Privates on Parade: Actors Who Let It All Hang Out on Film

When AfterElton asked me if I'd be interested in doing a story on full-frontal male nudity in the movies, I said, “Interested? I've been researching it since I was 12!” What prompted the idea is of course the film Shame, which stars Michael Fassbender as a man addicted to sex. When the film debuted at the Venice Film Festival earlier this year it set off a shockwave because of its sexual explicitness, including a much-discussed full-frontal reveal by Fassbender. Add to that the recent flurry of attention that stills of Jonathan Groff's nude scene in Twelve Thirty hitting the Internet generated, and it seems like these days cinema penises are a trending topic.

Everyone from film critics to Freudian analysts to gender theorists has written about male nudity in film. And sorting through the pronouncements on the male gaze and Lacanian mirrors and power inequities between the sexes in Hollywood and the possible negative effect that dropping trou can have on an actor's career, one thing everybody can agree on is that straight guys don't care to see other guys' junk on-screen. They would prefer not seeing it at all, and especially not in an erotic setting, but if it is seen it should be in a comedic context.

There's nothing approaching parity between male and female nude scenes, although Judd Apatow and Sacha Baron Cohen are doing their level best to rectify that. But, having researched the subject until almost spraining my wrist, I give you this handful of peen scenes.

Watchmen

Fans of the landmark 1986 comic book mini-series Watchmen wondered whether the film adaptation would include the casual nudity of the comic. With the film's release in 2009 they learned that the answer was yes. The near-omnipotent character Dr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup) spends much of the film completely naked, with a series of flashbacks showing that his “superhero” outfit grew progressively smaller over the years. As in the source comic, Dr. Manhattan's gradual discarding of clothing symbolizes his growing detachment from humanity and its concerns.

In the comic, Manhattan's genitalia are drawn in a very rudimentary fashion, two simple curved outlines with no additional detailing or attempt to bring dimension to them. For the film the computer-generated naughty bits are larger and more detailed. Most reviewers felt the need to mention the nudity, and commentary ranged from thoughtful gender theorist critique to juvenile sniggering.

Shortbus

Out director John Cameron Mitchell's 2006 follow-up to his cult hit Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Shortbus uses extensive nudity and unsimulated sex to serve as, as Mitchell put it, “a metaphor for other parts of the character's lives.” Those appearing full-frontal include Paul Dawson, PJ DeBoy, Jay Brannan (who engaged in a memorable three-way), Raphael Barker, Adam Hardman and a room full of “sextras” at the Shortbus salon.

Brokeback Mountain

During one of their “fishing trips” to Brokeback, Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger) and Jack Twist (Fake Gyllenhaal; Jake used a body double) run naked in slow motion off a cliff and jump into the water below. Given the roughness and outright violence of their initial sex scene, the full-frontal scene in 2005's Brokeback Mountain seems quaint, if not precious. It doesn't advance the plot, it's not related to their sexual relationship and it serves no function within the film. It almost feels like director Ang Lee was worried that he'd be criticized for making a gay-themed film and not including peen.