Viola Davis is making it clear where she stands on filming intimate scenes, sharing that she has no interest in doing love scenes anymore unless one specific condition is met.
The award-winning actress opened up about her stance during a recent appearance on Amy Poehler’s Good Hang podcast, where she spoke candidly about her long-standing discomfort with on-screen intimacy. Davis said she has never enjoyed filming or watching love scenes, despite having performed several throughout her career.
“I can’t stand love scenes. I can’t stand watching them. I can’t stand doing them,” she said, drawing laughter from Poehler and the production team.
Viola Davis explained that her perspective solidified after her time on How to Get Away with Murder, where she played Annalise Keating for six seasons. The role required her to film multiple intimate scenes, an experience that ultimately led her to set firm boundaries moving forward.
“I finally said after How to Get Away with Murder, I’m not doing any more love scenes anymore,” she said. “That’s it. You write a love scene, I’m not doing it. Unless you give me a boyfriend who has a stomach.”
She went on to clarify that her request for a scene partner with “a big gut” is intentional. Viola Davis believes that casting outside the usual Hollywood physique standards would shift the focus away from physical appearance and force writers to build more meaningful moments between characters.
“It won’t be about taking off the shirt and the six-pack abs,” she explained, noting that it could lead to scenes driven more by storytelling than visuals.
Reflecting on her time filming How to Get Away with Murder, Viola Davis recalled one particular experience with her co-star Billy Brown that highlighted her discomfort. She described a moment when Brown’s appearance was carefully staged for a scene, with crew members adjusting his look and emphasizing his physique in a way that felt excessive to her.
Viola Davis said moments like that contributed to her decision to step back from intimate scenes altogether. Her preference, she explained, is for scenes that develop naturally, without relying on physical exposure as the central focus.
She also noted that her views on love scenes have remained consistent over time. During a 2016 appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, she shared that she had already established boundaries, including refusing to participate in certain types of physical staging during those scenes.
Outside of her professional choices, Viola Davis has been married to actor Julius Tennon since 2003. Even with her extensive experience in film and television, she maintains that her feelings about love scenes have not changed.
“A lot of love scenes, it’s like, that’s the time to go to the bathroom,” she said.
