Hollywood star Olivia Munn opened up about feeling “insecure” while filming intimate scenes with actor Jon Hamm, in the web series Your Friends & Neighbors, following her breast cancer diagnosis. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, the 44-year-old actor reflected on the physical and emotional challenges she faced on set.
“I was really nervous about doing any sex scenes because I have a lot of scars. Scars that can be seen in clothing and scars that you wouldn’t know unless I was completely nude,” Munn said during the interview.
Olivia was diagnosed with breast cancer in April 2023 and underwent a double mastectomy just a month later. Over the span of 10 months, she had a total of four surgeries. Despite the grueling health journey, she was committed to her role in Apple TV+ series in which she starred opposite Jon. Her character, Samantha Levitt, is the longtime mistress of Hamm’s character, Andrew Cooper.
And therefore, understanding the emotional depth of her character’s relationship with Cooper, Olivia felt the sex scenes were essential to telling their story. “She wants something so much more from him than he’s willing to give and their only connection is through sex. I really wanted that to be portrayed. I wanted the sex scenes to feel like sex scenes — I wanted them to feel visceral and intense and not hold back at all,” she explained.
To navigate those vulnerable moments on screen, Olivia worked closely with an intimacy coordinator and spent time reflecting on her journey. “I did feel insecure, but each time I did it, I felt better. Despite everything, she expressed deep appreciation for her body, saying it “got [her] through this,” she shared.
Show creator Jonathan Tropper had also offered Olivia his full support during filming. Once he learned of her health battle, adjustments were made to accommodate her needs. “When someone tells you that, you just tell them that you hope they’re doing OK and their health is what’s most important,” he said.
“We committed to doing what we had to do on the show to make sure she was resting when she needed to rest and that we could do what we could with her schedule to make sure she got the time she needed for her health,” Jonathan concluded.