It seems actors are kind of damned if they do, and damned if they don’t.

Viewers crave raw, authentic performances in films – but if the stars actually have sex on screen, people will be clutching their pearls and launching a campaign to make you a pariah from society.

Just ask the pair who took on leading roles in one of the most controversial films to come out of the 2000s, which was written and directed by Michael Winterbottom.

People are still talking about Kieran O’Brien’s real-life romping sessions with his co-star Margo Stilley two decades later, as it seems film fans still can’t grasp why the pair put on genuine performances.

Co-star Margo Stilley didn’t want her name on the film’s credits. (Revolution Films)

You see, in the flick – titled 9 Songs – the pair were portraying a young couple who were in quite an intense relationship which pretty much revolved around going to gigs, taking drugs and sh*gging in between.

Sex is a huge part of the storyline, so both O’Brien and Stilley had to strip off and take part in numerous graphic, unsimulated scenes showing their lovemaking sessions – which were 100 percent real.

The inclusion of oral sex, masturbation, ejaculation and pretty much every other sex act you can think of in the film came as quite a shock to movie lovers back in 2004 and 9 Songs was met by a lot of controversy.

Ex MP Ann Widdecombe was one of the critics leading the charge against the 2004 flick, as she compared it to ‘pornography’ and said the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) shouldn’t let it ‘enter the mainstream’.

The fact that O’Brien actually ejaculates in one scene in 9 Songs seemed to be the sticking point for most people, as it made him the only established Brit actor to climax on screen for a UK-produced feature.

That’s one to tell the grandkids.

Kieran O’Brien and Margo Stilley starred in 9 Songs together. (Revolution Films)

You’d think all this stick would have left O’Brien and Stilley regretting ever making the movie, but hilariously, the pair are both pretty unbothered about the whole thing.

O’Brien basically reckons that people made a whole song and dance about nothing, explaining that he ‘doesn’t believe’ those who say they found the film shocking or offensive, as it is literally ‘only sex’.

He previously told The Telegraph shortly after 9 Songs was released that he viewed the sex scenes in the same way as everything else they shot and was surprised by ‘how ordinary and natural it was’ for them both.

“I didn’t fancy her – I felt protective towards her,” the actor said of Stilley.

O’Brien doesn’t regret making the movie though, saying it ‘wasn’t difficult’ and that he is ‘really proud of it’.

Speaking to The Guardian back in 2005, he explained: “Honestly, I don’t know what all the fuss is about. It’s a film about two people in a monogamous relationship, having sex as you’d kind of hope that everyone does.

The actor doesn’t understand what all the fuss about their sex scenes was about. (J. Vespa/WireImage/Getty)

“It’s the age-old cliche: if you don’t want to be offended, don’t see it,” O’Brien added.

“But really, I can’t believe that people will be offended.

“I don’t think anyone really was – they either didn’t see it or they saw it and affected that reaction.”

Describing the filming process as ‘bizarre and incredible’, O’Brien continued: “I doubt I’ll experience anything like it.

“At some points, I would be taking direction from Michael standing naked with no mistaking where he could hang your towel, if you know what I mean. Michael would be wondering where to put his eyes. A lot of it was very funny.”

Stilley also spoke about her thoughts on having sex on camera, explaining that she is also ‘proud’ of the movie.

Speaking to The Irish Examiner in 2008, she followed O’Brien’s lead and suggested people need to take a chill pill.

Stilley said: “You’d think I invented sex! I got told I was a whore and a sl*t and how could I do it. And what kind of role model did I think I was giving young women?

“It was a film about love and sex. It wasn’t porn. I mean, I had sex with my boyfriend last night and that wasn’t porn.

“It was just hot sex! 9 Songs was a real film about love and sex, and I wanted to do that film and I am proud of it.”

Featured Image Credit: J. Vespa/WireImage/Revolution Films

Topics: Sex and Relationships, TV and Film, UK News