The Kate Beckinsale Sex Scene That Made Her Super Awkward
Filming a love scene for Underworld: Evolution was odd for Kate Beckinsale, especially with her husband directing.
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Filming love scenes can be weird, even if you’re a superstar like Kate Beckinsale. The British actress, however, went next-level awkward for a love scene in 2006’s Underworld: Evolution. While playing the vampire warrior Selene in the film, Beckinsale had a love scene with her co-star Scott Speedman (Grey’s Anatomy), who plays Michael, all while her husband Len Wiseman directed them. In an appearance on Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Beckinsale detailed to the talk show host just how strange the situation was.
After the Harvey Weinstein scandal and the MeToo movement, Hollywood was much more sensitive to the needs of actresses participating in love scenes, even going so far as to have intimacy coordinators on set during filming. In 2006, however, that wasn’t the case, and yet, that might not have mattered when you have your husband overseeing your every move. “There is something creepy about your husband videotaping you while you’re naked with another man,” Kate Beckinsale joked with O’Brien.
To make things even more awkward, Speedman was friends with both Len Wiseman and Kate Beckinsale, having worked together on the first Underworld film, where there were no love scenes. She admitted to being taken aback at having to do a scene with her friend naked for the sequel, although she joked that he did wear a piece of fabric known in the industry as a “c**k sock” over his naughty bits. After the scene was over, however, the trio still remained close friends. “We’ve sort of adopted him as a pseudo-family pet,” Beckinsale joked of Speedman, who is single. “We stroke him and feed him and it’s good for him.”
Even Wiseman admitted the situation with Kate Beckinsale was more than awkward. “It’s amazing how much your blood boils immediately if you call cut and it doesn’t stop right way,” he said about having to film the Underworld love scene. “I was being very polite and they didn’t hear me. You’ve got to stop when I call cut. So now I make a point of having a megaphone during love scenes,” he joked. To make things even more strange, Wiseman actually wrote the story for the film, so he actually wrote in the love scene for his wife.
Kate Beckinsale and Len Wiseman first met on the set of the first Underworld film but didn’t start dating until after filming had wrapped. The two married in 2004 but ultimately separated in 2015. Beckinsale played Selene in five Underworld films, with her final appearance in 2016’s Underworld: Blood Wars, which Wiseman did not direct, but did produce. However, Wiseman has hinted that another Underworld film is not out of the question, with Beckinsale returning to the role. There have also been discussions about a possible Underworld/Resident Evil crossover, but with both Beckinsale and Milla Jovovich having moved on from those franchises, that seems a long shot.
Kate Beckinsale and Len Wiseman finalized their divorce in 2019, and the 49-year-old actress is currently dating actor Jack Whitehall, after a brief romance with former Saturday Night Live cast member Pete Davidson. She has a daughter, actress Lily Mo Sheen (The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent), with actor Michael Sheen, who actually appeared with her in the Underworld movies after they separated. In addition to the Underworld films, her impressive movie career has included the films Pearl Harbor, Everybody’s Fine, Van Helsing, Total Recall, and Prisoner’s Daughter, which releases later this year. She appeared in the TV series Guilty Party and The Widow.
