Shannon Elizabeth Has No Regrets About 'American Pie' Role

Gettyimages | Paul Archuleta

Shannon Elizabeth is best known for her roles in: American Pie as Nadia, and in Scary Movie. She was also in American Pie 2 and American Reunion. American Pie was the movie that kick-started Shannon Elizabeth's career.

Twenty years later, she's not really focused on acting. She does still remember her days filming American Pie, but she does have some thoughts regarding the role she played.

Shannon is open about the love she has for her character, Nadia, but thinks the story couldn't have been told today. The original film, American Pie portrays Nadia as Jim's love interest.

Gettyimages | Amanda Edwards

She's the girl all the others are jealous of, the it-girl. When Jim tries flirting with her, she rejects him. When she asks to go to his house to study, and changes clothes in his room, he films her on his webcam.

He planned to stream her on his bed naked to his friends, who convince him to ask her for sex. When he does, and she agrees, she asks for a strip tease while all of his friends watch the stream. Once he did, he got into bed with her, and had an early "ending".

The video ended up being sent out to the entire school.

Wikimedia | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shannon-Elizabeth-July-2010.jpg

The scene is very embarassing for Jim but he faces no consequences. Nadia, however, has to go home to Slovakia.

When asked about the scene by Page Six, Shannon admitted it was strange to film. The directors, and herself, made light of it.

While she's grateful for the role, the scene of her stripping might not go over well with audiences today. After she was reminded that only Nadia had consequences, she said: "Gosh, do I get sent home? If this had come out after the #MeToo movement, there would definitely be a problem. I think that it would have gone down differently."

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She goes on to say, regarding the role she played and how she feels it would have happened if the film had released today:

“It was a closed set and it was just me in this room and the boom guy above me,” she said. “I was like, ‘This is so weird.’ It was square room they had built in the middle of a warehouse and we made everyone that didn’t need to be there leave set. That’s the main thing I remember, just me and the boom guy, and trying to make jokes with the directors and make light of it because if I wasn’t nervous maybe they wouldn’t be so nervous … I just tried to make it no big deal.”

Gettyimages | Shirlaine Forrest

While Shannon's old role may not have worked in today's world, it worked when she filmed it. She had a "sex symbol" status after American Pie, but ended up changing careers because that label did not fit her very well, she told Page Six that, "I am honored by it, but there's a part of my being that does not believe it. You know, like, no that's not me."

She's been in Scary Movie, Jay and Bob Strike Back, Love Actually, and had recurring roles on That 70's Show as well. She still has roles today but she focuses mainly on her organization: The Shannon Elizabeth Foundation, which helps conservation issues asnd wildlife protection.