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Sunday May 05, 2024

Stephanie Hsu discusses her character's daring nude scene in the comedy film "Joy Ride"

Stephanie Hsu reflects on her character's nude scene in 'Joy Ride' highlighting her involvement in the scene

By Web Desk
July 09, 2023
Stephanie Hsu discusses her characters daring nude scene in the comedy film Joy Ride
 Stephanie Hsu discusses her character's daring nude scene in the comedy film "Joy Ride" 

In the comedic film, Stephanie Hsu, known for her Oscar-nominated role in Everything Everywhere All at Once, portrays Kat, a college friend of Audrey (Ashley Park) who pursued a career as a soap opera star in China. Kat's professional life takes a hit when a photo of her discreet vagina tattoo goes viral.

Hsu recently spoke with Variety, sharing her initial reaction upon discovering that her character would have a close-up nude scene, which was executed with the use of a body double.

"It’s a body double — let me be clear and let my mother know," she stated, humorously. "When I read it in the script I thought it was hilarious and it felt so obvious for the trajectory of that character, but then filming it was a different story."

She further commented, "I was like, 'Oh, my God!' Specifically when I saw the makeup artist do their work on our brave and courageous and body-positive body double. When I saw that I was like, 'Okay, this movie is too much. This movie is actually unhinged.'"

The actress revealed that she had a voice in determining how the final version of the scene would be portrayed in the film.

"It was also really beautiful because when I saw the first cut, the creatives and producers said, 'How do you feel about this shot?'" she recalled.

"The first cut didn’t feel super great to me, and they invited me into the editing suite and we kind of built that moment together in a way that felt that it wasn’t the butt of the joke, but actually truly hilarious," she added. "I’m really proud of where we landed on that."

Hsu spoke to Rolling Stone about the scene, disclosing that there was an "audition process" to find a suitable body double.

"It was very important that we chose someone who was comfortable in their skin, because that is a very courageous and exposing act. We chose this woman who was very sex-positive and awesome," she shared.

She added, "When I had first seen the rough cut, I had a really hard time with that scene and felt really vulnerable and nervous for all the memes of my face with the tattoo. I expressed that to [director] Adele [Lim] and Point Grey, and they were really kind."

Ultimately, they worked on refining the timing of the scene, ensuring it was "a quick reveal without lingering on it so long that it started to feel like the butt of the joke...."

"Joy Ride," featuring Stephanie Hsu alongside Sherry Cola and Sabrina Wu, is currently playing in theaters.