Heather Graham says the nude scene in ‘Boogie Nights’ was ‘terrifying’

Heather Graham has admitted she was “so nervous” about her iconic ‘Boogie Nights’ nude scene.

The actress reflected on the 1997 Paul Thomas Anderson film in a recent interview Yahoo!sharing that it was her first time stripping on screen.

“It was my first time (doing a nude scene) and I was so nervous about it. But at that point in my career, I was like, ‘beggars can’t be choosers,'” Graham said. “It was a great script and Paul (Thomas Anderson) is an amazing talent. I had a lot of fun making the film, even though doing the nude scene was scary.”

Graham’s co-star Mark Wahlberg infamously wore a large prosthetic penis for his nude scenes, which Graham called incomparable to his role.

“He’s wearing a fake penis, so it’s not quite the same,” he said.

Learning how to get comfortable naked in front of the camera wasn’t the only lesson Graham needed to prepare for “Boogie Nights.”

The actress added: “When I got this job, I didn’t know how to roller skate; I had to take lessons. It was a bit scary because there were all these cables around the set and you had to go around it on stairs. The girl who was in my place bit him a couple of times! But I also felt that this kid was just floating.

The “Bowfinger” star recently opened up about how much Hollywood has changed in the three decades since she launched her career.

“Now we look back and say, ‘Wow, that was so sexist.’

The ‘Chosen Family’ director continued: ‘It’s still pretty sexist to be honest. In every stage of the business, be it financing, distribution, reviewers, these people are mostly men. Creating a female-driven story that appeals most to women at all levels of male-dominated business is not that easy. I always felt like a side character in a man’s story. I didn’t always go, what do I want? I went to how can I please someone else? My journey was to be more clear about what I wanted and go after it.”

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