EXCLUSIVE: Anne Hathaway "Mortified" Being Nude in Front Of Jake Gyllenhaal

Anne Hathaway. (Reuters)

In her latest drama “Love & Other Drugs,” Anne Hathaway portrays free-spirited Maggie Murdock, who suddenly finds herself under the “drug” of love when she is charmed by Viagra salesman Jamie Randall, played by Jake Gyllenhaal.

But getting hot and heavy wasn’t exactly an enjoyable experience for the 27-year-old starlet.

“It’s racy – very racy. I keep asking people if it is too sexy for them. However it is just part of the job,” Hathaway told Pop Tarts at the film’s Hollywood premiere last week. “That being said, it is intensely mortifying taking your clothes off in front of other people, but it is also intensely mortifying doing a lot of things in front of people and I’ve learned how to deal with that. Who  knows if I will ever do it again, it depends on the material.”

And according to Gyllenhaal, it is as real as reel can be.

“The sex is portrayed in a real way, in an intimate way, and nobody is hiding behind anybody,” he said. “I think that that is hopefully what love is about and that is what these two characters do in this movie. I hope people would want to see that, and if not then we’re both naked – so..."

But luckily for Hathaway and Gyllenhaal, the “awkward” situation was softened a little by the fact they’ve gotten intimate on-screen together before.

“We had already had fake onscreen sex before in ‘Brokeback Mountain’ so it came naturally, we just had to do it again. But in all seriousness, it was very brave of Anne. I think women tend to be objectified more than men and she really does bare a lot, not only literally but figuratively. Her performance was incredible,” Gyllenhaal said. “But we’re friends and we understand the process of acting, and as a result of that we felt comfortable, even when it was awkward, and we try to joke about it. I try to be as respectful as possible, and if you are respectful on the set it makes it as dirty as it can be onscreen.”

And despite of Gyllenhaal’s A-list status, the folks in the Viagra world weren’t too warm when it came to giving characterization tips.

“It was an amazing world to learn about, primarily the sales in pharmaceuticals. I was fascinated to find out how hard it is to get into that world – to learn information from active people, particularly people selling from Viagra,” he added. “So often when you’re making a movie about something, (the real professionals) are like ‘come on in.’ That wasn’t the case for this movie, but it was fascinating. It took a while for people to open up – I didn’t know why there was so much secrecy."