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Kyle MacLachlan says he rejected a full-frontal nude shot that Paul Verhoeven proposed while filming Showgirls<\/em>, eventually invoking his contract when the director continued pressing the idea.<\/p>\n \u201cI stay congenial, despite the insane suggestion,\u201d MacLachlan writes in his new memoir, Fictional Selves<\/em>, while recalling the disagreement. He says the discussion ended only after he made clear that the proposed shot fell outside what he had agreed to do.<\/p>\n MacLachlan played Zack Carey, the Las Vegas entertainment director who becomes involved with Elizabeth Berkley\u2019s Nomi Malone in Verhoeven\u2019s 1995 drama. The movie received an NC-17 rating and became notorious after its original release before developing a much longer life as a cult favorite.<\/p>\n Fictional Selves<\/em>, published by Crown on Sept. 29, runs 320 pages and traces MacLachlan\u2019s four decades in film and television, including his collaborations with David Lynch and the career choices that did not turn out as he expected.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The disagreement happened during the elaborate pool sequence between Zack and Nomi near the end of production. MacLachlan recalls Verhoeven and cinematographer Jost Vacano working in the water during a long night of filming when the director proposed shooting him walking across the pool deck from the front.<\/p>\n MacLachlan rejected the idea and held his ground as Verhoeven discussed ways the shot might still work, including altering the image in post-production. He insisted that the scene be filmed from behind, as his contract allowed.<\/p>\n \u201cSorry, Paul,\u201d MacLachlan remembers telling him as his heart began racing over the potential confrontation. \u201cYou can shoot me from the back walking to the pool.\u201d<\/p>\n MacLachlan says he referred Verhoeven to his contract when the director continued pushing. The issue was dropped, and the finished movie shows Zack walking toward the pool from behind. MacLachlan also dismisses a piece of lore surrounding the shot, writing that the rear view belongs to him rather than a body double.<\/p>\nMacLachlan Used His Contract to End the Full-Frontal Discussion<\/h2>\n
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Watching the Finished Pool Scene Gave Him \u2018Sheer Horror\u2019<\/h2>\n