The production of The Blue Lagoon revolved around an unusually sensitive casting and censorship problem: Brooke Shields was only 14 years old when principal photography began on June 18, 1979, yet the story required the character of Emmeline to mature from childhood into a sexually awakened young woman. Shields performed the film's topless scenes, with her hair carefully glued over her breasts to preserve the illusion of nudity without showing her body. For the film's nude scenes, however, the production used Kathy Troutt, the 32-year-old stunt coordinator, as Shields's body double. Christopher Atkins, who was 18 during filming, performed his own nude scenes, including brief frontal nudity, creating an especially striking contrast between the two leads' ages and the film's romantic premise.
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AI concept artworkArchive Record · 1980s
The 14-Year-Old Star and the 32-Year-Old Double Behind The Blue Lagoon's Nude Scenes
The Blue Lagoon / 1980s
The production of The Blue Lagoon revolved around an unusually sensitive casting and censorship problem: Brooke Shields was only 14 years old when principal photography began on June 18, 1979, yet the story required the character of Emmeline to mature from childhood into a sexually awakened young woman. Shields performed the film's topless scenes, with her hair carefully glued over her breasts to preserve the illusion of nudity without showing her body. For the film's nude scenes, however, the production used Kathy Troutt, the 32-year-old stunt coordinator, as Shields's body double. Christopher Atkins, who was 18 during filming, performed his own nude scenes, including brief frontal nudity, creating an especially striking contrast between the two leads' ages and the film's romantic premise.
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