A casting contract for extras on the upcoming HBO series Westworld is so sexually explicit that the SAG-AFTRA actors’ union has issued a formal warning reminding members that they can withdraw consent at any time during an upcoming shoot.
According to a copy of the casting notice obtained by the Hollywood Reporter, extras filming the highly-anticipated sci-fi/Western series, based on the 1973 film of the same name from writer/director Michael Crichton, will be required to appear fully nude “and/or witness others fully nude and participate in graphic sexual situations.”
In addition to appearing nude, background actors “may be required to do any of the following: appear fully nude; wear a pubic hair patch; perform genital-to-genital touching; have your genitals painted; simulate oral sex with hand-to-genital touching; contort to form a table-like shape while being fully nude; pose on all fours while others who are fully nude ride on your back; ride on someone’s back while you are both fully nude.”
The contract also allows the production to request extras perform “assorted acts” as necessary.
SAG-AFTRA issued a notice ahead of Wednesday’s shoot to remind members who may be participating that they can withdraw consent at any point during filming, except for scenes that have already been shot.
“The Agreement further provides that the set must be closed to anyone not having business with the production and that no still photography may be authorized without the consent of the background actor,” the union wrote in its advisory.
SAG also reminded members it will have a representative on set Wednesday to monitor the shoot, which THR notes is something that only happens when the union is sufficiently concerned.
The unusually explicit casting contract practically guarantees that HBO’s Westworld will be darker and more adult-oriented than the 1973 classic that starred Yul Brynner. Expectations are sky-high for the series based on the creative team behind it: creator Jonathan Nolan (The Dark Knight, Inception), producers J.J. Abrams (Lost, Star Trek) and the late Jerry Weintraub (The Brink, Ocean’s Eleven), and a star-studded cast including Anthony Hopkins, Ed Harris, James Marsden, Evan Rachel Wood, Thandie Newton, and Jeffrey Wright.
The first trailer for Westworld debuted during the second-season finale of True Detective in August. The series is expected to premiere some time in the first half of 2016.
Check out the Westworld teaser trailer below:
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