Renée Zellweger reveals that producers pressured her to drink wine before filming nude scenes earlier in her career in order to loosen up.

Renée Zellweger says some producers encouraged her to drink before doing nude scenes earlier in her career. The actress is best known for her portrayal of the titular role in the 2001 romantic-comedy, Bridget Jones’s Diary, and as Roxie Hart in the 2002 musical Chicago, both of which landed her an Academy Award nomination. However, Zellweger didn’t win her first Best Actress Oscar until the following year for the period drama Cold Mountain. Zellweger added another Oscar to her trophy shelf in 2019 for Judy, winning the award for her portrayal of iconic actress Judy Garland.

The Bridget Jones’s Diary alum currently stars in the limited series The Thing About Pam, which is in the midst of its six-episode run on NBC. Zellweger underwent a stark physical transformation, including prosthetics and padding, to play the role of Pam Hupp, a self-appointed businesswoman. Based on the true crime podcast of the same name, the series details Hupp’s diabolical scheme that included the 2011 murder of Betsy Faria for financial gain. While The Thing About Pam has seen mixed reactions from critics and audiences, Zellweger’s performance has received near unanimous praise.

In a cover story for Harper’s Bazaar, Zellweger discussed her network television debut and opened up about her past career experiences. During the conversation, the actress revealed that producers had encouraged her to consume alcohol on film sets before nude scenes earlier in her career. The actress says that, on multiple occasions, producers have pressured her to “drink wine” before filming nude scenes in order to loosen up. Read what Zellweger had to say below:

“There have been times I have been in, you know, on set, where a producer’s ready for me to go ahead and take my clothes off. “Here, drink this wine, ’cause then you’ll do it,” And, you know, I’m not gonna take that wine, but I would like a phone. ’Cause I have a phone call I need to make right now.”

Though Zellweger opted not to name any names or specify which productions this happened on, she has shared her feelings on filming nude scenes in the past. In 2001, the actress discussed her hesitancy about doing intimate scenes, revealing that production of the 1996 romantic-comedy Jerry Maguire was halted after she refused to appear topless. Though the scene was not “sleazy” or “gratuitous,” Zellweger says, director Cameron Crowe respected her choice and decided to nix it anyway. A similar situation played out on the 2008 Western Appaloosa when director Ed Harris shot a more revealing scene from a distance, in order to make Zellweger more comfortable.

Regardless of Renée Zellweger’s feelings on the matter, most today would agree that a producer pressuring an actor to become intoxicated in order to consent to a nude scene is entirely inappropriate and unprofessional. Though this may have been more common in the past, Hollywood culture has been changing in recent years as more light is shed upon the inappropriate on-set behavior of certain filmmakers and actors. However, the consequences for these various misdeeds so far remain to be seen.

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