Jane Seymour stripped down in the 2005 film Wedding Crashers, but she admitted she and costar Owen Wilson were feeling a little anxious about the topless scene.
“Owen was actually very nervous about the whole experience, and I was too!” Seymour, 74, told People in an interview published on Thursday, December 3. “But when I’m in character, I’m Kathleen Cleary. So I said, ‘Jane Seymour might have a problem with what you’re going to do, but currently I’m not her. I’m Kathleen.’ And at first he was like, ‘Oh, I don’t know.’”
During the scene, matriarch Kathleen Cleary (Seymour) attempts to seduce John Beckwith (Wilson) in the bedroom, taking her top off and dangling her breasts in his face. She asks John to grab her breasts, and in what many deem one of the most memorable movie moments of the 21st century, tells him to call her “Kitty Cat.”
“[Director] David Dobkin would say, ‘Can you just relax your fingers a little bit? Can you just move your fingers slightly?’” Seymour recalled of working with Wilson, 57, on the scene. “So the whole experience of shooting it was funnier even than the actual scene!”
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The Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman alum also revealed that Wilson is the one who suggested she end the scene by calling his character a “pervert.”
“That was the button that that scene needed, and it was amazing,” she reflected.
While speaking exclusively with NewsPlop in February, Seymour revealed that the scene utilized a bit of movie magic.
“The way we shot it, people think I’m naked, but no one ever saw anything,” she revealed. “There was nothing to see. The way it was shot was so brilliant when it came out. I saw people in airplanes going back and forth, backwards and forward to that scene. They were convinced that there is one moment where they could see the front of my body. No, it didn’t happen.”
She explained that her role in Wedding Crashers helped her fans see another side of her, highlighting her comedic chops.
“It was all in Owen’s eyes and the way we played it, and I am very proud of it, but it was great for me because the Dr. Quinn fans loved it,” she continued. “They are just lovely. They went, wow. So this is what our comedy is. I’m sure we lost a few along the way, but for the most part, I think people really [like] that and then they love the comedic work I’ve done since and now with Harry Wilde.”
For Seymour, portraying Kathleen/Kitty Cat was an unforgettable experience.
“It’s such a wonderful character to play … we’re talking about having a new life. After 45, I had a new life really,” she reflected. “I’m just going to play characters and I’m going to have fun with it. And I’m much freer as an actress, and I think I’m a better actress than I ever was then. I feel I’m in my prime right now and I’m just so grateful that I’m being given really great roles.”
Wedding Crashers will be back in theaters on Thursday, December 4, and Thursday, December 11, in celebration of the film’s 20th anniversary.