by Jenna GuillaumeBuzzFeed Contributor

There are a lot of things that seem super awkward about being an actor — like sex scenes, for one. But apparently, it's even more awkward to film masturbation scenes. Here's what a bunch of actors had to say about the excruciating process...

There are a lot of sex scenes in Fellow Travelers, but star Jonathan Bailey said it was the brief masturbation scene that "traumatized" him.

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While he noted the scene "ended up informing a lot of the character," he said, "I just remember giggling quite a lot, and the line between feeling comfortable and feeling not, when the stakes are that high."

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Naomi Watts described filming her masturbation scene in David Lynch's Mulholland Drive as "wildly uncomfortable."

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"I was traumatized," she said. "I remember having to go to the bathroom multiple times because I think I might have been having explosive something-or-other... I was freaked out. David knew that, but he didn't want to not get the scene, and I kept attempting it and going, 'I can't do this David, I can't do it.'"

StudioCanal

Naomi said that David Lynch made the shoot "very private" for her, which made her feel "a little bit safer," but she "just kept crying."

StudioCanal

Jason Biggs filmed perhaps the most famous masturbation scene of all time in American Pie, which is named after the very pie is character uses to pleasure himself. Jason said while he found the scene in the script "fucking hilarious," he was "definitely nervous" to shoot it.

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"On the day of filming that pie, I had a proper nervous freak-out," Jason said, adding that he called his manager in a panic over whether the scene would hurt his career. Ultimately, he "just went for it."

Universal

"They were very particular about how far down my pants were pulled. They wanted to see my ass, without it being too weird and graphic or gratuitous," he said. "And it was a timing thing — when Eugene [Levy, who played Jason's father] walks in... there was all of these elements."

Universal

"You have to commit," Jason added. "Action was called and I fully committed, and I fucked the pie as if I was having the best sex of my life… and they called 'cut,' and in my head there was, like, a pause, and the entire crew erupted in laughter. And I’ll never forget that moment as long as I live."

Universal

Timothée Chalamet was the star of another famous masturbation scene — AKA the peach scene in Call Me By Your Name, which Timmy later told Harry Styles he couldn't help thinking about every time he ate a peach.

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"That’s the most awkward scene to see with your parents in the whole world," he added. "My poor father..."

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In another conversation with Daniel Kaluuya, Timothée said that while he was initially dreading filming the scene, he felt more comfortable by the time it came around as it was three or four weeks into the shoot. "It just felt like if it wasn't going to be any good, then it wouldn’t be in the movie," he said.

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Michelle Williams had a lot of sexual scenes in Dying For Sex, including nearly a whole episode dedicated to her character, Molly, masturbating — which was a first for Michelle, and a challenge.

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"I’ve done any and all number of sexual situations in my 30-year career, but I’ve never masturbated on film before," she said. "And I was nervous. It’s much easier to portray mutual desire than just the desire for oneself."

Penn Badgley had to do several masturbation scenes while playing creepy stalker and killer Joe on You, including one in the pilot episode, which was filmed on a street he actually formerly lived on in real life.

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"I was very much at home, but now surrounded by a film crew at 11 p.m. at night. And by the way, keep in mind, I’m not looking at anything real, I’m looking at an X tape mark," Penn said on Conan O'Brien's podcast. "I’m meant to be pleasuring myself, and you don’t realize how awkward it’s going to be until you just have to go ahead and act like that."

Netflix

Oh his own podcast, Podcrushed, Penn said about filming masturbation scenes, "I’ve now done it so many times on camera... I have to say sometimes those scenes are harder than with a person because it’s just like, 'Alright, this is what I’m doing.'"

Netflix

Robert Pattinson has performed scenes of his characters masturbating in several of his movies. "I keep masturbating," he said in 2019. "In the last three or four movies, I’ve got a masturbation scene... I only realized when I did it the fourth time."

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While the concept doesn't seem to faze him now, in his early career Rob found pretending to masturbate on camera so difficult, he ended up doing it for real (well, so he claims — he is also known to lie regularly). "Try it. I can tell you right now, no chance.

12 Actors Discuss Filming Masturbation Scenes