Is Rivals star Alex Hassell wearing a prosthetic in his full-frontal nude tennis scene?
Alex Hassell in Rivals’ full-frontal nudity scene. (Disney+)
The adaptation of Jilly Cooper‘s saucy rural bonkbuster novel Rivals has arrived, and there’s only one pressing question on everyone’s minds: is Alex Hassell wearing a prosthetic in his nude tennis scene?
Rivals is set in 1980s England and follows the TV broadcasting rivalry of Rupert Campbell-Black (Alex Hassell) and Lord Tony Baddingham (David Tennant). The Disney+ eight-part, racy drama sees several social elite couples engage in copious amounts of sex and scandal.
Amidst the nudity, retired Olympian showjumper turned Tory MP Rupert (played by His Dark Materials star Alex Hassell) is seen playing a tennis match fully naked with the wife of a friend, Sarah Stratton (The Inbetweeners Emily Atack).
Rupert, who is navigating the breakdown of his marriage amidst his womanising ways, is seen throwing himself around the tennis court, a scene that certainly maintains the way we were first introduced to him – watching his bouncing buttocks during Rupert’s introduction to the mile-high club.
Speaking to Metro about filming the scene, Hassell shared that pre-production discussions centred on whether he would be wearing a prosthetic penis during the tennis match.
“In the end, we just went for it,” the 44-year-old actor shared.
“My hair’s dyed, I’ve got a fake tan and my eyelashes are curled but apart from that it’s all me.”
Hassell’s co-star David Tennant also shared that filming nudity is “never comfortable” and that is precisely why “the arrival of the intimacy coordinator on sets has been hugely beneficial to everyone.”
He added: “Recreating that kind of intimacy is not something you get excited about doing, but you want to make sure that in that environment everyone feels safe and looked after, and that it can be as comfortable as possible.”
Speaking with iNews Hassell added that his wife, Cowboy Bebop actor Emma King, had jokingly told him to stop getting his kit off “before I get a name for myself.
He noted that he decided to be “blasé” about his role in Rivals: “Every page I turned I’d be: ‘Oooookayyyy… So, I’m going to do that. Oh, and that. And THAT.’
“We had two intimacy coordinators on set – a man and a woman – who we could call at any time.
“And while I don’t think anybody should be forced into situations where they feel uncomfortable, I do think it’s an actor’s job to put yourself bravely into positions that other people don’t get to be in. So we can have a laugh, have a think.”
Other recent discussions about male nudity on-screen have centred on Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.
The Ryan Murphy Netflix series dramatises the lives of siblings Lyle and Erik Menendez, who were sentenced to life imprisonment for the 1989 murder of their parents.
In one scene, Erik Menendez (played by Cooper Koch) is seen naked in a full-frontal shower scene.
He later clarified that he did not use a penis prosthetic for the scene. Speaking on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Menendez said, while talking about famous full-frontals: “Just to say, mine was not a prosthetic.”
“Well, that was going to be my next question! Congratulations to you, Cooper!” Cohen shot back. “You’re very blessed, aren’t you?”
Koch replied: “Well-hung.”
More widely, the series was not wholly well-received, and was labelled a “naive and inaccurate” portrayal of the brothers by Erik himself, with some viewers accusing Murphy of creating “incestuous fetish porn”.
Rivals is now available to stream on Disney+.
