to make this happen,” she said during her Monday, March 18, appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show. “Yeah, I was just sort of in the right place to recognize and kind of respect how good she was compared to me, my selfish little self.”
The couple were first introduced in 2013 before crossing paths again. One year after they started dating, Stewart and Meyer got engaged.
“We’re marrying, we’re totally gonna do it,” Stewart noted on The Howard Stern Show in 2021. “I wanted to be proposed to, so I think I very distinctly carved out what I wanted and she nailed it. We’re marrying, it’s happening.”
