Director explains how Jennifer Aniston and Jon Hamm filmed ‘emotional’ sex scene that left viewers shocked

The director of The Morning Show has opened up about some of the measures that production staff took to help actors feel comfortable while filming an intimate scene.

The sixth episode of the show saw characters Alexandra and Paul, played by Jennifer Aniston and Jon Hamm, sharing an intimate moment together.

One part of the scene sees Aniston lying naked on top of Hamm in bed.

While there is still a long way to go, many production companies have started to take extra steps to make sure that performers feel comfortable while filming intimate scenes.

This might include closed sets, as well as hiring intimacy coordinators to mediate between performers and ensure everyone feels comfortable with how the scene will be filmed.

Now, director Mimi Leder has revealed some of the things they did to help Aniston and Hamm feel comfortable in the scene.

She told Variety: “It was a closed set, and two very grown-up actors who really understood the nature of the storytelling and were very much a part of it.

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“We wanted it to be sensitive. We wanted it to be sexy. We wanted it to be adult. We wanted it to be emotional. They really let go. They’re great actors. And there you have it.”

The pair had also wanted to work together for some time, and finally got the chance to do so on the hit show.

Executive producer Kristin Hahn previously told The Hollywood Reporter: “Jen and Jon have been friendly for years and have wanted to work together I think for a while.”

“So when Paul Marks became a part of the conversation, it was a list of one,” she continued. “And so it was a little scary because if he had said no, I don’t know what we would have done. It was this or bust. Thankfully, he said yes.”

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Hamm takes on the role of the tech billionaire Paul Marks, who is attempting to buy the fictional UBA company in the show.

The slick and charming businessman can be seen as an obvious throwback to Hamm's iconic role as the philandering advertising executive Don Draper in Mad Men.

Speaking about the character, executive producer Lauren Neustadter told THR he is “a character who is an amalgam of a lot of different individuals. “And he’s also incredibly grounded and authentic in a way that feels very Charlotte Stoudt.”

Media Res executive producer Michael Ellenberg added. “The audience will see what the dynamic is like with him and Alex Levy, but it’s a complicated one; it’s an emotional one."