Tom Pelphrey's Shocking Full Frontal 'Man In Full' Nude Scene, Explained

Contains graphic spoilers for the ending of "A Man in Full"

While you may have seen actor Tom Pelphrey before on shows such as "Ozark," "Outer Range," and "Banshee," you've never seen him as he appears in the shocking finale of the Netflix limited series, "A Man in Full." That's because Pelphrey and star Jeff Daniels have a fatal physical altercation at the end of the show — a clash in which Pelphrey not only appears fully nude, but is sporting a large, upright appendage that gives new meaning to the show's title.

Speaking with "Today," Pelphrey confirmed that the organ seen during the show's climax was in fact prosthetic and not real, saying, "Somebody asked me, 'Was there ever a conversation about not using a prosthetic?' And I said, 'I don't even think you can do that.'" He added jokingly, "Whatever talents I may have an actor, I'm not sure I could just maintain a full erection during a scene where I'm getting choked to death," while also noting that the real thing is not permitted on television.

Pelphrey plays Raymond Peepgrass, a banker who becomes fixated on taking down Charlie Croker (Daniels), an Atlanta real estate magnate. Unlike the Tom Wolfe novel from which the series is adapted, both Peepgrass and Croker end up dead at the end — Peepgrass from being strangled and Croker from a heart attack. Yet a naked Peepgrass — who was just having sex with Croker's ex-wife Martha (Diane Lane) — stays massively aroused, a condition that even lingers after his death.

Tom Pelphrey says that the reason his character, Raymond Peepgrass, was bestowed with a formidable male organ that kept its shape — even after its owner has expired — was to make the point that the character couldn't let his obsession with Jeff Daniels' Charlie Croker go, and that it was — pun fully intended — bigger than anyone might have thought.

"We thought it was kind of funny that this little buggy Raymond Peepgrass might have a f***ing big d***," Pelphrey told Variety about the episode, which was directed by "Watchmen" star Regina King. "Also, I thought that that choice just lent itself to being the most ridiculous and absurd version of how that could go — the most cheap male, toxic humor s***. If we're gonna do it, let's fully do that."

Pelphrey also admitted to Variety that he was nervous about the scene because at the time the show was being filmed, in late 2022, Pelphrey and partner Kaley Cuoco were expecting their first child (the baby was born in March 2023). "All of a sudden, I just started thinking about everything different, like, 'Oh, God, do I want to have my clothes off on camera?'" he said. "All things that literally have never crossed my mind, truly. I'm always like, 'That makes sense, let's do it!' All of a sudden I'm like, 'I'm gonna have a kid, I don't know if I want her to see this!'" In the end, it made a lot of sense."