YOU season 4 star Penn Badgley walks away from love scenes

If you were wondering why there were fewer love scenes in the first half of YOU season 4 than what we’ve seen in the past, it turns out there is a specific reason. This was done at the request of series star Penn Badgley, who has admitted that the idea of them has never made him altogether comfortable since joining the show.

Why? A part of this seems to be wanting to be more than just a romantic lead as an actor; another part seems to be about wanting to show faithfulness and respect to his wife Domino Kirke.

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Speaking recently on his Podcrushed podcast, here is some of what the actor had to say about making this choice to step away from the more intimate of scenes:

“This is actually a decision I’d made before I took the show … I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned it publicly, but one of the main things is like, ‘Do I wanna put myself back on a career path where I’m just always a romantic lead?’

“… It’s really important to me … Fidelity in every relationship — and especially my marriage — is important to me, and it just got to a point where I didn’t wanna do that. Then, of course, before I took the show is there a question of, ‘Do I have a career if I don’t?’ I mean, you know, think about every male lead you’ve loved. Are they kissing someone? Are they doing a lot more than that? It’s really not my desire to.”

Badgley goes on to say that he’s had many discussions with showrunner Sera Gamble and the rest of the staff over time, and they have been respectful and amenable to it. We also don’t think a reduction in love scenes has altogether impacted the story of where YOU is during season 4. Do we need to see Joe Goldberg a.k.a. Jonathan and Kate in intimate scenes all the time to know that there is something there? While romance is a part of the show, it’s more about Joe’s unattainable idea of romance — something that he’s seeking out, often in all of the wrong ways.

While it remains to be seen what is coming in the second half of this season, it important to keep some of his comments here in mind.

Related – Badgley takes Netflix to task for Dahmer, killer obsessions

Want do you think about Penn Badgley’s thoughts on love scenes during YOU season 4?

Be sure to share right now in the attached comments! Once you do just that, be sure to keep coming back for other updates. (Photo: Netflix.)

This article was written by Jessica BunBun.