9 actors who needed body doubles for utterly ridiculous reasons

Sometimes baring it all isn't an option – even when you're more than comfortable to do so. Dakota Johnson found fame as Anastasia Steele in Fifty Shades of Grey but needed a stunt double for one of the film's more intimate scenes. 

According to cinematographer Seamus McGarvey, a tattoo on her backside meant Dakota had to have a stand-in for one of the film's nude scenes as the mark didn't fit Anastasia's innocent persona on which the whole plot is hung.

After finding fame in The Parent Trap, Freaky Friday and Mean Girls, Lindsay Lohan cameoed as herself in the fifth instalment of the Scary Movie spoof franchise. Parodying a scene from Paranormal Activity, she and Charlie Sheen are seen sharing a bed together.

But, according to TMZ, she refused to kiss the actor and used a body double instead – even more bizzarely, the pair had allegedly signed releases promising that they didn't have cold sores.

The Conjuring's Vera Farmiga earned an early Oscar nomination for her role opposite George Clooney in 2009's Up in the Air. The actors played occasional, circumstantial lovers in the feature, but an intimate scene had Vera requesting a body double step in.

She had reportedly only given birth weeks before shooting the nude scene and "had six pounds more chunk" on her "behind". Vera said that she attempted to do the scene but her "bottom had become too large".

It's not always about what's shown on camera, but what the actors themselves are experiencing behind the lens. During the filming for Ron Howard's Cinderella Man, the story of boxer James J. Braddock, which earned three Oscar nominations in 2006, Renée Zellweger reportedly refused to shoot some of the film's love scenes with Russell Crowe.

According to the National Enquirer, Russell had such bad breath and general body odor that Renée approached director Ron hoping to improve his hygiene. But when nothing changed, Renée decided to let a body double step in for her.

Wesley Snipes is best known for his star role in the Blade franchise, but his co-worker Patton Oswalt has claimed the actor wasn't keen on showing up to set, due to personal friction with the director David Goyer. 

According to Patton, Wesley only showed up for close-ups and handed over all the other scenes to his stand-in. The co-star claims that we only shot one scene with Wesley himself.

Natalie Portman didn't blush when Danny McBride handed over the script to 2011 medieval comedy Your Highness but there was a point where she drew the line. The actress was happy enough to wear a revealing thong bikini for a close-up shot but didn't want to get too much chillier.

Her body double Caroline Davis revealed to The Sun that she jumped into a lake to complete the scene in Natalie's place, earning $385 in the process and getting a chance to work on set as a film studies student.

Lars von Trier's 2009 psychological horror Antichrist is one of Willem Dafoe's most iconic performances, following the story of a couple who try to cope with the loss of their son by moving to an isolated cabin the middle of a forest.

But after the film's release, Lars gave some surprising insight into the production, revealing that Willem needed a stunt double in the film's twisted sex scenes because he was so well endowed. In one famous scene, he starts spurting blood and a stunt double's appendage was used because the director thought Willem's was too large.

Sometimes the giggles can get the better of you, even when it's inconvenient. The professionals are no exception with stars Jane Seymour and Roger Moore struggling to keep their act together on the set of Live and Let Die (1973).

Jane admitted to the Daily Telegraph that she and Roger only used body doubles in one of the final scenes. The actress explained: "I had a truly terrible piece of dialogue and couldn't get it out without laughing. Roger and I were both weeping, giggling like schoolchildren. The crew banished me from the set and we had to use body doubles to get it done."

One particularly bizarre scene in A Million Ways to Die in the West prompted Liam Neeson to seek out his stuntman. In the 2014 comedy, his character falls over with his trousers down and Charlize Theron places a flower between his butt cheeks. 

Liam revealed to Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen that he asked his longtime stunt double Mark Vanelow to do the scene for him, and the comedy classic is surely better off for the moment being included on screen.