Nicole Kidman Tore Zac Efron’s Shirt Off in One Take, Says ‘A Family Affair’ Director: “She Does Have That Strength!”

Zac Efron is very protective of his “one of a kind” shirt in A Family Affair—the new romantic comedy now streaming on Netflix—until he gets a half-naked Nicole Kidman on top of him. That’s because during the big A Family Affair sex scene, Kidman’s character wants to rip off Efron’s shirt. And when Nicole Kidman asks to rip off your shirt, you say “Yes, chef!”

Directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Richard LaGravenese (The Fisher King, Living Out Loud) and written by Carrie Solomon, A Family Affair stars Efron as a fictional movie star named Chris Cole, and Joey King as his long-suffering personal assistant, Zara. Chris is a stereotypical self-absorbed celebrity, and frequently berates Zara for perceived mistakes, like putting his beloved Shahtoosh shirt in a plastic bag with his sneakers. (“It’s one of a kind! I only have two!”)

Poor Zara is finally pushed to the brink and quits. Chris stops by her house to beg for her to come back. But Zara’s not home. Chris finds himself having a drink with Zara’s mother, Brooke (Kidman), instead. Sparks fly, one thing leads to another… and then Chris and Brooke tumble into bed together.

In a recent Zoom interview with Decider, director Richard LaGravenese said he “wanted the first sexual scene to be comic. It wasn’t about being sexy. I didn’t need to worry about that being sexy, because they’re Nicole and Zac, so it’s going to be!”

He found that comedy in a moment where Efron tears open Kidman’s dress (“50 percent off at Nordstrom, and so worth the bargain!”), and she, in turn, asks if she can tear open the shirt that he’d previously made such a fuss about to Joey King.

“Is this Shahtoosh?” Brooke asks Cole.

“Yeah… I don’t care!” he replies.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Netflix US (@netflix)

LaGravnese explained that Efron’s shirt was not, of course, actually Shahtoosh. “The Shahtoosh t-shirt is kind of made-up, because Shahtoosh is a fabric that was illegal to bring into the country. It’s mostly made of pashmina.”

In order to help Kidman easily tear it open and nail the timing of the scene, the crew made a small hole in the shirt for her to grab. Still, the actual ripping was all Kidman.

“She does have that strength,” LaGravenese said with a laugh, when asked. “She tore it on the first take!”

LaGravenese said the clothes-ripping “was more to get laughs—even though, when I saw it with an audience, I was surprised by how much they reacted to all of that, which is wonderful.”

Sure, it’s funny—but let’s be real, Kidman putting her biceps to good use is hot, too. And the entire scene hinges on Kidman and Efron’s easy chemistry, which, luckily, the actors—who previously worked together on the 2012 crime drama The Paperboy—have in spades.

“They were very comfortable with each other, Nic and Zac,” LaGravenese said. “They know what they’re doing. They had no inhibitions about it. They just went for it, and it was great.”

It’s all fun and games until Joey King comes home and walks in on her mom and boss going at it.

“Joey coming into that [sex] scene—she did that about seven times,” LaGravenese revealed. “She was amazing.”