While Lisa Edelstein is proud to play such an independent and liberated character as Abby McCarthy on Bravo's Girlfriends' Guide To Divorce, that doesn't mean she enjoys every aspect of the job. As Edelstein told the Huffington Post at Build Series, her character's storyline in an upcoming episode involves having an orgasm on screen — something that the 51-year-old actress has never quite gotten used to.
"That, to me, is the worst because you don’t really want to see someone’s real sex face unless you’re actually having sex with them," she said. "And even then, it can be questionable at times depending on who it is. So trying to figure out what that is for your character, it’s just so self-conscious."
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
Especially because Edelstein says sex on-screen is nothing like having sex privately. She explained that when it comes to Hollywood, it's less about the "real feeling" and more about what looks good on camera. The two rarely go hand in hand.
"It’s about what looks like passion because real sex actually isn’t particularly photogenic," she continued. "Porn stars will tell you that. They’re actually having sex and they have to do bizarre things with their bodies in order to make it for film. But we’re not actually having sex, just so you know. There’s really nothing about it that is sex. It’s uncomfortable because you can’t do what you love to do when you act in those scenes."
Despite her hesitation, Edelstein almost had a whole career of faking orgasms. Earlier this year she revealed to Access Hollywood that she almost played the role of Carrie Bradshaw in Sex And The City before Sarah Jessica Parker snapped up the role.
"My contract was complete," she said. "I was waiting."
But in the end, Parker had the final say, and ended up going all-in on the role. Luckily, Edelstein found her perfect role on Bravo.