Every Time the ‘Tell Me Lies’ Cast Discussed the Show’s Steamy Sex Scenes: ‘We Were So Communicative About Everything’

Credit: Josh Stringer/Hulu

Every Time the ‘Tell Me Lies’ Cast Discussed the Show’s Steamy Sex Scenes: 'We Were So Communicative About Everything'

Putting it all out there! Tell Me Lies captivated fans with its steamy sex scenes — and the cast has been candid about the work that goes into those memorable moments. The Hulu series, which debuted in September 2022, introduced the tumultuous relationship between college students Lucy (Grace Van Patten) and Stephen (Jackson White). As viewers explored an eight-year time period of the couple's lives, they also caught snippets of how the relationship affected those around Lucy and Stephen. Patten previously recalled how daunting it felt to see the amount of sex scenes in the show. "When I read the scripts, it was terrifying. I was like, 'Oh man, this is going to be scary, I'm going to feel very exposed and self conscious,'" she revealed to TooFab shortly after the show premiered. "Just reading it, what made me feel better about it was these scenes were so necessary to the story and none of them felt exploitative in any way and they were all necessary to the characters and really important to show the dynamic between them and how the sexual dynamic between them changes throughout the season and how real that felt, so that made me feel a lot better about it." According to executive producer Meaghan Oppenheimer, it was important to ensure that "every sex scene served a purpose" to the story. "Some of the scenes are sexy, some of them are really not sexy. Some of them are really upsetting sex scenes or awkward," Oppenheimer added at the time, referring to the show's intimacy coordinator, Dr. Tiffanie Henry. The showrunner detailed the discussions that took place between the crew and the cast, saying, "No one was ever even slightly pushed to do something they didn't want to do. It was always a conversation and making sure everyone felt really comfortable and really safe. We really rehearsed everything out so there were no surprises on the day. It's like a dance, you have to choreograph it and it's actually quite mechanical when you get down to it." Meanwhile, White praised his connection with his scene partner for helping ease his nerves. "I think it's so specific to who you're working with and [I was] so comfortable with Grace from the start, we were so communicative about everything that I had no worries about that, about portraying any of that stuff," the Ambulance actor, who has sparked offscreen romance rumors with Patten, shared. "I also was gonna say that, I haven't been doing this that long but I've showed my butt in everything, so I just associate acting with your butt is involved, in some part of the piece, at one part in the story." Scroll down for the Tell Me Lies cast's most candid quotes about creating those steamy moments:

Credit: Josh Stringer/Hulu

Every Time the ‘Tell Me Lies’ Cast Discussed the Show’s Steamy Sex Scenes: 'We Were So Communicative About Everything'

Putting it all out there! Tell Me Lies captivated fans with its steamy sex scenes — and the cast has been candid about the work that goes into those memorable moments. The Hulu series, which debuted in September 2022, introduced the tumultuous relationship between college students Lucy (Grace Van Patten) and Stephen (Jackson White). As viewers explored an eight-year time period of the couple's lives, they also caught snippets of how the relationship affected those around Lucy and Stephen. Patten previously recalled how daunting it felt to see the amount of sex scenes in the show. "When I read the scripts, it was terrifying. I was like, 'Oh man, this is going to be scary, I'm going to feel very exposed and self conscious,'" she revealed to TooFab shortly after the show premiered. "Just reading it, what made me feel better about it was these scenes were so necessary to the story and none of them felt exploitative in any way and they were all necessary to the characters and really important to show the dynamic between them and how the sexual dynamic between them changes throughout the season and how real that felt, so that made me feel a lot better about it." According to executive producer Meaghan Oppenheimer, it was important to ensure that "every sex scene served a purpose" to the story. "Some of the scenes are sexy, some of them are really not sexy. Some of them are really upsetting sex scenes or awkward," Oppenheimer added at the time, referring to the show's intimacy coordinator, Dr. Tiffanie Henry. The showrunner detailed the discussions that took place between the crew and the cast, saying, "No one was ever even slightly pushed to do something they didn't want to do. It was always a conversation and making sure everyone felt really comfortable and really safe. We really rehearsed everything out so there were no surprises on the day. It's like a dance, you have to choreograph it and it's actually quite mechanical when you get down to it." Meanwhile, White praised his connection with his scene partner for helping ease his nerves. "I think it's so specific to who you're working with and [I was] so comfortable with Grace from the start, we were so communicative about everything that I had no worries about that, about portraying any of that stuff," the Ambulance actor, who has sparked offscreen romance rumors with Patten, shared. "I also was gonna say that, I haven't been doing this that long but I've showed my butt in everything, so I just associate acting with your butt is involved, in some part of the piece, at one part in the story." Scroll down for the Tell Me Lies cast's most candid quotes about creating those steamy moments:

Credit: Josh Stringer/Hulu

The Technical Aspects

Ahead of the show's debut, White offered a glimpse at the behind the scenes details that bring their sex scenes to life.

"You put a little rubber ball between your hips and then it looks like there’s thrusting but there’s actually a rubber ball in between you," he explained during an interview with Entertainment Tonight in September 2022. "Sometimes you use that, sometimes you don’t. There's all kinds of junk."

Meanwhile, Patten praised Hulu for bringing in an intimacy coordinator, adding, "You really need to feel safe and comfortable and that there’s not going to be any surprises. That person really protected us from all those things."

Credit: Josh Stringer/Hulu

Using an Intimacy Coordinator

During an interview with TooFab, Alicia Crowder also showed her support for having a professional intimacy coordinator on set.

"It was nice, you never felt like you were just going into it blind and having to make it up on the spot," the actress, who plays Diana, shared. "I feel like that can sometimes be a problem. It's like, everything was decided and figured out so once we got there on the day, we just had to do what we said we were comfortable doing. It's pretty simple, you know?"

Credit: Josh Stringer/Hulu

Constant Communication

According to Sonia Mena, the environment on set allowed the actors to feel comfortable stripping down.

"I feel like I've been so lucky in that around the time that I started to work and scenes like this were coming up, was in the era of intimacy coordinators," the nonbinary actor, who plays Pippa, told TooFab in September 2022. "So mostly I just feel really grateful that that is the moment in which I'm working and people are very on top of just making sure everyone feels safe and respected and protected and that the communication is clear."

Credit: Josh Stringer/Hulu

Getting It Right

Spencer House, who plays Wrigley, referred to filming intimate scenes as a lot of "smoke and mirrors and camera angles," telling TooFab, "It looks very real. My grandma was like, 'I can't wait to watch!'"

Credit: Josh Stringer/Hulu

Setting the Scene

In October 2022, White applauded the show's directors for approaching their sex scenes like another day on set.

"It's not treated as this big, scary thing. It's just another scene that we have to block out and that we have to figure out beforehand," he detailed to E! News at the time, noting he didn't feel pressure when it came to his own shots. "I didn't have to go in there like some dynamo. Everyone collaborated to make it look organic and good."