Henry Cavill thinks sex scenes are “overused” in today’s movies and shows

Henry Cavill in Enola Holmes 2

(Image credit: Netflix)

The never ending discourse surrounding sex scenes in movies has a new voice: The Witcher and Man of Steel star Henry Cavill – who thinks they’re “overused”.

“I don’t understand them. I’m not a fan,” Cavill said on the Happy Sad Confused podcast.

While Cavill admits that there are occasions where sex scenes are “beneficial” in a movie, the actor – currently starring in Argylle – thinks a bit of hanky-panky is all played out in today’s cinema.

“Sometimes they’re overused these days. It’s when you have a sense where you’re going: ‘Is this really necessary? Or is it just people with less clothing on?’ And that’s where you start to get more uncomfortable and you’re thinking there’s not a performance here. There’s not a piece which is going to carry through in the rest of the movie,” Cavill argues.

“Sex scenes can be great in a movie, they can really help with the storytelling, but most of the time, the human imagination is going to trump it,” he adds.

Those (mercifully) away from social media will have been blissfully unaware of some film fans complaining about sex in movies – most notably Cillian Murphy and Florence Pugh’s scene last year in Oppenheimer. Lest we forget, Saltburn caused a mini-uproar of its own with a couple of shocking sex acts. We’ll never look at a bathtub in the same way again.

Argylle is now out in cinemas. What’s next? Find out on our guide to upcoming movies. Then dive into our chat with director Matthew Vaughn about the new spy caper.