Penn Badgley asked for fewer risqué scenes in “You” season four.
The actor, who plays the lead role in the psychological thriller, shared on his podcast that he told the showrunners about his wishes. Ultimately, a “phenomenal reduction” was carried out, which allowed Badgley to play only a handful of such scenes.
On why he made the request, the 36-year-old shared that he wanted to maintain his fidelity to his wife, Domino Kirke. The pair married twice in 2017 and now share a son James, who is 24 months old.
Badgely also recently addressed rumors that he has been cast as Mr. Fantastic in the upcoming Marvel film Fantastic Four.
Read on to learn more.
Penn Badgley Requested For Fewer Sex Scenes In ‘You’
In a recent episode of his Podcrushed podcast, Badgley opened up about asking the showrunners a personal favor concerning his character in the Netflix hit series, “You,” per Daily Mail.
The 36-year-old shared that he told them while filming the latest season that he wanted to do fewer sex scenes.
‘I asked [showrunner] Sera Gamble, can I just do no more intimacy scenes,” the actor told co-host Nava Kavelin, explaining that he made the request due to being committed to his wife Kirke, whom he married twice in 2017.
The actor added that he had this point of view even before he joined the show, although he claimed to have never mentioned it publicly.
“One of the main things was, do I want to put myself back on a career path where I’m always playing the romantic lead?,” Badgley said about his acting and how it could impact his marriage.
He continued, “Fidelity in every relationship, including my marriage, is important to me. It’s got to the point where I don’t want to do that.”
Sara Gamble Helped Him Fulfil His Request
While Badgley was sure about not wanting to constantly play risqué scenes, he admitted that starring in “You” meant that things might not work out that way.
“But I signed this contract. I signed up for this show. I know what I did. You can’t take this aspect out of the DNA of the concept. So how much less can you make it, was my question to them,” the actor said, recalling addressing his concerns with Gamble.
Fortunately, she was understanding and ultimately helped me push his case with the higher-ups, after which a reduction was made.
Badgley added, “She didn’t even bat an eye. She was really glad that I was that honest. She was sort of almost, I want to say empowered, it had a really positive response. They came back with a phenomenal reduction.”
Penn Badgley Had ‘A Great Time’ Filming ‘You’ Season Four
“You” plays Badgley as Joe Goldberg, a serial killer obsessed with women. The series recently returned for season four which backdrops in London.
The actor spent most of last year away from his wife and children while the series was being filmed because of the location.
However, he did acknowledge in a recent interview with BBC Newsbeat that the culture made him genuinely love his time on set.
“I wasn’t able to be with my family as much as I would have liked to,” he said, per Daily Mail. “Apart from that, it was a great time, I remember it so fondly. I do truly love something of the culture there.”
He added, “My wife is British, she was born and raised there until she was a teenager, so I just really truly did enjoy it.”
Penn Badgley Recently Addressed ‘Fantastic Four’ Casting Rumors
Away from Badgley’s return in the psychological thriller, rumors have swirled that the actor has been cast to play Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic), who is part of the Fantastic Four quartet, Marvel’s first family.
The “Gossip Girl” alum cryptically addressed the rumors in his recent appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast.
“Well… No, I can’t reveal that. Neither confirm nor deny,” Badgley said, per Games Radar. “No, I don’t know what to say about that.”
He also avoided confirming whether he had ever met Marvel showrunner Kevin Feige.
“No. You know, it’s possible that I have, but not in this context. I might have met him years ago, and I wouldn’t, you know, I’m not sure.”
