Penn Badgley’s character Joe Goldberg on Netflix’s “You” has a penchant for love.
However, the “Gossip Girl” alum, 36, wanted to tone down the sex scenes in Season 4 of the streaming series.
Following the premiere of the season’s first installment on Feb. 9, he opened up about asking the show’s creators to pump the breaks on the number of intimacy scenes on a recent episode of Stitcher Studios’ podcast.
“I asked Sera Gamble, [the] creator, ‘Can I just do no more intimacy scenes?,'” Badgley recalled.
He added: “This was actually a decision I had made before I took the show. I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned it publicly, but one of the main things is, ‘Do I want to put myself back on a career path where I’m always [the] romantic lead?'”
B൲adgley married his wife Domino Kirke in 2017 and he noted how the love scenes unnerved him when it came to his real-life relationship.
“Fidelity in every relationship, and especially my marriage, is really important to me. It just got to a point where I don’t want to do that,” he said.
“Before I took the show, it was a question: Do I have a career if I don’t? Think about every male lead you’ve loved. Are they kissing someone? Are they doing a lot more than that?” Badgley wondered.
He went on, “It got to a point where [I thought], ‘I don’t want to do that,’ so I said to Sera, like, ‘My desire would be zero [intimate scenes], to go from 100 to zero.'”
The father of one was hesitant to ask Gamble at first because he signed a contract for the show and believed that his request might not be feasible. “I signed up for the show. I know what I did,” he said.
Fortunately, Gamble was “glad that I was that honest” and “didn’t even bat an eye” about the inquiry.
“She had a really positive response and they came back with a phenomenal reduction,” he stated.
Season 4 is being split into two parts, with the second half dropping on🐭 Netflix come March 9.
The new episodes take Badgley’s Joe to London, where has a new name, a new identity and a new career as a college professor.
While reprises her r🤪ole,🍌 a medley of new faces also appear.
Lukas Gage, Ed Speelers, Amy-Leigh Hickman, Tilly Keeper an🌊d Charlotte Ritchie joined the cast for the latest season.
