Antonio Banderas has opened up about the behind-the-scenes reality of filming intimate scenes with Angelina Jolie in the 2001 film Original Sin—and it’s far from what audiences might expect.
During a recent interview, Banderas admitted that while the scenes with Jolie appeared steamy on screen, the experience of filming them was anything but sensual. “I couldn’t even touch her,” he said. “She had tattoos all over her body that were covered with makeup, so I had to be extremely careful not to smudge it.”
The Spanish actor described the process as “mechanical” and “completely unsexy.” Far from being an intimate moment between two characters, he compared the experience to performing a stunt. “It’s like when you have to fall off a horse—you rehearse it, you coordinate everything, but there’s no real emotion involved.”
He also noted the lack of privacy and constant interruptions on set. “There were 150 people watching, someone yelling ‘cut!’ every 20 seconds, and crew members adjusting the camera, her hair, or telling me to move my hand one inch to the left. There was nothing spontaneous about it.”
Despite their on-screen chemistry, Banderas emphasized how far removed the reality of shooting a love scene is from what ends up in the final edit. “What the audience sees is the magic of cinema,” he explained. “But when you’re in the middle of it, there’s no romance. It’s a technical, often awkward, process.”
Original Sin, directed by Michael Cristofer, was known for its bold and erotic scenes, which fueled much of its initial buzz. But Banderas’ recent comments serve as a reminder that movie magic often comes from careful planning, not passion.
