You's Penn Badgley's unusual X-rated request: 'Important to me'

You actor Penn Badgley has revealed he made an unusual X-rated request to the show's creator before they began filming season four, with the first half of the new season available to watch now on Netflix. The star shared that he requested to do "zero" sex scenes this season, something that may surprise fans of the show given he has been involved in countless racy scenes in the past.

The 36-year-old shared that the reason for the change came from wanting to be loyal to his wife Domino Kirk.

"Fidelity in every relationship … especially in a marriage … is important to me," he shared in the latest episode of his podcast Podcrushed.

"I asked Sera Gamble, creator of the show, 'Can I just do no more intimacy scenes?'" he said. "This was actually a decision I had made before I took the show."

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Penn describes his character Joe Goldberg on the show as "a dangerously charming, intensely obsessive young man [who] goes to extreme measures to insert himself into the lives of those he is transfixed by."

The star continued, "I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned it publicly, but one of the main things is, 'Do I want to put myself back on a career path where I’m always the romantic lead?'"

"It’s got to the point where I don’t want to do that … so I said to Sera, like, 'My desire would be zero [sex scenes], to go from 100 to zero,'" Penn added, saying he hoped for the best, knowing he'd signed a contract that meant he couldn't necessarily call the shots.

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"You can’t take this aspect out of the DNA of the concept, so 'How much less can you make it?' was my question to them," he said. "She didn’t even bat an eye. She was really glad that I was that honest, and she was sort of almost empowered. She had a really positive response, she appreciated my directness … and that I was being reasonable and practical … they came back with a phenomenal reduction."

Penn married his wife Domino, an actress, singer and doula, in 2017, with the pair sharing a son named James, two. Domino also has a 14-year-old son from a previous marriage.

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