How The Witcher Nude Scenes Led To Anxiety For Yennefer Star Anya Chalotra

When "Game of Thrones" wrapped up its eight-season run in 2019, it left behind a void in the TV fantasy space that fans desperately wanted to see filled. At first, it seemed like Netflix's "The Witcher" would do just that. Its debut season, which premiered on Netflix in December 2019, had not only as much magic and violence as "Game of Thrones" but also a similar amount of nudity and on-screen sex. Contrary to what some viewers might have presumed, though, it wasn't the filming of the season's nude scenes that gave one of its stars, Anya Chalotra, anxiety.

In a 2023 interview with The Telegraph, the actor, who plays Yennefer of Vengerberg, revealed she didn't feel anxious at all about her nude scenes in the series' 1st season until after she'd already shot them. "I didn't think about it while filming," she told the outlet. "And when you suddenly stop, and you're not distracted by your character's storyline, all these little things you didn't worry about in the moment come to you. It wasn't until post-filming that people would ask more about those scenes. That was when my anxiety would start."

According to Chalotra, she was initially more concerned with making sure she played her character well than with questioning the high amount of nudity she was being asked to engage in. "The thing I worried about more than anything is, 'How am I going to do this character justice?' When it came to more intimate scenes in season one, they all seemed right at the time," Chalotra explained. "That was a part of Yennefer's journey. As long as we're progressing the story, then we're OK."

While Anya Chalotra doesn't seem to look back negatively on her experience making "The Witcher" Season 1, she did tell The Telegraph that she wishes there had been an intimacy coordinator present on the show's set at the time, like there has been throughout its subsequent seasons. "[An intimacy coordinator] is one thing I would have absolutely loved," the actor admitted. "The line is always blurred between Anya, when I'm clothed, and when I'm not. With so many people around you filming, it's important we feel comfortable. An intimacy coordinator supports you in the best way. It makes a huge difference."

In addition to employing intimacy coordinators, "The Witcher" has greatly toned down its nude scenes since its 1st season. The show's creator, Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, defended the change in direction while discussing "The Witcher" Season 2 with Digital Spy. "I feel the same way about sex, nudity, violence, and all of those things, that they have to be story-driven," she told the publication at the time. Hissrich went on to argue that gratuitous sex scenes would have felt out of place in the Netflix series' 2nd season, noting, "The story is much more about the evolution of a family. And so we didn't need to have a lot of sex."

All shows change and evolve. "The Witcher" has already become increasingly less reliant on nudity and sex over the course of its first three seasons. Now, the Netflix fantasy series is facing its biggest change to date. When "The Witcher" returns with its 4th season, it will do so without its longtime star, Henry Cavill. The actor announced his departure from the series on Instagram in October 2022 and also revealed that "The Hunger Games" star Liam Hemsworth would be taking over the role of Geralt of Rivia in his place.

In her interview with The Telegraph, Anya Chalotra shared her reaction to learning about her co-star's exit, telling the outlet, "That news was hard to take because he's family." Cavill's departure, notably, wasn't announced until after filming on "The Witcher" Season 3 had already been completed. As a result, neither Chalotra nor any of her fellow "Witcher" cast members got to commemorate his final scenes as Geralt on the show's set.

While she didn't offer The Telegraph any insight into how Hemsworth's addition to the cast will affect "The Witcher" moving forward, Chalotra did admit that she and her co-stars will all likely continue to feel the weight of Cavill's absence. "We've been together for five years. So for anyone to leave after working with someone for that long, we're going to feel that loss," she noted. Fans will, of course, have to wait to see whether "The Witcher" manages to pull off Hemsworth's introduction as Geralt as seamlessly as it has decreased its reliance on the nudity and sex that partly defined its debut season.