Laid Bare creators on full-frontal casting, filming slips and zero prosthetics: ‘I really wish we’d put more nudity’ (EXCLUSIVE)
“I remember at one point someone had their leg up and we had to stop shooting because… it wasn’t a prosthetic," says Tim O’Leary
By Aaron Sugg
Laid Bare creators Tim O’Leary and husband Robert Rice are taking the murder mystery genre to a whole new level of camp. Set at a nude resort, the Outflix series leaves very little to the imagination.
Following the death of wealthy businessman Nikos Lambrakis, his former lovers, all of whom took part in a decadent birthday orgy, are summoned back to Desert Paradise Resort in Palm Springs to battle it out in a whodunnit for his inheritance.
Speaking exclusively to Attitude, O’Leary and Rice open up about the inspiration behind the mostly nude series, as well as the stigma and vulnerability that come with baring all on screen.
“So my first thought was, what would happen if I found a dead body?” – Tim O’Leary on the inspiration behind Laid Bare
Avid nude resort-goers, O’Leary describes the hotel as his favourite place on earth. “Despite everyone sort of being exposed, which would imply that there’s a sense of vulnerability, it’s actually quite the opposite.”
“They’re very nurturing and supportive environments, and you feel very safe… so my first thought was, what would happen if I found a dead body?” he adds.
Amid the 2023 Hollywood writers’ strike, filming wasn’t easy. Despite streamer Outflix’s interest, casting a group of actors comfortable with full-frontal nudity proved a particular challenge.
Laid Bare includes 10 actors who needed to be comfortable with full frontal scenes
“Finding 10 actors who are willing to be fully frontally nude was, you know, not as easy as you might think,” O’Leary admits.
They describe being put under “pressure-cooker” restrictions, as filming took place over just nine days. “And speaking of ‘cooker’, we were shooting in the desert in the middle of summer,” O’Leary continues.
“Half of our incredibly modest budget probably went on sunblock,” Rice quips.
“I don’t remember people being naked that much” – O’Leary on filming at a gay nude resort
Despite what viewers might think, nudity was not a reservation during filming. “It’s funny, because looking back on the experience, I don’t remember people being naked that much,” says O’Leary.
On their duty of care, they explain that an intimacy coordinator was present on set. “Our top priority was making sure our cast felt comfortable, protected and safe.”
Adding that some actors were going out of their comfort zones by appearing fully nude on set, the series creator exclaims, “Intimacy coordinators are the best thing to have happened to our industry in the past nine years.”
Rice, who acts as producer and also appears on screen, reveals how it felt filming with a predominantly nude cast, despite not being nude himself.
“Once everyone is naked, no one’s naked” – Robert Rice on filming with a nude cast
“I have no discomfort with nudity,” he says, thanks to his love of nude resorts. “It’s one of those situations where it’s like, once everyone is naked, no one’s naked.”
Recalling Attitude’s chat with actor Ethan Daniel Corbett, who stars as Alister, the son of the late Lambrakis, they speak about the cast getting comfortable with one another after arriving at the resort a couple of days prior to filming.
“By that point, we had shot three days in Los Angeles, so people knew each other, but they were about to get to know each other quite a bit more,” says O’Leary.
“I think it was good for everybody to bond in a way that wasn’t stressful. We weren’t shooting that day, they could just relax,” he adds.
“It’s just so ridiculous, but also completely plausible for that character” – O’Leary on his favourite moment from the whodunnit
On their favourite moment of the series, they draw attention to “demon twink” Barron Hemmings, portrayed by Zack Rocklin-Waltch, who has a particularly raunchy scene.
“One of my favourite moments in the whole series is the stress-sex montage of him jerking off to his own image,” O’Leary reveals. “It’s just so ridiculous, but also completely plausible for that character.”
Corbett also had one of their favourite moments of spontaneity, getting fully naked without it even being written into the script.
“That moment where he drops trow and throws it in my face was completely unscripted” – Rice recalls Ethan Daniel Corbett’s spur of spontaneity
Recalling his character dropping the towel in one of the first episodes, Rice reveals that after Corbett spoke to the intimacy coordinator, he got the green light.
“That moment where he drops trow and throws it in my face was completely unscripted,” he explains. “It was a super-organic moment, him doing it and my response were both totally organic.”
On the casting, O’Leary prides himself on the diversity he was able to bring to the show. “We enjoyed embracing people from all kinds of different walks of life, who all have different relationships with their bodies.”
“We wanted to represent people from different walks of life” – O’Leary on casting for Laid Bare
The cast includes, Corbett; Rocklin-Waltch; Jason Caceres (Olympic athlete Cassidy Raines); Jaymes Hayden Rodriguez (publicist Bryan Byrne); Marval Rex (fashion model Montana Briggs); Michael Deni (animal rights activist Liam McKay); Nicolas Zuluaga (adult film star Jesse Steele); and Ephraim López (Steele’s partner, former professor Eric Barnard).
As well as Marval Rex, who is trans, playing Montana. “We wanted to represent people from different walks of life,” says O’Leary. “The character was trans because the actor playing him is a trans man.”
On the series’ many intimate sex scenes, the pair speak about behind-the-scenes filming and close calls while wearing modesty garments to cover actors’ genitals.
“We had to stop once because there was a lot of slippage” – O’Leary on one particular scene that showed too much
“We had to stop once because there was a lot of slippage with the modesty garments,” admits O’Leary. “When you’re filming a sex scene and bodies are touching, of course we want there to be barriers between skin.”
“You’re sort of tucking,” the creator explains. “I remember at one point someone had their leg up and we had to stop shooting because… it wasn’t a prosthetic.”
Rice adds, “Yeah, there were no prosthetics in this entire process. Everything’s all natural.”
As the eight-part series reaches its midpoint, O’Leary admits he has one regret, “I really wish we had put more nudity.”
For British viewers, the series is available on OUTflix with new episodes every Wednesday.
Get more from Attitude
