Kevin Costner made sure Abbey Lee was “really comfortable” with the logistics of their sex scene in Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1.
In the first part of the epic Western film, out now, Lee plays Marigold, a love interest of Costner’s lead character Hayes Ellison. At one point, they have an intimate scene inside a wagon.
“Kevin was very sensitive about that,” Lee, 37, tells PEOPLE. “He made sure that I was really comfortable and we had a long talk about it beforehand.”
According to the Australian actress, Costner, 69, “told me how it would be shot, that there wouldn’t be any nudity, that there would be nothing graphic.”
“You have to talk about the details of it so you understand what’s going on so everyone feels safe and comfortable,” she adds. “And we obviously had those conversations.”
On top of feeling safe with one another, Lee continues, “then it’s just a matter of feeling comfortable with the crew that needs to be in the room and the ones who don’t, aren’t there.”
“But yes, there’s always an element of discomfort [with sex scenes],” she says. “They’re always a bit weird, but as long as you can trust the people around you … it’s just weird because there’s people standing in a room while you’re doing this fake, intimate thing. It’s just strange.”
Speaking about chemistry in the film in general, Costner and Lee’s costar Jamie Campbell Bower tells PEOPLE, “I think, as actors, there’s a [foundational] level of trust.”
“And Kevin is so brilliant at what he does and so seasoned that you’re staring into the eyes of somebody who truly knows what it is that they’re doing, and you trust each other in that moment to bring it and know that you’re safe,” adds the Stranger Things star, 35.
An official synopsis teases that Horizon, which Costner first began exploring the idea for over 35 years ago, “explores the lure of the Old West and how it was won — and lost — through the blood, sweat and tears of many.”
“Spanning the four years of the Civil War, from 1861 to 1865, Kevin Costner’s ambitious cinematic adventure will take audiences on an emotional journey across a country at war with itself, experienced through the lens of families, friends and foes all attempting to discover what it truly means to be the United States of America,” the synopsis adds.
Aside from Costner, Lee, and Bower, the four-part epic’s star-studded ensemble cast includes Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Michael Rooker, Ella Hunt, Isabelle Fuhrman, Jena Malone, Luke Wilson, and more, as well as Costner’s son Hayes, 15, in his first film role.
Asked whether they think they’d have survived the Old West era in real life, Bower and Lee both give PEOPLE a resounding affirmative.
“I’m naturally quite resilient, and I think you needed to have a certain amount of resilience to survive at that time. So that was where my strength would’ve come,” says Lee.
But there’s one caveat, she admits: “I don’t like the desert, so that would’ve been tricky. I’m more of a water person.”
Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1 is in theaters now, to be followed by Chapter 2 on Aug. 16.
The actress tells PEOPLE she and Costner, who she has several scenes with in the movie, “had a long talk about” their intimate scene before shooting.
Kevin Costner made sure Abbey Lee was “really comfortable” with the logistics of their sex scene in Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1.
In the first part of the epic Western film, out now, Lee plays Marigold, a love interest of Costner’s lead character Hayes Ellison. At one point, they have an intimate scene inside a wagon.
“Kevin was very sensitive about that,” Lee, 37, tells PEOPLE. “He made sure that I was really comfortable and we had a long talk about it beforehand.”
According to the Australian actress, Costner, 69, “told me how it would be shot, that there wouldn’t be any nudity, that there would be nothing graphic.”
“You have to talk about the details of it so you understand what’s going on so everyone feels safe and comfortable,” she adds. “And we obviously had those conversations.”
On top of feeling safe with one another, Lee continues, “then it’s just a matter of feeling comfortable with the crew that needs to be in the room and the ones who don’t, aren’t there.”
“But yes, there’s always an element of discomfort [with sex scenes],” she says. “They’re always a bit weird, but as long as you can trust the people around you … it’s just weird because there’s people standing in a room while you’re doing this fake, intimate thing. It’s just strange.”
Speaking about chemistry in the film in general, Costner and Lee’s costar Jamie Campbell Bower tells PEOPLE, “I think, as actors, there’s a [foundational] level of trust.”
“And Kevin is so brilliant at what he does and so seasoned that you’re staring into the eyes of somebody who truly knows what it is that they’re doing, and you trust each other in that moment to bring it and know that you’re safe,” adds the Stranger Things star, 35.
An official synopsis teases that Horizon, which Costner first began exploring the idea for over 35 years ago, “explores the lure of the Old West and how it was won — and lost — through the blood, sweat and tears of many.”
“Spanning the four years of the Civil War, from 1861 to 1865, Kevin Costner’s ambitious cinematic adventure will take audiences on an emotional journey across a country at war with itself, experienced through the lens of families, friends and foes all attempting to discover what it truly means to be the United States of America,” the synopsis adds.
Aside from Costner, Lee, and Bower, the four-part epic’s star-studded ensemble cast includes Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Michael Rooker, Ella Hunt, Isabelle Fuhrman, Jena Malone, Luke Wilson, and more, as well as Costner’s son Hayes, 15, in his first film role.
Asked whether they think they’d have survived the Old West era in real life, Bower and Lee both give PEOPLE a resounding affirmative.
“I’m naturally quite resilient, and I think you needed to have a certain amount of resilience to survive at that time. So that was where my strength would’ve come,” says Lee.
But there’s one caveat, she admits: “I don’t like the desert, so that would’ve been tricky. I’m more of a water person.”
Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1 is in theaters now, to be followed by Chapter 2 on Aug. 16.
Source: PEOPLE
