Mandy Moore: Sex scenes with Milo Ventimiglia were ‘awkward’

February 28, 2014. Actress Mandy Moore attends the Women in Film Pre-Oscar Cocktail Party in West Hollywood, California. (Reuters)

Mandy Moore and Milo Ventimiglia had to bare all for their upcoming NBC drama “This Is Us.”

The two talked with Variety about their awkward love scenes in the new show, before taking the stage at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s annual Grants Banquet on Thursday. The stars play Rebecca and Jack, a married couple expecting triplets whose lives are turned upside down when a tragedy strikes them during the birth of their children.

“I got to stare at his butt all day because in the scene he’s supposed to be naked, just covering his bits with a towel, because we’re supposed to be having some sexy time, so that was maybe the only awkward part,” said Moore, who later noted “wearing a 35-pound prosthetic belly” might have made the scenes a little awkward as well.

“But he’s such a lovely gem of a guy and very respectful and I feel very lucky to get to work with him,” she added.

While Ventimiglia didn’t say he experienced any uncomfortable moments, he did note that his job can call for some pretty off-the-wall antics.

“As an actor you’re asked to do everything from bare your ass to pretend that this person you only recently met has been your wife for a long time,” he said. “But, Mandy and I fell into it quickly. She’s committed to her work, so it was easy to jump into that role of intimacy, and being husband and wife.”

The series follows a group of individuals, all born on the same day, as they face the struggles of life. Executive produced by Dan Fogelman and Jess Rosenthal, the series also stars Justin Hartley, Chrissy Metz, Sterling K. Brown, Susan Kelechi Watson, Chris Sullivan, and Ron Cephas Jones.

“This Is Us” premieres Sept. 20 on NBC.