Game of Thrones has often come under fire for its levels of sexual content and nudity. Compared to other dramas, it does not shy away from showing nakedness, but one of the show’s stars has said she doesn’t see what all the fuss is about.
Dutch actress Carice van Houten, who plays red priestess Melisandre, says that she finds the prudish attitude to nudity outside the Netherlands odd.
“They can see grenades and things blowing up and they can see blood, but they are very afraid of nipples and I find that quite strange,” she said at the Game of Thrones season four DVD launch.
She continued: “When it becomes sexist, I don’t agree with nudity, but it’s a part of life and I think we deal with it so well in this show and it’s so tasteful. For my character, it’s part of her instrument. It’s her weapon.”
The actress has often taken off her cloth in the fantasy drama, including a memorable scene in which she seduced a young man before chaining him to a bed and putting leeches on him.
Van Houten said that she wished people could get used to nudity and “get rid of their prudishness”.
“I’m not saying I want to be naked in every film. No, no, not at all. I’m also 38-years-old and it’s not my favourite thing in the world to just undress in front of cameras, but if it’s part of a scene, it’s beautiful, you show life,” she said.
Season five of Game of Thrones will be coming to our screens on April 12.