Dakota Johnson Explained Exactly Why Sex Scenes Are “Not Sexy”

Having broken out as the star of the Fifty Shades film series, Dakota Johnson is well-acquainted with having to simulate moments of passion on camera. It’s an experience not every actor — and certainly not every person — has had, so Amy Poehler asked the Materialists star about what it’s like to film them during their recent Good Hang podcast interview. Johnson didn’t hold back, and she got real about how “not sexy” they actually are.

Sex Scenes 101

When Poehler first asked Johnson how she “psychs [herself] up” before shooting a sex scene, the Fifty Shades vet joked, “Amy, I don’t have to. I’m, like, always psyched up for sex.” She soon turned more serious, though, and painted a picture of what the scenes are like for the actors involved. “It’s a sex scene,” she said. “It’s not, like, sexy. It doesn’t feel good.”

Breaking it down, she told Poehler that you have to do “all the things except have sex,” such as “[having] to make sounds like you’re having sex.” Another challenge she later described sounded similarly awkward: acting out certain moments solo, even when it’s a partnered scene. “There are times when I’ve done a sex scene where I’m by myself because I’m only in the frame, so I’m just, like, gyrating on my own … or, like, slamming myself into a headboard,” she said.

Still, Johnson is willing to film the scenes for a reason. “It’s something that I feel brave with and that I feel, when it’s used the right way in a story, it’s important,” she said. She also credited her mom, fellow actor Melanie Griffith, for raising her to be “really, really proud” of her body” and talking to her about “sex and how precious and important [it is].”

Revisiting Her Past

Johnson’s conversation with Poehler also touched on her experience making the Fifty Shades movies, and she noted that it was “a wild journey.” “I was so young. … I think I turned 24 while we were shooting,” she said. “And I was so, like, brave. I just feel proud of myself for being brave. … I don’t know, it just felt wild, and also like, there were no intimacy coordinators then or anything like that.”

Beyond the sex scenes, there was also the fact that the project changed so much from pre- to post-production. She previously shared her perspective during a 2022 interview with Vanity Fair, saying, “I signed up to do a very different version of the film we ended up making.” She said there were creative differences behind the scenes, and E.L. James, the author of the Fifty Shades books series, had certain demands.

“If I had known at the time that’s what it was going to be like, I don’t think anyone would’ve done it,” Johnson said. “It would’ve been like, ‘Oh, this is psychotic.’”

(As for James, she wasn’t happy with the final versions of the films, either, telling Bustle in January 2023, “I will say something about it one day — but I don’t want to talk about it now. There’s lots of fans who love the movie, and that’s great, and I don’t want to muddy that water for them.”)

Nonetheless, Johnson has maintained that she doesn’t regret making the films, and she reiterated that sentiment to Poehler. “I’m so grateful for that experience,” she said.