Pop superstar Rihanna made headlines when she signed on to play legendary Psycho character Marion Crane in the final season of A&E's Bates Motel. The singer was called upon to film a sex scene for the role, and she tuned in to watch it when the episode finally aired. Rihanna wasn't exactly at ease watching her sex scene, and she shared video of her reactions online. Take a look:
Rihanna is a showbiz sensation who has gotten up to all kinds of shenanigans in music videos, but she clearly wasn't prepared for the awkwardness that came with watching her own sex scene in her major TV acting debut. While she has appeared on television in the past, it has always been as herself rather than as a different character. Marion Crane was her first significant TV acting role, and she clearly put herself out there in filming. Viewers can attest to the fact that Rihanna pulled off the sex scene like an acting pro without giving a hint of personal embarrassment; evidently she saved her cringing for when she was watching the episode.
Sex scenes are notoriously awkward to film, and even seasoned actors aren't always big fans of them. Kudos to Rihanna for powering through any awkwardness and delivering a fearless performance as Marion Crane. In fact, according to executive producers Kerry Ehrin and Carlton Cuse, Rihanna was incredibly committed to the role from start to finish. Cuse said this about bringing her in to Bates Motel:
We were very ambitious. Imagine Rihanna stepping out of her concert tour to come and shoot two episodes of our show. A lot of people put a lot of pressure on Kerry and me to minimize her story. But we decided that if she was going to be on the show we wanted to give her a real part. But we were fighting with how much work we could get done with her. And she showed up and she worked like a dog for a week... She was unbelievable and so committed. But there were certain shots and a couple of little pieces that we couldn't physically schedule with her.
Kerry Ehrin also mentioned in the chat with TVLine that Rihanna shot thirty-three script pages in a span of only five days. The producers did need to use a body double for some of Marion Crane's more minor scenes that didn't require shots of Rihanna's face, but it was clearly all Rihanna in the sex scene. All things considered, it's a shame that she was only brought in for two episodes. Assuming that the fate of her Marion Crane is the same as Psycho's Marion Crane, she won't exactly have an opening to reprise the role.
We'll have to wait and see if Bates Motel leads to any more TV acting gigs for Rihanna. She's obviously busy with her music career, and she's set to have a major role in the upcoming Ocean's Eight film, but we can at least hope that she'll return to the small screen. Tune in to A&E on Modays at 10 p.m. ET to catch the rest of the fifth and final season of Bates Motel, and don't forget to take a look at our midseason TV premiere schedule and our summer TV premiere guide.
